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Cetacea, Odontoceti) Cheek Tooth from the Pietra Leccese (Miocene, Southern Italy

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Cetacea, Odontoceti) Cheek Tooth from the Pietra Leccese (Miocene, Southern Italy Fossilia, Volume 2018: 33-35 An Inticetus-like (Cetacea, Odontoceti) cheek tooth from the Pietra Leccese (Miocene, Southern Italy) Emanuele Peri1, Alberto Collareta1 , Gianni Insacco2 & Giovanni Bianucci1 1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa, via Santa Maria 53, 56126 Pisa (Italy); [email protected]; alberto.collare- [email protected]; [email protected]. 2 Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Comiso, Comiso, 97013, Ragusa (Italy); [email protected] BULLET-POINTS ABSTRACT KEYWORDS: Inticetidae; • We report the find of an Inticetus-like cheek tooth from the Miocene of southern Mediterranean sea; palaeo- Italy. biogeography; • We identify this specimen as belonging to cf. Inticetus sp. Pietra leccese; • This finding brings evidence of faunal exchanges between the Mediterranean toothed whales. Sea and the Pacific Ocean. • This faunal exchange likely happened via the Central America Seaway. INTRODUCTION pressed crown with an almost smooth enamel surfa- Teeth in mammals are often important for the sy- ce. This tooth bears several large accessory denticles: stematic study of the fossil components of this class, along the anterior side there are four denticles, whe- like the order Rodentia, for which teeth are highly reas six denticles take place on the posterior side. The diagnostic and many fossil species are known only denticles are radially positioned and slightly bowed by their dental remains. However, teeth have not the toward the main cusp, forming an arc. Their size gra- same taxonomic value in all groups of mammals: for dually decreases moving to the base of the crown; cetaceans, teeth often cannot define a particular spe- moreover, in this region, there are weak subvertical cies, although some odontological features contribute grooves on the enamel. Although most of the root is to identify certain families. Here we report the find of missing, we thought that the tooth was originally dou- an isolated cetacean tooth collected near the village ble rooted because of the presence of a slight incision of Melpignano (Lecce Province, southeastern Italy) under the base of the crown. Considering the Miocene from the “Pietra leccese” formation. Pietra leccese is a age of MCSNC 4457, we hypothesize that it represen- Miocene (upper Burdigalian to lower Messinian) cal- ts a cheek tooth belonging to a basal member of the carenite that is renowned worldwide for its abundant clade Neoceti (i.e. Mysticeti + Odontoceti). content of fossil marine vertebrates, which includes In order to identify the bearer of this tooth, we com- turtles, bony and cartilaginous fishes, and particularly pared MCSNC 4457 to several groups of early bran- cetaceans (both odontocetes and mysticetes). Cetace- ching fossil neocetes. The selection of the taxa used in an remains include the holotypes of Archaeschrichtius this study was mainly based on morphological simi- ruggeroi Bisconti & Varola, 2006 (Mysticeti, Eschrichti- larities with the Melpignano specimen. Among basal idae), Messapicetus longirostris Bianucci et al., 1992 mysticetes, Coronodon havensteini Geisler et al., 2017, (Odontoceti, Ziphiidae), Rudicetus squalodontoides a fossil whale recently discovered from the Oligoce- (Capellini, 1878) (Odontoceti, Kentriodontidae), and ne of the South Carolina (Ashley Formation), shows Zygophyseter varolai Bianucci & Landini, 2006 (Odon- important morphological affinities with MSNC 4457, toceti, Physeteroidea), as well as several odontocete including the presence of several broad-based acces- remains belonging to Squalodontidae and Eurinodel- sory denticles that form an arc and smooth surface of phinidae (Bianucci & Varola, 2014). the enamel. We also compared MCSNC 4457 with Squalodontidae, a family of basal odontocetes cha- MATERIALS AND METHODS racterized by having laterally compressed postcanine teeth with several accessory denticles (Dal Piaz, 1916; The cetacean dental specimen here described is sto- Rothausen, 1958; 1961; 1967; 1968). Finally, we com- red at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale of Comiso pared the tooth from Melpignano with Inticetus vertizi with catalogue number MCSNC 4457 (Insacco, 2014). Lambert et al., 2018, a highly autapomorphic hetero- It exhibits a roughly half-circular and laterally com- dont toothed whale from the early Miocene of Peru Corresponding author email: [email protected] How to cite: Peri et al. (2018). An Inticetus-like (Cetacea, Odontoceti) cheek tooth from the Pietra Leccese (Miocene, Southern Italy). Fossilia, Volume 2018: 33-35. https://doi.org/10.32774/FosRepPal.20.1810.113335 Fossilia - Reports in Palaeontology 34 Peri et al. (Chilcatay Formation). This species, that form the mo- terranean Sea could be due to a faunistic interchange nospecific family Inticetidae, bears laterally flattened between the Indo-Pacific Ocean and the Mediterrane- cheek teeth with multiple large and bowed denticles, an Sea through the Tethyan Seaway, the latter passa- that give a half-circular shape to the postcanine teeth. ge being still active in early Miocene times (Reuter et al., 2009). More probably, inticetids dispersed via the RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Central America Seaway: indeed, the Panama Isth- The only known mysticete with a cheek tooth mor- mus did not exist until latest Miocene times (Jacobs phology similar to MCSNC 4457 is Coronodon haven- et al., 2004), so it is plausible that inticetids dispersed steini (Geisler et al., 2017). However, accessory denti- through the Atlantic Ocean, thus recalling what has cles in C. havensteini are erect while those of MCSNC been proposed by Bianucci et al. (2016) for the beaked 4457 are weakly bowed. Furthermore, C. havensteini whale genus Messapicetus in late Miocene times. has been dated to the lower Oligocene (Rupelian) In conclusion, the find of MCSNC4457 provides (Geisler et al., 2017) whereas the Pietra leccese lower new hints about the biogeographical relationships portions are late Burdigalian in age. Hence, MCSNC between the Pacific and the Atlantic-Mediterranean 4457 is likely too young to be considered a cheek tooth realms in Miocene times and suggests that our know- of C. havensteini. Therefore, our morphological obser- ledge on the distribution patterns of the Inticetus-like vations, coupled with the chronostratigraphic consi- heterodont odontocetes is still fragmentary. derations, prevent any tentative attribution of MSNC 4457 to C. havensteini or other Coronodon-like toothed mysticetes. Alternatively, we hypothesised that MC- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS SNC 4457 could belong to a member of the basal Thanks to Mariano Serafini for his fundamental contribu- tion in donating to the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale of odontocetes family Squalodontidae (e.g. Squalodon Comiso the cetacean tooth MCSNC 4457.We are also gra- Grateloup, 1840 and Eosqualodon Rothausen, 1968). teful to Raymond L. Bernor and an anonymous reviewer for However, squalodontids generally have more vertical their useful suggestions and constructive criticisms. and less pronounced denticles than our specimen, in addition to strong ornamentation of the enamel and a REFERENCES more triangular and pointed shape of the cheek teeth. Bianucci G. & Landini W. (2006). Killer sperm whale: a new The squalodontid-like Neosqualodon Dal Piaz, 1904 basal physeteroid (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Late exhibits more evident accessory denticles, but these are Miocene of Italy. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 148 (1): 103–131. less numerous (normally numbering three on the distal side and two on the mesial side) and less bowed than Bianucci G. & Varola A. (2014). I cetacei fossili della Pietra leccese nei musei del Salento. Museologia Scientifica Me- MCSNC 4457. Moreover, the teeth of Neosqualodon morie, 13: 130-134. are much smaller than MCSNC 4457. Consequently, Bianucci G., Collareta A., Post K., Varola A. & Lambert O. the morphological distance precludes the belonging of (2016). A new record of Messapicetus from the Pietra the tooth from the Pietra leccese to any member of leccese (late Miocene, southern Italy): antitropical di- Squalodontidae. The greatest similarities can be found stribution in a fossil beaked whale (Cetacea, Ziphiidae). Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 122 (1): 63- with the cheek teeth of Inticetus vertizi from Peru. Inde- 74. ed, MCSNC 4457 shares with the double-rooted cheek Bianucci G., Landini W. & Varola A. (1992). Messapicetus teeth of Inticetus a laterally compressed and half-circu- longirostris, a new genus and species of Ziphiidae (Ce- lar crown, with several large and bowed denticles, and tacea) from the Late Miocene of “Pietra leccese” (Apu- reduced ornamentation. Furthermore, in both the ho- lia, Italy). Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana, 31 (2): 261-264. lotype of I.vertizi and the specimen from Pietra leccese, slight subvertical grooves are present on the enamel. Bisconti M. & Varola A. (2006). The oldest eschrichti- id mysticete and a new morphological diagnosis of The only morphological difference between MCSNC Eschrichtiidae (gray whales). Rivista Italiana di Paleonto- 4457 and the cheek teeth of I. vertizi is the smaller logia e Stratigrafia, 112 (3): 447-457. number of denticles in the postcanine teeth of the lat- Capellini G. (1878). Della Pietra Leccese e di alcuni suoi fos- ter (Lambert et al., 2018). I. vertizi is dated to the early sili. Memorie della Reale Accademia di Scienze dell’Istituto Miocene (Burdigalian) (Lambert et al., 2017), a time di Bologna, 9 (3): 227-258. span that is compatible with the stratigraphic
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