First evidence of Tethytragus Azanza and Morales, 1994 (Ruminantia, Bovidae), in the Miocene of the Vallès-Penedès Basin (Spain)

We report the discovery in the middle Miocene series of the Abocador de CanMata of the first known Tethytragus (Ruminantia, Bovidae) from the Vallès-Pened̀s Basin (Catalonia, northeast Spain). The genus, a common element in the mammalian assemblages in the inner Iberian Peninsula, has been found in the Calatayud-Daroca and Madrid basins, but has never been cited in the Vallès-Penedès Basin (Catalonia) so far. This finding updates the systematics of the genus Tethytragus and extends its geographical distribution. Also, this first record fits well with the hypothesis of a climatic change by the latest Aragonian towards increasing humidity and decreasing aridity in some areas of the inner Iberian Peninsula (particularly in the nearby Daroca-Nombrevilla area), and a subsequent faunal exchange to the Vallès-Penedès Basin as a result of an environmental homogenization. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.