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The beaver Anchitheriomys from the Miocene of central Europe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 July 2015

Clara Stefen  and
Thomas Mörs
Clara Stefen
Affiliation:
Staatliche Naturhistorische Sammlungen Dresden, Museum für Tierkunde, Königsbrücker Landstrasse 159, 01109 Dresden, Germany,
Thomas Mörs
Affiliation:
Swedish Museum of Natural History, Department of Palaeozoology, P.O. Box 50007, SE-104 05 Stockholm, Sweden,
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Abstract

New finds of teeth and mandibles of Anchitheriomys from the Hambach opencast lignite mine in Northwest Germany and the first detailed descriptions of other mandibles from South Germany and Switzerland allow a review of the Central European specimens of this rare beaver genus. The metric variation of cheek teeth and especially the great differences in dimensions of incisors can be much better assessed. The observed range in size can be attributed to ontogenetic changes, and all material is assigned to Anchitheriomys suevicus. Stratigraphically, this species is restricted to the early middle Miocene, European Mammalian Neogene biozones MN 5–6.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 82 , Issue 5 , September 2008 , pp. 1009 - 1020
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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