2018 in paleomammalogy

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This article records new taxa of fossil mammals of every kind are scheduled to be described during the year 2018, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to paleontology of mammals that are scheduled to occur in the year 2018.

Mammals in general

• A study on changes in mammalian faunal composition and structure during the earliest Paleogene biotic recovery, based on data from four localities in the Hell Creek Formation and Tullock Member of the Fort Union Formation (Montana, United States), will be published by Smith et al. (2018).
• A study on the mammalian extinction selectivity, continental body size distributions, and taxonomic diversity over five time periods spanning the past 125,000 years is published by Smith et al. (2018), who report evidence indicating that larger species of mammals were at greater risk of extinction following the global expansion of hominins over the late Quaternary, and that the degree of size-selectivity of mammalian extinctions in this period was unprecedented in the past 65 million years of mammalian evolution.
• A study on the relationship between extinctions of insular endemic mammal species in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene and their body mass, the size of the island and the first human arrival to the archipelago is published by Kouvari & van der Geer (2018).
• A study on the relationship between diversification rates and climatic niche evolution in mammals is published by Castro-Insua et al. (2018).
• A study on the dietary isotopic signatures recorded in tissues of herbivorous mammals, focusing on extant and fossil sloths, and evaluating the hypothesis that a single isotope enrichment pattern holds for all herbivorous mammals, is published by Tejada-Lara et al. (2018).

Metatherians

• A study on the changes of the global diversity of metatherians through time based on a new dataset of metatherian fossil occurrences is published by Bennett et al. (2018).
• A study on the morphological diversity of sparassodonts and its implications for the structure of the terrestrial carnivore guild from the middle Cenozoic of South America is published by Croft et al. (2018).
• A study on the age of thylacine and Tasmanian devil fossils from the mainland Australia and their implications for estimating the time of extinction in mainland Australia for both species is published by White et al. (2018).
• A study on the phylogeography and demographic history of the thylacine during the late Pleistocene and Holocene is published by White, Mitchell & Austin (2018).
• A study on the phylogeography and demographic history of the Tasmanian devil across southern Australia over the last ~30,000 years, based on genomes from 202 devils representing the extinct mainland and the extant Tasmanian populations, is published by Brüniche–Olsen et al. (2018).
• A study on the phylogenetic relationships of Palaeopotorous priscus is published by den Boer & Kear (2018), who interpret this taxon as a probable non-macropodoid macropodiform marsupial.
• Revision of the taxonomic status of fossil kangaroo relatives attributed to the genera Ganawamaya and Nambaroo is published by Butler et al. (2018), who also describe new fossil material of Ganawamaya couperi (formerly assigned to the genus Nambaroo), Ganawamaya acris and G. aediculis.

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Australogale	Gen. et sp. nov	In press	Engelman, Anaya & Croft	Miocene (Serravallian)		Bolivia	A member of Sparassodonta. Genus includes new species A. leptognathus.
Coloradolops	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Chornogubsky et al.	Middle Eocene	Quebrada de Los Colorados Formation	Argentina	A member of Bonapartherioidea belonging to the family Prepidolopidae. Genus includes new species C. cardonensis.
Fumodelphodon	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Cohen	Late Cretaceous (Turonian)	Straight Cliffs Formation	United States (Utah)	A member of Stagodontidae. Genus includes new species F. pulveris.
Herpetotherium tabrumi	Sp. nov	In press	Korth	Late Paleogene (Chadronian)		United States (Montana Nebraska North Dakota)
Hoodootherium	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Cohen	Late Cretaceous (Turonian)	Straight Cliffs Formation	United States (Utah)	A member of Stagodontidae. Genus includes new species H. praeceps.
Miminipossum	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Archer et al.	Miocene	Riversleigh World Heritage Area Wipajiri Formation	Australia	A member of Phalangerida belonging to the new family Miminipossumidae. The type species is M. notioplanetes.
Perameles papillon	Sp. nov	Valid	Travouillon & Phillips	Holocene	Nullarbor Plain	Australia	A long-nosed bandicoot.
Varalphadon janetae	Sp. nov	Valid	Carneiro	Late Cretaceous (late Cenomanian to early Coniacian)	Naturita Formation Straight Cliffs Formation	United States (Utah)	A member of Sparassodonta.

Eutherians

• A study on the causes of the increase of body size in aquatic mammals, based on data on the body masses of living and fossil mammals, is published by Gearty, McClain & Payne (2018).
• A study on large mammal burrows from the Upper Miocene Cerro Azul Formation (Argentina), aiming to infer their likely producers and to interpret the taphonomic processes involved in the preservation of the burrow casts, is published by Cardonatto & Melchor (2018).
• A study on the evolution and interconnectedness of the mammal faunas living in the Old World savannas in the Neogene is published by Kaya et al. (2018).
• Faith (2018) evaluates the aridity index, a widely used technique for reconstructing local paleoclimate and water deficits from oxygen isotope composition of fossil mammal teeth, arguing that in some taxa altered drinking behavior (influencing oxygen isotope composition of teeth) might have been caused by dietary change rather than water deficits.
• A revision of the mammal fauna from the Miocene site of Bukwa (Uganda) and a study on the age of this fauna is published by Cote et al. (2018), who interpret their finding as indicating that a significant faunal turnover may have occurred in East Africa between 20 and 19 million years ago.
• A study on the diet of large mammals from the Pleistocene sediments at Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania), as indicated by tooth wear and stable isotope data from fossil teeth, is published by Uno et al. (2018).
• A study on the distance of seed dispersal by extant and extinct mammalian frugivores and on the impact of the extinction of Pleistocene megafauna on seed dispersal is published by Pires et al. (2018).
• A study on the diet and habitat of ungulates from the Middle Pleistocene site of Fontana Ranuccio (Italy) as indicated by their tooth wear is published by Strani et al. (2018).
• A study on the response of large ungulates to the palaeoenvironmental changes that occurred at the passage between the Gelasian and Calabrian in the Italian Peninsula, based on the dental wear patterns and hypsodonty of the ungulates from the fossil assemblage of Olivola (Aulla, Italy), is published by Strani et al. (2018).
• A study on the ungulate and carnivoran carrying capacity of the late Early and early Middle Pleistocene ecosystems of Europe is published by Rodríguez & Mateos (2018).
• A study on the changes of vegetation in the temperate zone of Asia during an interval containing the Mid-Pleistocene Transition, ~1.2–0.7 million years ago, as indicated by pollen data from a drilling core from the North China Plain, as well as on their effect on the large mammal fauna is published by Xinying et al. (2018).
• A study evaluating how the mammoth steppe ecosystem with its expected low vegetation productivity managed to support a high diversity and density of large mammalian herbivores during the Last Glacial Maximum is published by Zhu et al. (2018).
• A study modeling spatial and temporal patterns of habitat suitability for 24 megafauna species and Homo sapiens in the Late Pleistocene in Eurasia is published by Carotenuto et al. (2018), who state that extinct herbivorous megafauna species were consistently rare within habitat patches optimal for humans.
• A study on the morphology of the skulls of extant and extinct elephants and hippos, evaluating the hypothesis that the skulls of extinct island dwarf members of these groups were pedomorphic, is published by van der Geer et al. (2018).

Xenarthrans

• A study on the species distribution of 15 fossil xenarthrans from the late Pleistocene of South America will be published by Varela et al. (2018).
• A study on the microwear patterns in the teeth of the Oligocene sloths Orophodon hapaloides and Octodontotherium grande, as well its implications for inferring the diet of these taxa, will be published by Kalthoff & Green (2018).
• A study on the anatomy of the ear region in Glossotherium robustum and on the evolution of the inner ear anatomy in the xenarthrans is published by Boscaini et al. (2018).
• A study on the internal morphology of the skull of Glossotherium robustum will be published by Boscaini et al. (2018).
• A skull of a megatheriid sloth belonging to a member or a relative of the genus Proeremotherium is described from the Pliocene San Gregorio Formation (Venezuela) by Carlini et al. (2018).
• A study on the feet anatomy of the fossil sloths Megatherium and Eremotherium, as well as its implications for inferring the degree to which their feet were habitually inverted, will be published by Toledo et al. (2018).
• A study on the bone structure of the skull of Thalassocnus and on the evolution of bone mass increase in extinct aquatic sloths is published by Amson, Billet & de Muizon (2018).
• A study on the phylogenetic relationships of Mylodon darwinii, based on mitogenomic and nuclear data, is published by Delsuc et al. (2018).
• A study on the impact of climate changes on the distribution of armadillos as indicated by fossil record will be published by Soibelzon (2018).
• A study on the morphology and histology of glyptodont osteoderms from the Gruta do Urso cave (Brazil), representing the first juvenile specimen of Glyptotherium described from the Late Pleistocene of South America, is published by Luna et al. (2018).
• A study comparing the morphology of South American species of Glyptodon and Glyptotherium, in order to identify diagnostic differences and potential synapomorphies, is published by Zurita et al. (2018).
• A study on the anatomy of the hyoid apparatus of two glyptodontid specimens from Lujanian sediments of the Pampean Region (Argentina), assigned to the genus Panochthus, is published by Zamorano et al. (2018).

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Neoglyptatelus uruguayense	Sp. nov	In press	Fernicola et al.	Late Miocene	Camacho Formation	Uruguay	A member of Cingulata.
Pattersonocnus	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Rincón et al.	Late Miocene	Urumaco Formation	Venezuela	A sloth belonging to the family Megalonychidae. The type species is P. diazgameroi.
Urumacocnus	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Rincón et al.	Late Miocene	Urumaco Formation	Venezuela	A sloth belonging to the family Megalonychidae. The type species is U. urbanii.
Xibalbaonyx microcaninus	Sp. nov	Valid	Stinnesbeck, Frey & Stinnesbeck	Late Pleistocene		Mexico	A ground sloth belonging to the family Megalonychidae.

Afrotherians

• A study on the anatomy and phylogenetic relationships of the elephant shrew Chambius kasserinensis based on known and newly described fossil remains from the Eocene of Tunisia is published by Tabuce (2018).
• Description of the anatomy of middle and inner ears of the golden mole Namachloris arenatans from the Palaeogene of Namibia is published by Mason, Bennett & Pickford (2018).
• A method to estimate the body mass of extinct proboscideans on the basis of skull remains is presented by Jukar, Lyons & Uhen (2018).
• A study on the evolution of the cheek teeth displacement mechanism in elephantiform proboscideans is published by Sanders (2018).
• Phytoliths preserved in the dental calculus of specimens of Gomphotherium connexum and Gomphotherium steinheimense from the Miocene Halamagai Formation (northern Junggar Basin, China) are described by Wu et al. (2018), who interpret their findings as indicating that G. connexum was an obligate browser or a mixed feeder, while G.steinheimense may have had a more grass-dominated feeding preference, and was the earliest-known proboscidean with a predominantly grazing habit.
• Mothé, Ferretti & Avilla (2018) support the validity of Notiomastodon as a genus separate from Stegomastodon, arguing that members of the genus Stegomastodon were absent from South America.
• A study on the diet of the Columbian mammoths, pygmy mammoths and American mastodons as indicated by tooth wear is published by Smith & Desantis (2018).
• A study on the evolutionary history of the family Elephantidae based on 14 genomes from extant and fossil elephantids and from the American mastodon is published by Palkopoulou et al. (2018).

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Promicrogale	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Pickford	Early Miocene		Namibia	A tenrec. The type species is P. namibiensis.
Sobrarbesiren	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Díaz-Berenguer et al.	Eocene (Lutetian)	Sobrarbe Formation	Spain	A sirenian of uncertain phylogenetic placement. The type species is S. cardieli.

Bats

• A study on the phylogeny of extant and fossil short-faced bats (leaf-nosed bats belonging to the subfamily Stenodermatinae and the subtribe Stenodermatina) and on the ancestral distributions of the group, evaluating whether this group was more likely to originate on Antilles or on the American mainland, is published by Tavares et al. (2018).

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Mops kerio	Sp. nov	In press	Gunnell & Manthi	Pliocene	Kanapoi site	Kenya	A species of Mops.
Mops turkwellensis	Sp. nov	In press	Gunnell & Manthi	Pliocene	Kanapoi site	Kenya	A species of Mops.
Pteronotus trevorjacksoni	Sp. nov	Valid	Van Den Hoek Ostende, Van Oijen & Donovan	Late Pleistocene		Jamaica	A species of Pteronotus.
Rousettus pattersoni	Sp. nov	In press	Gunnell & Manthi	Pliocene	Kanapoi site	Kenya	A species of Rousettus.
Saccolaimus kenyensis	Sp. nov	In press	Gunnell & Manthi	Pliocene	Kanapoi site	Kenya	A species of Saccolaimus.
Turkanycteris	Gen. et sp. nov	In press	Gunnell & Manthi	Pliocene	Kanapoi site	Kenya	A very large fruit bat, larger than all extant fruit bats other than some species of Pteropus and Hypsignathus. Genus includes new species T. harrisi.
Vulcanops	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Hand et al.	Early Miocene	Bannockburn Formation	New Zealand	A New Zealand short-tailed bat. The type species is V. jennyworthyae.

Odd-toed ungulates

• Tooth anomalies in two juvenile specimens of the Miocene rhinoceros Prosantorhinus germanicus are described by Böhmer & Rössner (2018), who discuss probable causes of these anomalies.
• A study on the digit reduction in the evolution of horses is published by Solounias et al. (2018).
• A revised diagnosis and a description of the anatomy of the Miocene hipparionine species Sivalhippus ptychodus and S. platyodus from China is published by Sun et al. (2018).
• A study on the ontogeny (mineralization, eruption, and replacement patterns) of postcanine teeth of members of the genus Hipparion from Cerro de los Batallones (Spain) is published by Domingo et al. (2018).
• Review of fossils of members of the family Equidae from the Pleistocene site of lac Karâr (Algeria) is published by Sam (2018).
• A study on the diet and habitat of Pleistocene members of the genera Equus and Hippidion from southern United States, Mexico and South America, as indicated by carbon and oxygen isotopic data, will be published by Pérez-Crespo et al. (2018).

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Ardynia ordosensis	Sp. nov	Valid	Bai, Wang & Zhang	Late Eocene		China	A member of the family Hyracodontidae.
Chilotherium licenti	Sp. nov	In press	Sun, Li & Deng	Late Miocene		China
Epimanteoceras mae	Sp. nov	Valid	Li	Eocene (Irdinmanhan)	Üqbulak Formation	China	A member of the family Brontotheriidae.
Forstercooperia ulanshirehensis	Sp. nov	Valid	Wang et al.	Eocene	Irdin Manha Formation Ulan Shireh Formation	China
Hispanotherium wushanense	Sp. nov	Valid	Sun et al.	Miocene	Wushan Subbasin	China
Maobrontops	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Averianov et al.	Late Eocene	Youganwo Formation	China	A member of the family Brontotheriidae. The type species is M. paganus.
Sellamynodon	Gen. et comb. nov	Valid	Tissier et al.	Late Eocene or Early Oligocene		Romania	A member of the family Amynodontidae. The type species is "Cadurcodon" zimborensis Codrea & Şuraru (1989).
Shanxihippus	Gen. et comb. nov	Valid	Bernor et al.	Late Miocene		China	A member of the family Equidae belonging to the tribe Hipparionini. The type species is "Hipparion" dermatorhinum Sefve (1927).

Even-toed ungulates

• A study evaluating whether tooth measurements of the kind typically used in the systematics of Merycoidodontoidea can diagnose between related, similarly-sized even-toed ungulates is published by Emery-Wetherell & Davis (2018).
• Description of the fossil material of the camel species Camelus thomasi from the Pleistocene locality of Tighennif (Algeria) and a study on the phylogenetic relationships of this species is published by Martini & Geraads (2018).
• New specimen of the fossil peccary Parachoerus carlesi will be described from the Upper Pleistocene of the Chaco Province of Argentina by Gasparini et al. (2018), representing the most complete fossil material of a member this species reported so far, and providing new information on the morphology of the species and the environment it lived in.
• A study on the diet of extinct peccaries in Florida from the late Miocene throughout the Pleistocene, as indicated by tooth microwear and stable carbon isotopes, is published by Bradham et al. (2018).
• A description of the skull anatomy of the fossil suid Nyanzachoerus jaegeri based on new fossil material and a study on the phylogenetic relationships of the species will be published by Reda, Lazagabaster & Haile-Selassie (2018).
• New fossil suid specimens, providing new information on the classification and relationships of the Miocene Suinae from China, will be described from the latest Miocene site of Shuitangba (Zhaotong Basin, China) by Hou et al. (2018).
• A study on the evolution of hypsodonty in ruminants as indicated by phylogeny of ruminants, estimated ancestral ruminant diets and habitats, and fossil record of grasslands is published by Toljagić et al. (2018).
• A study comparing the exclusivity and magnitude of changes in diversification rates during the evolution of ruminants and other lineages of placental mammals is published by Rossi, Mello & Schrago (2018).
• Fossils of the chevrotain Dorcatherium crassum, including a skull and teeth remains, are described from the Miocene (Langhian) of the Faluns Auger quarry (Contres, France) by Mennecart et al. (2018).
• A study on the feeding habits of Morenelaphus as indicated by tooth enamel microwear is published by Rotti et al. (2018).
• A study on the dietary plasticity of specimens of Eucladoceros ctenoides from eight middle and late Villafranchian localities in Europe, as indicated by tooth microwear, is published by Berlioz et al. (2018).
• Antler remains of the wapiti (Cervus canadensis) are described from the Late Paleolithic site of Climăuți II (Moldova) by Croitor & Obada (2018), confirming the presence of wapiti in the Late Pleistocene of western Eurasia.
• Pfeiffer-Deml (2018) raises fossil fallow deer Dama dama geiselana to the rank of a separate species Dama geiselana, and compares its antler and skeletal characteristics with other fossil and recent fallow deers.
• Description of new specimens of Sardomeryx oschiriensis from the Miocene (Burdigalian) of Sardinia (Italy) and a study on the phylogenetic relationships of this species will be published by Mennecart et al. (2018).
• A study on the dietary preferences of extant and fossil members of the family Giraffidae as indicated by teeth microwear is published by Merceron, Colyn & Geraads (2018).
• Giraffe tracks are described from the Pleistocene Waenhuiskrans Formation (Bredasdorp Group, South Africa) by Helm et al. (2018), increasing known historical range of giraffes.
• A study on the diet and habitat of Leptomeryx from the Eocene (Uintan) Yolomécatl Formation (Mexico) as indicated by tooth enamel carbon and oxygen isotopic relationships will be published by Ferrusquía-Villafranca et al. (2018).
• A study on the dietary preferences of members of the tribe Tragelaphini from the Plio-Pleistocene Shungura Formation (Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia) as indicated by their tooth wear is published by Blondel et al. (2018).
• A study on the impact of climate changes on the evolution of body size of members of the genus Bison based on the data from extant and fossil bisons is published by Martin, Mead & Barboza (2018).
• A study on the dietary preference and habitat use of three Mexican samples of Bison antiquus, as indicated by tooth wear, will be published by Díaz-Sibaja et al. (2018).
• A study evaluating when the island of Sulawesi (Indonesia) gained its modern shape and size, and determining the timings of diversification of the three largest endemic mammals on the island (the babirusa, the Celebes warty pig and the anoa) is published by Frantz et al. (2018).

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Bachitherium thraciensis	Sp. nov	Valid	Mennecart et al.	Eocene (latest Bartonian or early Priabonian)		Bulgaria	An early ruminant belonging to the group Tragulina and the family Bachitheriidae.
Candiacervus devosi	Sp. nov	Valid	Van der Geer	Late Pleistocene		Greece	An Old World deer.
Candiacervus listeri	Sp. nov	Valid	Van der Geer	Late Pleistocene		Greece	An Old World deer.
Candiacervus reumeri	Sp. nov	Valid	Van der Geer	Late Pleistocene		Greece	An Old World deer.
Kubanochoerus parvus	Sp. nov	In press	Hou & Deng	Latest Middle or earliest Late Miocene		China	A member of the family Suidae belonging to the subfamily Listriodontinae.
Stryfnotherium	Gen. et sp. nov	In press	Kostopoulos & Soubise	Late Miocene		Greece	A member of the family Bovidae. Genus includes new species S. exophthalmon.

Cetaceans

• A study assessing the lumbar mobility in archaeocetes is published by Bebej & Smith (2018).
• A study on the anatomy of the auditory region of the skull of protocetids as indicated by fossils from the Eocene of Togo is published by Mourlam & Orliac (2018).
• A study on the teeth complexity across fossil and living cetaceans, attempting to identify a trend toward dental simplicity through the Neogene, is published by Peredo, Peredo & Pyenson (2018).
• A quantitative analysis and a study on the evolution of cranial telescoping (sliding of facial bones over each other, in much the same way as long sections of telescope slide over shorter sections) in toothed whales is published by Churchill et al. (2018).
• A study on the morphology of the bony labyrinth in extant and fossil toothed whales is published by Costeur et al. (2018), who interpret their findings as indicating that the bony labyrinth provides key information both about phylogeny and habitat preferences of members of this group of cetaceans.
• Isolated teeth resembling tooth taxon Phococetus vasconum are described from the Pungo River Formation (North Carolina, United States) by Boessenecker (2018), who also notes their similarities to the teeth of Inticetus vertizi, and suggests that Phococetus may be an Inticetus-like, large heterodont toothed whale.
• A study on the life history and ecology of Neogene members of Physeteroidea known from the Lee Creek Mine (North Carolina, United States) based on the examination of their teeth is published by Gilbert, Ivany & Uhen (2018).
• Description of postcranial remains of the stem-beaked whale Messapicetus gregarius from the Miocene (Tortonian) of Peru is published by Ramassamy et al. (2018), who also propose a reconstruction of the musculature of the neck and forelimb of the species.
• An almost complete skull of Llanocetus denticrenatus is described from the Eocene La Meseta Formation (Antarctica) by Fordyce & Marx (2018), who also study the phylogenetic relationships and likely feeding strategy of this species, as well as its implications for inferring the origin of baleen and gigantism in baleen whales.
• Partial periotic bone of a member of the genus Caperea is described from the latest Miocene of southern Australia by Marx et al. (2018), representing the oldest record of this genus reported so far.
• A study on the anatomy of cochleae of extant and extinct cetaceans, the relationships of cochlear shape and the frequency ranges heard by cetaceans, and their implications for determining the occurrence of very low frequency and infrasonic hearing in fossil baleen whales is published by Ritsche et al. (2018).
• Oxygen-isotope analysis of a whale barnacle specimen collected from early Pleistocene deposits of Apulia (Italy) is published by Collareta et al. (2018), who interpret their findings as indicating that the barnacle lived on a cetacean that seasonally migrated towards high-latitude areas outside the Mediterranean.

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Aondelphis	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Viglino et al.	Early Miocene	Gaiman Formation	Argentina	A member of Platanistoidea. The type species is A. talen.
Eschrichtius akishimaensis	Sp. nov	Valid	Kimura, Hasegawa & Kohno	Early Pleistocene		Japan	A relative of the gray whale.
Khoikhoicetus kergueleni	Sp. nov	Valid	Lambert et al.	Uncertain, possibly Miocene		Seafloor 370 km SWW to Kerguelen Islands	A beaked whale belonging to the subfamily Hyperoodontinae.
Macrosqualodelphis	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Bianucci et al.	Miocene (Burdigalian)	Chilcatay Formation	Peru	A member of the family Squalodelphinidae. The type species is M. ukupachai.
Salishicetus	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Peredo & Pyenson	Late Oligocene	Lincoln Creek Formation	United States (Washington)	A member of the family Aetiocetidae. The type species is S. meadi.
Taikicetus	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Tanaka, Ando & Sawamura	Middle Miocene	Hikatagawa Formation	Japan	A cetotheriid-like baleen whale. The type species is T. inouei.
Tlaxcallicetus	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Hernández Cisneros	Late Oligocene	El Cien Formation	Mexico	A member of Chaeomysticeti of uncertain phylogenetic placement. The type species is T. guaycurae.
Toipahautea	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Tsai & Fordyce	Oligocene (Chattian)	Kokoamu Greensand	New Zealand	An archaic baleen whale. The type species is T. waitaki.
Wimahl	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Peredo, Uhen & Nelson	Early Miocene	Astoria Formation	United States (Washington)	A member of the family Kentriodontidae. Genus includes new species W. chinookensis.

Carnivorans

• A systematic examination of members of the family Canidae from the Hemphillian Mehrten Formation (California, United States) is published by Balisi et al. (2018).
• A study evaluating whether body size and the occurrence of skull and teeth traits related to the dietary specialization were correlated with species duration and locality coverage in North American canids over 40 million years of their evolution is published by Balisi, Casey & Van Valkenburgh (2018).
• Description of a sample of coprolites from the Upper Miocene Mehrten Formation (California, United States), likely produced by Borophagus parvus, and a study on their implications for inferring the diet of this species, is published by Wang et al. (2018).
• A study on the phylogenetic relationships of extant and fossil members of the subfamily Caninae will be published by Zrzavý et al. (2018).
• Revision of fossils attributed to the species Canis variabilis and a study on the morphotype variability of the Pleistocene members of the genus Canis is published by Jiangzuo et al. (2018), who considered C. variabilis to be a subspecies of Canis mosbachensis.
• A study on the morphological diversity of the limb bones of fossil and modern North American gray wolves is published by Tomiya & Meachen (2018).
• A study on the morphological and morphometric variability of late Pleistocene gray wolves from Avetrana (Italy) in comparison to other populations from northern and southern Italy, as well as from other localities in Europe, is published by Mecozzi & Bartolini Lucenti (2018).
• A study on the diet of Agriotherium africanum from the South African fossil site of Langebaanweg, as indicated by tooth microwear, will be published by Stynder et al. (2018).
• The complete mitochondrial genome of a ∼22,000-year-old giant panda specimen from the Cizhutuo Cave (Leye County, Guangxi, China) is sequenced by Ko et al. (2018).
• A study on the age of the fossil remains of short-faced bears (Arctodus simus) and brown bears (Ursus arctos) from Pellucidar Cave (Vancouver Island, Canada) is published by Steffen & Fulton (2018).
• A study on the living conditions of Pleistocene bears (belonging to the species Ursus ingressus) from Jaskinia Niedźwiedzia (Bear Cave) in Kletno (Poland) as indicated by the frequency of Harris lines in their bones is published by Nowakowski (2018).
• A study on the diet of the cave bears from four MIS 3 sites in the Carpathian Mountains, based on isotopic data, is published by Robu et al. (2018).
• A study on the feedings preferences and timing of extinction of cave bears in Mediterranean Europe based on data from two Paleolithic cave bear sites in northeastern Italy (Paina Cave and Trene Cave) will be published by Terlato et al. (2018).
• A study on the dynamics of lineage diversification and diversity of body mass and length in the evolution of musteloid carnivorans based on data from extant and fossil taxa is published by Law, Slater & Mehta (2018).
• A study estimating the body mass of the fossil procyonids Cyonasua, Parahyaenodon and Tetraprothomo is published by Tarquini et al. (2018).
• Fossils of members of the genera Nasua and Procyon are described from the Marplatan stage of the El Breal of Orocual locality (Venezuela) by Ruiz-Ramoni, Rincón & Montellano-Ballesteros (2018), representing the oldest record of these procyonids in South America reported so far.
• The first well-preserved skull of the fossil mustelid Leptarctus oregonensis is described from the Miocene Mascall Formation (Oregon, United States) by Calede, Kehl & Davis (2018).
• Femur of a member of the genus Enhydra (a relative of the sea otter) is described from the middle Pleistocene Merced Formation (California, United States) by Boessenecker (2018), representing the oldest record of Enhydra in the Pacific with robust geochronologic age control reported so far.
• New specimens of members of the genus Enaliarctos are described from the Miocene Skooner Gulch Formation (California, United States), Oligocene Yaquina Formation (Oregon, United States) and Miocene Astoria Formation (Oregon, United States) by Poust & Boessenecker (2018), extending the geographic and temporal range of the genus.
• A study on the morphology of the forelimbs of Enaliarctos mealsi and extant phocine earless seals, on the use of forelimbs to secure and tear prey by extant phocine seals, and on its implications for inferring the feeding behaviour of early pinnipeds, is published by Hocking et al. (2018).
• A study on the bone histology of Nanophoca vitulinoides will be published by Dewaele et al. (2018).
• New specimen of Ontocetus emmonsi is described from the Austin Sand Pit (Ridgeville, South Carolina, United States) by Boessenecker, Boessenecker & Geisler (2018), representing the youngest record of O. emmonsi from the Atlantic coastal plain reported so far.
• A study evaluating the ability of the extinct giant fossa to hunt large lemurs will be published by Meador et al. (2018).
• Evidence of Pleistocene hyenas preying upon small rodents is reported from the Bois Roche cave site (France) by Williams et al. (2018).
• Cougar skull will be described from the Pleistocene (Ensenadan) of Argentina by Chimento & Dondas (2018), representing the first unequivocal record of the cougar prior to late Pleistocene times in South America.
• A study on the shape and the dimensions of the bony vestibular system in the inner ear of the cheetah, comparing it with the vestibular system in other extant felids and in the extinct giant cheetah (Acinonyx pardinensis) and Proailurus lemanensis, and on the evolution of the vestibular system of the cheetah is published by Grohé, Lee & Flynn (2018).
• Description of a partial skull of a large felid from the late Villafranchian site of Monte Argentario (Italy), formerly assigned to the species Panthera gombaszoegensis, is published by Cherin et al. (2018), who refer this specimen (and some other Italian materials previously referred to P. gombaszoegensis) to the species Acinonyx pardinensis.
• Description of fossils of at least four adult cave lions (Panthera spelaea) from Medvedia Cave in the Západné Tatra Mountains (Slovakia) and a study on the range and social behavior of members of this taxon is published by Sabol, Gullár & Horvát (2018).
• An exceptionally large skull of a lion, comparable to large specimens of the American lion in terms of skull length and substantially larger than known skulls of extant lions, is described from the Pleistocene of Kenya by Manthi et al. (2018).
• A study on the evolution of the morphological diversity of the mandibles of saber-toothed cats, as well as on the speciation and extinction rates in the evolution of saber-toothed cats, is published by Piras et al. (2018).
• An almost complete skull of Smilodon fatalis will be described from the Pleistocene Sopas Formation (Uruguay) by Manzuetti et al. (2018), representing the first known record of the species from the eastern part of South America.

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Allodesmus demerei	Sp. nov	Valid	Boessenecker & Churchill	Miocene (Tortonian)	Montesano Formation	United States (Washington)
Allodesmus uraiporensis	Sp. nov	Valid	Tonomori et al.	Middle Miocene	Okoppezawa Formation	Japan
Auroraphoca	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Dewaele et al.	Pliocene (Zanclean)	Yorktown Formation	United States (North Carolina)	An earless seal belonging to the subfamily Monachinae. The type species is A. atlantica.
Civettictis braini	Sp. nov	Valid	Fourvel	Pliocene-Pleistocene transition	Kromdraai fossil site	South Africa	A relative of the African civet.
Frisiphoca	Gen. et comb. nov	Valid	Dewaele, Lambert & Louwye	Late Miocene	Probably Diest Formation	Belgium	An earless seal belonging to the subfamily Phocinae. The type species is "Monotherium" aberratum Van Beneden (1876); genus also includes "Monotherium" affine Van Beneden (1876).
Gulo sudorus	Sp. nov	Valid	Samuels, Bredehoeft & Wallace	Early Pliocene (earliest Blancan)	Gray Fossil Site	United States (Tennessee)	A relative of the wolverine.
Katifelis	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Adrian, Werdelin & Grossman	Early Miocene	Lothidok Formation	Kenya	A member of the family Felidae. The type species is K. nightingalei.
Kichechia savagei	Sp. nov	Valid	Adrian, Werdelin & Grossman	Early Miocene	Lothidok Formation	Kenya	A member of the family Viverridae belonging to the subfamily Paradoxurinae.
Leptofelis	Gen. et comb. nov	In press	Salesa et al.	Late Miocene		Spain	A member of the family Felidae belonging to the subfamily Felinae; a new genus for "Styriofelis" vallesiensis Salesa et al. (2012).
Martellictis	Gen. et comb. nov	In press	Bartolini Lucenti	Pleistocene		Austria France Italy Netherlands Slovakia	A member of the family Mustelidae. Genus includes "Mustela" ardea Gervais (1848–1852).
Meles magnus	Sp. nov	Valid	Jiangzuo et al.	Early Pleistocene		China	A badger, a species of Meles.
Nasua mastodonta	Sp. nov	Valid	Emmert & Short	Blancan		United States (Florida)	A species of Nasua.
Noriphoca	Gen. et comb. nov	Valid	Dewaele, Lambert & Louwye	Late Oligocene or early Miocene	Probably Bolognano Formation	Italy	An earless seal belonging to the subfamily Monachinae. The type species is "Monotherium" gaudini (Guiscardi, 1870).
Procyon gipsoni	Sp. nov	Valid	Emmert & Short	Blancan		United States (Florida)	A species of Procyon.
Procyon megalokolos	Sp. nov	Valid	Emmert & Short	Blancan		United States (Florida)	A species of Procyon.
Tchadailurus	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	De Bonis et al.	Late Miocene		Chad	A member of the family Felidae belonging to the subfamily Machairodontinae. The type species is T. adei.
Virginiaphoca	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Dewaele et al.	Late Miocene or Pliocene (Zanclean)	Eastover Formation or Yorktown Formation	United States (Virginia)	An earless seal belonging to the subfamily Monachinae. The type species is V. magurai.

Rodents

• A study on the late Miocene rodents of the Iberoccitanian Region (Iberian Peninsula and southern France), aiming to identify the rodent metacommunities and to analyse their reactions to environmental changes, is published by Blanco et al. (2018).
• A study on the enamel microstructure of the incisors of caviomorph rodents from the Eocene and Oligocene localities in Peruvian Amazon will be published by Boivin et al. (2018).
• A study on the enamel microstructure of the incisors of the hystricognaths and anomaluroids from the Oligocene of Western Sahara will be published by Marivaux et al. (2018).
• A study on the morphology of the lower deciduous premolars of extant and fossil caviomorph rodents and its implications for inferring the phylogenetic relationships of fossil caviomorphs will be published by Verzi, Olivares & Morgan (2018), who argue that Eocene genus Cachiyacuy might be a stem-octodontoid.
• New adult and juvenile specimens of the dinomyid rodent Isostylomys laurillardi will be described from the Miocene Camacho Formation (Uruguay) by Rinderknecht, Bostelmann & Ubilla (2018).
• Description of a well-preserved skull of Telicomys giganteus, estimation of body mass and analysis of the bite mechanics of this species will be published by Rinderknecht et al. (2018).
• The first description of the postcranium of Cardiomys, based on a well-preserved specimen from the late Miocene of Central Argentina, and a study on the paleobiology and systematics of this taxon will be published by Candela, Muñoz & García-Esponda (2018).
• A mandibular fragment of the euryzygomatomyine echimyid Dicolpomys fossor will be described from the late Holocene Sambaquí de Puerto Landa site (Entre Ríos Province, Argentina) by Verzi et al. (2018), representing the most recent record of an extinct South American caviomorph genus reported so far.
• The first known fossil (an almost complete skull) of the San Felipe hutia (Mesocapromys sanfelipensis) is described from a cave room within Cueva del Indio (Mayabeque Province, Cuba) by Viñola Lopez, Garrido & Bermúdez (2018), who interpret their finding as indicating that the modern population of this species is a marginal relic of its former distribution during the Quaternary.
• A revision of the fossils of members of the genus Phoberomys from the late Miocene of Entre Ríos Province (Argentina) and a study on their systematics and phylogenetic relationships is published by Rasia & Candela (2018).
• A study on the morphology of the ossicles of the extinct neoepiblemid rodent Perimys and of extant and extinct caviomorph rodents in general is published by Kerber & Sánchez-Villagra (2018).
• Fossil New World porcupine belonging or related to the species Coendou magnus is described from the Upper Pleistocene of the Santa Fe Province (Argentina) by Vezzosi & Kerber (2018).
• Nine virtual skull endocasts of members of the family Ischyromyidae (members of the genera Pseudotomus, Notoparamys, Reithroparamys and Rapamys) are reconstructed by Bertrand et al. (2018).
• Revision of the problematic Neogene sciurid genus Sinotamias is published by Sinitsa (2018).
• A sciurid rodent is reported from the Miocene Clarkia fossil beds (Latah Formation, Idaho, United States) by Calede et al. (2018), representing the first tetrapod reported from this lagerstätte.
• A study on the enamel ultrastructure of molars of the anomalomyid species Anomalomys gaillardi, as well as extant and fossil spalacids from Ukraine belonging to the genera Pliospalax and Spalax, is published by Nowakowski et al. (2018).

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Aepyocricetus	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Li et al.	Pliocene	Zanda Basin	China	A hamster. Genus includes new species A. liuae.
Cholamys	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Pérez et al.	Deseadan	Salla beds	Bolivia	A New World porcupine. Genus includes new species C. tetralophodonta.
Eoincamys parvus	Sp. nov	In press	Boivin et al.	Early Oligocene	Pozo Formation	Peru	Possibly a member of Chinchilloidea.
Eoincamys valverdei	Sp. nov	In press	Boivin et al.	Early Oligocene	Pozo Formation	Peru	Possibly a member of Chinchilloidea.
Euroxenomys nanus	Sp. nov	Valid	Mörs & Tomida	Early Miocene	Nakamura Formation	Japan	A member of the family Castoridae.
Gregorymys veloxikua	Sp. nov	In press	Jiménez-Hidalgo, Guerrero-Arenas & Smith	Eocene (Chadronian)		Mexico	A member of Geomyidae.
Kichkasteiromys	Gen. et sp. nov	In press	Boivin et al.	Early Oligocene	Pozo Formation	Peru	A member of Erethizontoidea. The type species is K. raimondii.
Lapazomys	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Pérez et al.	Deseadan	Salla beds	Bolivia	A caviomorph rodent related to the group Octodontoidea. Genus includes new species L. hartenbergeri.
Mayomys	Gen. et sp. nov	In press	Boivin et al.	Early Oligocene	Pozo Formation	Peru	A member of Octodontoidea of uncertain phylogenetic placement. The type species is M. confluens.
Migraveramus lavocati	Sp. nov	Valid	Pérez et al.	Deseadan	Salla beds	Bolivia	A caviomorph rodent related to the group Octodontoidea.
Mogilia	Gen. et 2 sp. nov	Valid	Wessels et al.	Eocene and early Oligocene		Serbia	A member of the family Muridae belonging to the subfamily Melissiodontinae. The type species is M. miloshi; genus also includes M. lautus.
Namaparamys	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Mein & Pickford	Eocene (Ypresian/Lutetian)		Namibia	Possibly a relative of Reithroparamys. The type species is N. inexpectatus.
Nannocricetus qiui	Sp. nov	Valid	Li et al.	Pliocene	Zanda Basin	China	A hamster. Genus includes new species A. liuae.
Neocavia pampeana	Sp. nov	Valid	Madozzo-Jaén et al.	Huayquerian	Cerro Azul Formation	Argentina	A member of Caviinae.
Orcemys	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Martin et al.	Early Pleistocene		Spain	A member of Arvicolidae. Genus includes new species O. giberti.
Paracricetodon gracilis	Sp. nov	Valid	Van de Weerd et al.	Early Oligocene		Serbia	A member of the family Muridae belonging to the subfamily Paracricetodontinae.
Paracricetodon stojanovici	Sp. nov	Valid	Van de Weerd et al.	Late Eocene and early Oligocene		Serbia	A member of the family Muridae belonging to the subfamily Paracricetodontinae.
Phenacomys europaeus	Sp. nov	Valid	Van Kolfschoten, Tesakov & Bell	Early Pleistocene (Gelasian)		Netherlands	A heather vole, the first known European member of the genus Phenacomys.
Protosteiromys pattersoni	Sp. nov	Valid	Pérez et al.	Deseadan	Salla beds	Bolivia	A New World porcupine.
Sallamys woodi	Sp. nov	Valid	Pérez et al.	Deseadan	Salla beds	Bolivia	A caviomorph rodent related to the group Octodontoidea.
Selvamys	Gen. et sp. nov	In press	Boivin et al.	Early Oligocene	Pozo Formation	Peru	A member of Octodontoidea of uncertain phylogenetic placement. The type species is S. paulus.
Shapajamys	Gen. et sp. nov	In press	Boivin et al.	Early Oligocene	Pozo Formation	Peru	A member of Erethizontoidea. The type species is S. labocensis.
Tarapotomys	Gen. et 2 sp. nov	In press	Boivin et al.	Early Oligocene	Pozo Formation	Peru	A member of Caviomorpha of uncertain phylogenetic placement. The type species is T. subandinus; genus also includes T. mayoensis.
Tsaukhaebmys	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Pickford	Eocene (Ypresian/Lutetian)		Namibia	A member of the family Zegdoumyidae. The type species is T. calcareus.
Vasseuromys tectus	Sp. nov	Valid	Sinitsa & Nesin	Late Miocene		Ukraine	A dormouse belonging to the subfamily Leithiinae.

Primates

• A study on reconstructing the jaw muscles and bite force of subfossil lemurs from Madagascar, as well as on their implications for inferring the diet of these lemurs, is published by Perry (2018).
• Description of isolated phalanges from four early Eocene localities in Wyoming (United States), indicative of presence of grooming claws in five genera of early haplorhine primates (including Teilhardina), will be published by Boyer et al. (2018).
• A study on the evolutionary history of the New World monkeys (especially on the evolution of their body mass, changes of the mean latitude of their geographic range, and species diversification rates), based on data from extant and fossil species, will be published by Silvestro et al. (2018).
• A tibia of a large-bodied arboreally-adapted Old World monkey (a member or a relative of the genus Rhinocolobus) is described from the Australopithecus afarensis-bearing Upper Laetolil Beds (∼3.7 Ma) of Laetoli (Tanzania) by Laird et al. (2018), who also study the implications of the specimen for inferring the paleoenvironment of the Upper Laetolil Beds.
• A skull of a large papionin monkey is described from the Lower Pleistocene site of Dafnero-3 (Greece) by Kostopoulos et al. (2018), who interpret the anatomy of this skull as indicating that the specimen could equally be ascribed to either the Eurasian genus Paradolichopithecus or to the East Asian Procynocephalus, and argue in favor of the synonymy of these genera.
• A study on the fossil members of the genus Papio from across Africa, focusing on their distinguishing features and distribution, will be published by Gilbert et al. (2018).
• A study evaluating whether climatic and environmental changes were the main cause of extinction of Oreopithecus bambolii is published by DeMiguel & Rook (2018).

General paleoanthropology

• Estimations of body mass in Pliocene and Pleistocene hominins based on lower limb bones dimensions are presented by Ruff et al. (2018).
• A study on the evolution of the brain size in hominins is published by Du et al. (2018).
• A study on the evolution of the mandible shape in hominins, based on an analysis of the mandibular shape variation in a large sample of plesiadapiforms and primates, is published by Raia et al. (2018).
• Domínguez-Rodrigo & Baquedano (2018) evaluate the ability of successful machine learning methods to compare and distinguish various types of bone surface modifications (trampling marks, crocodile bite marks and cut marks made with stone tools) in archaeofaunal assemblages.
• The study published by Gierliński et al. (2017), reporting putative tetrapod footprints with hominin-like characteristics from the late Miocene of Crete (Greece), is criticized by Meldrum & Sarmiento (2018).
• A study aiming to estimate body mass of Orrorin tugenensis and Ardipithecus ramidus is published by Grabowski, Hatala & Jungers (2018).
• A study on the behavioral features which might have contributed to the demographic success of early hominids such as Australopithecus, based on comparison with macaques, is published by Meindl, Chaney & Lovejoy (2018).
• A study on the diversity dynamics of early hominins, evaluating whether the observed patterns of early hominin diversity can be better explained by sampling biases or genuine evolutionary processes, is published by Maxwell et al. (2018).
• A study on the pelvic morphology in Ardipithecus and Australopithecus, evaluating the hypothesis that early hominins retained ischial proportions and orientation that favored greater force production during climbing but limited their ability to hyperextend the hip and walk as economically as modern humans, is published by Kozma et al. (2018).
• New fossils attributable to the species Australopithecus anamensis will be described from Kanapoi (Kenya) by Ward, Plavcan & Manthi (2018).
• Endocrania of two specimens of Australopithecus africanus from Sterkfontein Member 4 (South Africa) are virtually reconstructed by Beaudet et al. (2018).
• A study on the paleoenvironment and diet of Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus robustus as indicated by tooth microwear is published by Peterson et al. (2018).
• A study on the variation in trabecular bone structure of the femoral head in fossil hominins attributed to the species Australopithecus africanus, Paranthropus robustus and to the genus Homo, attempting to reconstruct hip joint loading conditions in these fossil hominins, is published by Ryan et al. (2018).
• The skull of ‘Mrs. Ples’ (Sts 5 specimen of Australopithecus africanus) is interpreted as a skull of a small male rather than a large female individual by Tawane & Thackeray (2018).
• A study on the possible date of the first appearance of Australopithecus sediba as indicated by the average hominin species’ temporal range is published by Robinson et al. (2018).
• Pelvic remains of Homo naledi from the Dinaledi Chamber in the Rising Star Cave system (Cradle of Humankind, South Africa) will be described by VanSickle et al. (2018).
• A study on the minimum number of individuals and on a demographic profile of the assemblage of Homo naledi individuals in the Dinaledi Chamber (Rising Star Cave system, South Africa) is published by Bolter et al. (2018).
• A study on the diet of Homo naledi as indicated by teeth wear textures is published by Ungar & Berger (2018).
• A study comparing tooth shape and size in Homo naledi and other South African Plio-Pleistocene hominins, as well as a study on the possible diet of Homo naledi, is published by Berthaume, Delezene & Kupczik (2018).
• A study on the endocast morphology of Homo naledi, comparing it with other hominoids and fossil hominins, is published by Holloway et al. (2018).
• A study on the phenetic affinities and taxonomic validity of Homo naledi as indicated by teeth morphology will be published by Irish et al. (2018).
• A study on evaluating whether deliberate disposal of corpses is the only likely explanation for large assemblages of fossil human bones from the Middle Pleistocene sites of Sima de los Huesos (Spain) and the Dinaledi Chamber (South Africa) is published by Egeland et al. (2018).
• A study on the phylogenetic relationships of the Pleistocene hominin specimen (a fragmented skullcap) from Kocabaş (Denizli Basin, Turkey) is published by Vialet et al. (2018).
• A study on the morphology and affinities of the hominin calvaria KNM-ER 42700 from Ileret, Kenya is published by Neubauer et al. (2018).
• A study estimating possible adult stature and body mass of the Homo erectus specimen KNM-WT 15000 ("Turkana Boy") is published by Cunningham et al. (2018).
• A study on the humeral rigidity and strength in members of the species Homo erectus known from Zhoukoudian (China), comparing it with the humeral rigidity and strength in the African members of the species, is published by Xing et al. (2018).
• A study on the morphology of teeth of Homo erectus from Zhoukoudian is published by Xing, Martinón-Torres & Bermúdez de Castro (2018).
• A study on the morphology and affinities of the Middle Pleistocene hominin mandible recovered from La Niche cave site of the Montmaurin karst system (France) is published by Vialet et al. (2018).
• A series of excavated Middle Stone Age sites from the Olorgesailie Basin (Kenya), dated as ~320,000 years old, is presented by Brooks et al. (2018), who report evidence of hominins preparing cores and points, exploiting iron-rich rocks to obtain red pigment, and procuring stone tool materials from ≥25–50 km distance.
• A study on the environmental dynamics before and after the onset of the early Middle Stone Age in the Olorgesailie Basin (Kenya) is published by Potts et al. (2018).
• A study on the chronology of the Acheulean and early Middle Stone Age sedimentary deposits in the Olorgesailie Basin (Kenya) is published by Deino et al. (2018).
• A study on the age of stone tools from the Attirampakkam site in India is published by Akhilesh et al. (2018), indicating the emergence of a Middle Paleolithic culture in India at 385 ± 64 thousand years ago.
• Stone tools associated with a skeleton of Rhinoceros philippinensis showing clear signs of butchery are described from a bone bed at Kalinga in the Cagayan Valley of northern Luzon (the Philippines), dated to between 777 and 631 thousand years ago, by Ingicco et al. (2018).
• The study on the Cerutti Mastodon site published by Holen et al. (2017), reporting possible evidence of an unidentified species of the genus Homo living in California 130,000 years ago, is criticized by Ferraro et al. (2018).
• Bone retouchers dated as approximately 125–105,000 years old are described from the Lingjing site in Henan, China by Doyon et al. (2018), representing the first evidence from Eastern Asia for the use of bone as raw material to modify stone tools.
• A study on the antiquity of the remains of Homo antecessor, based on the first direct Electron Spin Resonance dating of a tooth from the TD6 unit of Atapuerca Gran Dolina site (Spain), is published by Duval et al. (2018).
• An assemblage of hominin tracks produced by adults and children potentially as young as 12 months, probably members of the species Homo heidelbergensis living 700,000 years ago, is described from the Upper Awash Valley (Ethiopia) by Altamura et al. (2018).
• A study on the morphology and function of the browridge of the Kabwe 1 archaic hominin specimen is published by Godinho, Spikins & O’Higgins (2018).
• A study intending to detect introgressed Denisovan genetic material in present-day human genomes is published by Browning et al. (2018), who report evidence of Denisovan ancestry in populations from East and South Asia and Papuans, and interpret their findings as indicating that at least two distinct instances of Denisovan admixture into modern humans occurred.
• A study on the morphology of hominin teeth from the Middle Pleistocene sites of Arago (southeast France) and Sima de los Huesos (northern Spain), as well as on their implications for inferring how the settlement of Europe by hominins in the Middle Pleistocene occurred, is published by Bermúdez de Castro et al. (2018).
• A series of partially charred wooden tools is described from the late Middle Pleistocene site of Poggetti Vecchi (central Italy) by Aranguren et al. (2018), who interpret their findings as indicating that Neanderthals were able to choose the appropriate timber and to process it with fire to produce tools.
• A wooden tool (possibly a digging stick), likely produced by Neanderthals, is described from the early Late Pleistocene Aranbaltza III site (Basque Country, Spain) by Rios-Garaizar et al. (2018), representing the oldest wooden tool from southern Europe reported so far.
• Cave art in Cave of La Pasiega, Maltravieso cave and Ardales cave (Spain) is dated as older than 64,000 years (thus predating the arrival of modern humans in Europe) by Hoffmann et al. (2018), who interpret their findings as indicative of Neandertal authorship of the art.
• A study on the age of the flowstone capping the Cueva de los Aviones deposit in southeast Spain is published by Hoffmann et al. (2018), who report that Neanderthal-associated evidence of symbolic behavior found at the site is 115,000 to 120,000 years old and predates the earliest known comparable evidence associated with modern humans by 20,000 to 40,000 years.
• Genomes of five Neanderthals from Belgium (Spy Cave and Goyet Caves), France (Les Cottés cave), Croatia (Vindija Cave) and Russia (Mezmaiskaya cave), who lived around 39,000 to 47,000 years ago, are sequenced by Hajdinjak et al. (2018).
• A study evaluating three hypotheses forwarded to explain the distinctive Neanderthal face is published by Wroe et al. (2018).
• A study evaluating ecological niche similarity between the datasets of morphologically diagnostic Neanderthal remains and of archaeological sites with Middle Paleolithic artifacts (but no diagnostic hominin remains), as well as assessing its implications for infering whether those archaeological sites represent Neanderthal occurrences, is published by Bible & Peterson (2018).
• Gaudzinski-Windheuser et al. (2018) report perforations observed on two fallow deer skeletons from the 120,000-year-old lake shore deposits from Neumark-Nord (Germany), interpreted as evidence of close-range use of thrusting spears by Neanderthals.
• A study on the timing and duration of periods of climate deterioration in the interior of the Iberian Peninsula in the late Pleistocene, evaluating the impact of climate on the abandonment of inner Iberian territories by Neanderthals 42,000 years ago, is published by Wolf et al. (2018).
• A study aiming to reconstruct 3D brain shape of Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens is published by Kochiyama et al. (2018).
• A study on the use of plants by early modern humans during the Middle Stone Age as indicated by analyses of phytoliths from the Pinnacle Point locality (South Africa) is published by Esteban et al. (2018).
• A study on the climatic changes in the Lake Tana area in the last 150,000 years and their implications for early modern human dispersal out of Africa is published by Lamb et al. (2018).
• A study on the evolution of modern human brain shape based on endocasts of Homo sapiens fossils from different geologic time periods is published by Neubauer, Hublin & Gunz (2018).
• Late Pleistocene hominin tracks, probably produced by Homo sapiens, are described from the Waenhuiskrans Formation (South Africa) by Helm et al. (2018).
• A study on the age of a modern human mandible with teeth from the Misliya cave (Mount Carmel, Israel) is published by Hershkovitz et al. (2018), who date the fossil as at least 177,000 years old, representing the oldest reported fossil of a member of the Homo sapiens clade found outside Africa.
• A phalanx of a member of the species Homo sapiens is described from the ~95–86,000 years old Al Wusta site (An Nafud, Saudi Arabia) by Groucutt et al. (2018), representing the oldest directly dated fossil of Homo sapiens found outside Africa and the Levant.
• A study on the effects of the Toba supereruption in East Africa is published by Yost et al. (2018), who find no evidence of the erupton causing a volcanic winter in East Africa or a population bottleneck among African populations of anatomically modern humans.
• Microscopic glass shards characteristic of the Youngest Toba Tuff (ashfall from the Toba eruption), dated as approximately 74,000 years old, are described from two archaeological sites on the south coast of South Africa by Smith et al. (2018), who interpret their findings as indicating that humans in this region thrived through the Toba event and the ensuing full glacial conditions.
• Evidence of human activity dating back to 78,000 years ago is reported from the Panga ya Saidi cave (Kenya) by Shipton et al. (2018), who describe a rich technological sequence that includes lithic forms elsewhere associated with the Middle Stone Age and the Later Stone Age.
• A reassessment of the Late Pleistocene human occupation site at Leang Burung 2 (Sulawesi, Indonesia), presenting new stratigraphic information and dating evidence from the site, is published by Brumm et al. (2018).
• Genomic data from seven 15,000-year-old modern humans from Morocco, attributed to the Iberomaurusian culture, is presented by van de Loosdrecht et al. (2018), who report evidence of a genetic affinity of the studied individuals with early Holocene Near Easterners.
• Description of the morphology of three partial human mandibles from the Niah Caves (Sarawak, Malaysia) and a study on the age of these bones is published by Curnoe et al. (2018).
• A study on the timing of the latest Pleistocene glaciation in southeastern Alaska and its implication for inferring the route and timing of early human migration to the Americas is published by Lesnek et al. (2018).
• A study on the technological traits of fluted projectile points from northern Alaska and Yukon, in combination with artifacts from further south in Canada, the Great Plains, and eastern United States, evaluating the plausibility of historical relatedness and evolutionary patterns in the spread of fluted-point technology in North America in the latest Pleistocene and earliest Holocene, is published by Smith & Goebel (2018).
• Late Pleistocene human footprints left by a minimum of three people are described from the Calvert Island (British Columbia, Canada) by McLaren et al. (2018).
• Associated human and ground sloth tracks are described from the Rancholabrean deposits in the White Sands National Monument (New Mexico, United States) by Bustos et al. (2018), who interpret their finding as evidence of humans actively stalking, harassing and likely hunting ground sloths in the late Pleistocene.
• A study on the age of the Anzick burial site (Montana, United States) is published by Becerra-Valdivia et al. (2018).
• The genome of two infants from the Upward Sun River site dated 11,500 years ago is sequenced, leading to the discovery of the Ancient Beringian ethnic group.
• Scheib et al. (2018) sequence 91 ancient human genomes from California and southwestern Ontario, demonstrating the existence of two distinct ancestries in North America, and finding contribution from both of these ancestral populations in all modern Central and South Americans.
• A study on the Mesolithic site of Star Carr, indicating that there was intensive human activity at the site for several hundred years when the community was subject to multiple, severe, abrupt climate events that impacted air temperatures, the landscape and the ecosystem of the region, is published by Blockley et al. (2018).
• A study on the tools preserved with Ötzi, evaluating their implications for inferring Ötzi's individual history, the reconstruction of his last days and his cultural and social background, is published by Wierer et al. (2018).

New taxa

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Asiadapis tapiensis	Sp. nov	In press	Rose et al.	Eocene (early Ypresian)	Cambay Shale Formation	India
Junzi	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Turvey et al.	Holocene		China	A gibbon. Genus includes new species J. imperialis.

Other eutherians

• Putative Cretaceous metatherian Sinodelphys szalayi is reinterpreted as an early member of Eutheria by Bi et al. (2018).
• A study on the anatomy of the Early Cretaceous eutherian Endotherium niinomii is published by Wang et al. (2018), who consider this species to be a valid taxon.
• Napoli et al. (2018) digitally visualize and describe the endocast of a taeniodont Onychodectes tisonensis.
• A study evaluating when solenodons split from other eulipotyphlans, based on updated fossil calibrations, is published by Springer, Murphy & Roca (2018), who place the split between solenodons and other eulipotyphlans in the Late Cretaceous.
• A study on the phylogenetic relationships of the gymnure Deinogalerix within the tribe Galericini will be published by Borrani et al. (2018).
• A study on the systematic usefulness of the humerus in proterotheriid litopterns is published by Corona, Perea & Ubilla (2018), who consider the species Proterotherium berroi Kraglievich (1930) to be a probable synonym of Neolicaphrium recens.
• A study on the diversity of shapes of snout in notoungulates and on the evolution of the wide range of shapes of snout in this group of mammals is published by Gomes Rodrigues et al. (2018).
• A study on the variation of teeth shape and on the factors affecting changes in the shape of teeth of notopithecid notoungulates is published by Scarano & Vera (2018).
• A study on the variation of teeth shape in late Miocene members of the hegetotheriid notoungulate genus Paedotherium, as well as its implications for the systematics and phylogenetic relationships of the late Miocene species of Paedotherium, will be published by Ercoli et al. (2018).
• A study on the variability of the diagnostic characters in the fossils of members of the hegetotheriid notoungulate genus Tremacyllus will be published by Sostillo, Cerdeño & Montalvo (2018), who consider the species T. incipiens to be a junior synonym of the species T. impressus.
• A study on the braincase anatomy in mesotheriid notoungulates will be published by Fernández-Monescillo et al. (2018).
• Fernández-Monescill et al. (2018) provide muscular reconstruction and infer functional properties of the forelimb of the mesotheriid notoungulate Plesiotypotherium achirense.
• A study on the tooth wear, tooth replacement and enamel microstructure in a perissodactyl-like ungulate Cambaytherium will be published by von Koenigswald et al. (2018).

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Ambolestes	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Bi et al.	Early Cretaceous		China	An early eutherian. Genus includes new species A. zhoui.
Arcius hookeri	Sp. nov	Valid	López-Torres & Silcox	Early Eocene		United Kingdom	A member of Plesiadapiformes belonging to the family Paromomyidae.
Arcius ilerdensis	Sp. nov	Valid	López-Torres & Silcox	Early Eocene		Spain	A member of Plesiadapiformes belonging to the family Paromomyidae.
Chiromyoides mauberti	Sp. nov	Valid	De Bast, Gagnaison & Smith	Late Paleocene		France	A member of Plesiadapiformes belonging to the family Plesiadapidae.
Darbonetus sigei	Sp. nov	Valid	Hooker	Eocene (Priabonian)		France	A member of the family Nyctitheriidae.
Dissacus raslanloubatieri	Sp. nov	In press	Solé et al.	Eocene (Ypresian)		France	A member of the family Mesonychidae.
Dissacus rougierae	Sp. nov	In press	Solé et al.	Eocene (Ypresian)		France	A member of the family Mesonychidae.
Eomorphippus bondi	Sp. nov	Valid	Wyss, Flynn & Croft	Early Oligocene	Abanico Formation	Chile	A notohippid notoungulate.
Eomorphippus neilopdykei	Sp. nov	Valid	Wyss, Flynn & Croft	Early Oligocene	Abanico Formation	Chile	A notohippid notoungulate.
Falcontoxodon	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Carrillo et al.	Pliocene/Pleistocene	Codore Formation, Falcón Basin	Venezuela	A member of Toxodontidae. Genus includes new species F. aguilerai.
Hilarcotherium miyou	Sp. nov	Valid	Carrillo et al.	Middle Miocene	Castilletes Formation	Colombia	A member of Astrapotheriidae.
Hovurlestes	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Lopatin & Averianov	Early Cretaceous (Aptian–Albian)	Höovör locality	Mongolia	A basal member of Eutheria. The type species is H. noyon.
Llullataruca	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	McGrath, Anaya & Croft	Laventan		Bolivia	A member of Litopterna belonging the family Macraucheniidae. Genus includes new species L. shockeyi.
Platychoerops boyeri	Sp. nov	Valid	De Bast, Gagnaison & Smith	Late Paleocene		France	A member of Plesiadapiformes belonging to the family Plesiadapidae.
Plesiadapis ploegi	Sp. nov	Valid	De Bast, Gagnaison & Smith	Late Paleocene		France	A member of Plesiadapiformes belonging to the family Plesiadapidae.
Propterodon panganensis	Sp. nov	Valid	De Bonis et al.	Middle Eocene	Pondaung Formation	Myanmar	A member of the family Hyaenodontidae.
Rosendo	Gen. et comb. nov	Valid	Wyss, Flynn & Croft	Early Oligocene	Sarmiento Formation	Argentina Chile	A notohippid notoungulate; a new genus for "Eomorphippus" pascuali Simpson (1967).
Rusconitherium	Gen. et comb. nov	In press	Cerdeño, Vera & Combina	Early Miocene	Mariño Formation	Argentina	A mesotheriid notoungulate; a new genus for "Trachytherus" mendocensis Simpson & Minoprio (1949).
Sardolagus	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Angelone et al.	Early Pleistocene		Italy	A member of the family Leporidae. Genus includes new species S. obscurus.
Shargainosorex	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Zazhigin & Voyta	Middle Miocene	Oshin Suite	Mongolia	A shrew belonging to the subfamily Crocidosoricinae. The type species is S. angustirostris.
Termastherium	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Wyss, Flynn & Croft	Early Oligocene	Abanico Formation	Chile	A leontiniid notoungulate. Genus includes new species T. flacoensis.
‘Theosodon’ arozquetai	Sp. nov	Valid	McGrath, Anaya & Croft	Laventan		Bolivia	A member of Litopterna belonging the family Macraucheniidae, tentatively referred to the genus Theosodon.
Wyonycteris kingi	Sp. nov	In press	Hooker	Paleogene	Woolwich Formation	United Kingdom	A member of the family Nyctitheriidae.
Xotodon caravela	Sp. nov	Valid	Armella, García-López & Dominguez	Late Miocene-early Pliocene	Aconquija Formation	Argentina

Other mammals

• A diverse footprint assemblage dominated by small mammal tracks is described from the Lower Cretaceous Patuxent Formation (Maryland, United States) by Stanford et al. (2018), who name a new mammal ichnotaxon Sederipes goddardensis.
• A revision of the teeth and mandibular fossils of members of the genus Docodon from Yale Quarry 9 at the Como Bluff site in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation will be published by Schultz, Bhullar & Luo (2018), who argue that the fossils from that quarry represent only one species, Docodon victor.
• A description of the middle ear ossicles of Arboroharamiya is published by Meng et al. (2018).
• Asymmetric bicrural stapes is reported in the Jurassic multituberculate Pseudobolodon oreas by Schultz, Ruf & Martin (2018).
• New specimens of the cladotherian species Palaeoxonodon ooliticus (two partial dentaries) are described from the Middle Jurassic Kilmaluag Formation (Isle of Skye, Scotland, United Kingdom) by Panciroli, Benson & Butler (2018).
• Description of new dental and dentary specimens of Reigitherium from the Upper Cretaceous La Colonia Formation (Argentina) and a study on the phylogenetic relationships of this taxon will be published by Harper, Parras & Rougier (2018).

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Unit	Location	Notes	Images
Brasilestes	Gen. et sp. nov		Castro et al.	Late Cretaceous	Adamantina Formation	Brazil	An early member of Tribosphenida. The type species is B. stardusti.
Catopsalis kakwa	Sp. nov	Valid	Scott, Weil & Theodor	Early Paleocene		Canada (Alberta)	A multituberculate belonging to the group Taeniolabidoidea.
Cifelliodon	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Huttenlocker et al.	Early Cretaceous	Cedar Mountain Formation	United States (Utah)	A member of Haramiyida belonging to the family Hahnodontidae. The type species is C. wahkarmoosuch.
Litovoi	Gen. et sp. nov	Valid	Csiki-Sava et al.	Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian)		Romania	A multituberculate belonging to the family Kogaionidae. The type species is L. tholocephalos.