Late Miocene – early Pliocene porcupines (Rodentia, Hystricidae) from south European Russia.

Lopatin A.V., Tesakov A.S., Titov V.V.

P. 26-32

The revision of Anchitheriomys caucasicus (= Amblycastor caucasicus Argyropulo, 1939) from the early Pliocene (early Ruscinian, MN14) of Northern Caucasus resulted in its attribution to porcupines, rather than to beavers as was initially thought. This form from the Kosyakino sand pit represents a clear species of the porcupine genus Hystrix , H. caucasica . The species shows affinities with the group of semihypsodont porcupines, H. primigenia (Wagner, 1848) (MN12-13) – H. depereti Sen, 2001 (MN15). In size it is larger than the former and close to the latter species. A well preserved P4 from the late Miocene (late Turolian, MN13) locality Morskaya 2 in the Azov Sea Region indicates the first record of H. primigenia in Russia.DOI: 10.15298/rusjtheriol.2.1.07

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