Smutsia olteniensis
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| Smutsia olteniensis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Pholidota |
| Family: | Manidae |
| Genus: | Smutsia |
| Species: | †S. olteniensis
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| Binomial name | |
| †Smutsia olteniensis | |
Smutsia olteniensis is an extinct species of the genus Smutsia, more commonly known as the African ground pangolins, existing in the family Manidae.[1] This species is thought to have lived within the range of the Pleistocene Epoch.[2] Fossilized remains of the species were found in Romania, providing irrefutable evidence regarding the existence of pangolins in Europe during the Plio-Pleistocene period.
Description
The appearance of Smutsia olteniensis is assumed to be closely similar to that of its two extant relatives, Smutsia gigantea and Smutsia temminckii, the giant pangolin and ground pangolin, respectively. All pangolins are known to be coated with keratinous scales, a rigid structure made up of a mixture of keratins, keratin-filament-associated proteins, and numerous other additional proteins.[3] Due to this, they are sometimes referred to as scaly anteaters. Along with these scales, a group of adaptations regarding pangolin skulls unite the clade; these adaptations are linked to their diet, with all pangolins being myrmecophagous. These adaptations include a complete loss of teeth, a long, narrow, sticky tongue, and forelimbs with claws adapted for efficient digging.[4] Most species of pangolins also exhibit some varying form of dimorphism in body size, with males being larger and longer.
Analysis of a right humerus of Smutsia olteniensis, as well as comparison with extant Smutsia pangolins and a Pliocene humerus belonging to Smutsia gigantea, has led to the discovery of several major differences among the specimen humerus, warranting the creation of a new species. Based on this humerus, the estimated size of Smutsia olteniensis identifies it as smaller than extant adult giant pangolins (normally recorded weighing around 30 kg), making it comparable in size to a juvenile Smutsia gigantea, but larger than the Pliocene counterpart. Humerus size also places it as substantially larger than Smutsia temminckii, the ground pangolin. The majority of bone features suggest that the specimen is closer in morphology to extant pangolin species than any pre-Pliocene fossils. Broadly speaking, the specimen appears to be most similar to the giant pangolin (Smutsia gigantea), but does share some bone resemblance with the ground pangolin (Smutsia temminckii), such as its globose capitulum. It also has some very meaningful differences in bone structure from both of these mentioned species, such as a larger supinator crest, which has been significantly identified as a feature found in older pangolin fossils.[5]
Taxonomy
The pangolins, order Pholidota, have a somewhat poorly understood evolutionary history. This is mostly due to morphological factors, such as the lack of dentition among pangolins (due to diet-based adaptations), as well as geographical distribution, as extant pangolin groups often feature low population densities while inhabiting tropical or subtropical ecosystems, where decay is accelerated.[6] The combination of these attributes have led to a lack of contributions in addressing pangolin taxonomy, and thus an incomplete understanding of them.
Consistent debate, as well as a combination of studies (mostly morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses) in recent years have established Pholidota as the sister taxon to Carnivora, while placing all extant pangolins into the monophyletic family Manidae. As of recently, the most commonly accepted taxonomy describes three extant genera, the Manis of southern Asia, and the Phataginus and Smutsia of Sub-Saharan Africa.
The Smutsia genus currently contains three species: Smutsia gigantea, Smutsia temminckii, and the most recently discovered Smutsia olteniensis. Of these three species, Smutsia gigantea and Smutsia temminckii are still in existence, while Smutsia olteniensis is thought to have lived around 1.9 to 2.2 million years ago. The fossil record suggests that Smutsia olteniensis may have been more closely related to Smutsia gigantea, the giant pangolin.
Discovery and Naming
A humerus was recovered in the 1960s from the fossil locality known as Graunceanu, located in the Oltet River Valley of Romania. This region was explored extensively in the 1960s, with multiple fossil localities named in the vicinity of the village of Tetoui. This region remains a very fossiliferous early Pleistocene site in eastern Europe, with a collection estimated to hold 5000-6000 specimen originating from Graunceanu alone. A wide range of taxa have been identified from the site, ranging from ungulate to avian.
Previous reports and publications regarding the site communicated a difficult to identify species, likely of the genus Manis; however, they did not choose to go into detail on the fossil. Thus, recent reanalysis has expanded information on fauna from the Graunceanu region, as well as other fossil localities existing in the surrounding area. A right humerus was accessioned, catalogued, and photographed in a reinventory process, with prior records and inventories from the original excavation having been lost.
It became clear during the process that the humerus derived from a pangolin, pointing specifically to the ground pangolin genus Smutsia. Although very similar to the giant pangolin (Smutsia gigantea) in most respects, the humerus also shared similarities with other extant pangolins, as well as major differences. Unique features justified the creation of a novel species, Smutsia olteniensis. This notably confirmed the presence of pangolins in Pleistocene Europe, while placing the specimen into the genus Smutsia, present today only in Africa.
The species name recognizes the origin of the humerus fossil that determined it as a new species, found in the region of Oltenia, Romania.
Behavior
It's difficult to infer the behavior of Smutsia olteniensis based on its fossil record alone, however a sharing of very specific traits and adaptations in the Smutsia genus, as well as among pangolins as a whole, makes it very likely Smutsia olteniensis acted similarly to its extant relatives.
Diet
Pangolin species are well adapted to consuming a variety of ants and termites, thus making them myrmecophagous. They lack teeth entirely, and instead rely on their sticky tongues, often stretching them to great lengths in order to reach inside of insect nests, such as termite mounds. They are commonly seen as being picky eaters, choosing to only feed on one or few species of insects that exist around them, if possible. Extant relatives, such as the ground pangolin (Smutsia temmincki), have been observed feeding in grass, bare ground, tree bases, fallen logs, shrubs, and roots; however, the majority were observed showing preference to areas of shrubs and fallen logs, with bare grounds following after.[7]
Other
Members of this clade range from being arboreal or semi-arboreal to fully terrestrial.
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References
- ^ Terhune, Claire E.; Gaudin, Timothy; Curran, Sabrina; Petculescu, Alexandru (2021-07-04). "The youngest pangolin (Mammalia, Pholidota) from Europe". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 41 (4): e1990075. doi:10.1080/02724634.2021.1990075. ISSN 0272-4634.
- ^ McGowan, Matt (2022-01-10). ""Researchers discover fossil of new species of pangolin in Europe"". ScienceDaily.
- ^ Bragulla, Hermann H.; Homberger, Dominique G. (April 2009). "Structure and functions of keratin proteins in simple, stratified, keratinized and cornified epithelia". Journal of Anatomy. 214 (4): 516–559. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7580.2009.01066.x. ISSN 0021-8782. PMC 2736122. PMID 19422428.
- ^ Gaudin, Timothy J.; Emry, Robert J.; Wible, John R. (2009-08-28). "The Phylogeny of Living and Extinct Pangolins (Mammalia, Pholidota) and Associated Taxa: A Morphology Based Analysis". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 16 (4): 235. doi:10.1007/s10914-009-9119-9. ISSN 1573-7055.
- ^ Gaudin, Timothy J.; Emry, Robert J.; Morris, Jeremy (2016-09-22). "Skeletal Anatomy of the North American Pangolin Patriomanis americana (Mammalia, Pholidota) from the Latest Eocene of Wyoming (USA)". Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology (98): vii–102. doi:10.5479/si.1943-6688.98. ISSN 1943-6688.
- ^ Gaudin, Timothy J.; Gaubert, Philippe; Billet, Guillaume; Hautier, Lionel; Ferreira-Cardoso, Sérgio; Wible, John R. (2020-01-01), Challender, Daniel W. S.; Nash, Helen C.; Waterman, Carly (eds.), "Chapter 1 - Evolution and morphology", Pangolins, Biodiversity of World: Conservation from Genes to Landscapes, Academic Press, pp. 5–23, doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-815507-3.00001-0, ISBN 978-0-12-815507-3, retrieved 2022-04-07
- ^ Richer, Renee; Coulson, Ian; Heath, Martha (2003-12-17). "Foraging behaviour and ecology of the Cape pangolin (Manis temminckii) in north-western Zimbabwe". African Journal of Ecology. 35 (4): 361–369. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2028.1997.101-89101.x. ISSN 0141-6707.
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