Paratethyphoca libera, Otriazhyi & Obadă & Kovalchuk & Vasilyan & Gol’din, 2025

Species Paratethyphoca libera sp. nov.

Holotype: MCFFM V-150

Type Locality: Mîrzeşti , Moldova (approximate coordinates 47.49885 N, 28.99998 E) GoogleMaps .

Type Horizon: Bessarabian shelly limestones.

Age/Stratigraphy: 12.0–9.9 Ma, Bessarabian (late Middle—early Late Miocene) of Eastern Paratethys.

Diagnosis

Paratethyphoca libera belongs to Phocinae in having (1) an ascending process of the premaxilla outside the nasal cavity and visible laterally, (2) a great development of the humeral supinator, and (3) a trochlea of humerus larger than a capitulum. It differs from all Monachinae in a pointed (rather than flattened) distal end of the styloid process of the ulna, and the metatarsal III longer than half of the metatarsal I.

Paratethyphoca libera differs from all Phocinae in the presence of a supraorbital process of the frontal bone in the posterior portion of the bone, a unique autapomorphic feature (other Phocinae lack it, or, in the case of Cystophora cristata , have it in the anterior portion of the frontal). It further differs from all Phocinae in a proportionally long humerus (as long as 88% of the skull length).

Paratethyphoca libera also differs from most Phocinae but Monachopsis pontica in its long snout (as long as the orbits). It differs from all crown Phocinae except Erignathus barbatus in having a well-developed chin prominence of the mandible (also shared by Monachopsis pontica ). It is distinguished from all Phocinae except some of the Paratethyan seals (e.g., NMNHU-P 64–707, ONU 3721, ZKM P-612), in a shallow supraspinous fossa of the scapula (20% of the bone length from the glenoid fossa to the dorsal margin), and further differs from NMNHU-P 64–707 in a convex cranial scapular edge.

Paratethyphoca libera also differs from most Phocinae in several features of its humerus: a humeral lesser tubercle below the level of the humeral head (also shared by Devinophoca spp. , Praepusa spp. , Cryptophoca maeotica NMNHU-P 64–530, Pontophoca sarmatica NMNHU-P 64–1713/10, Pachyphoca ukrainica NMNHU-P 64–701, Phoca bessarabica AICUPM SF-3); a smooth distal termination of the deltoid crest (contrary to a sharp distal termination) (shared by Pachyphoca ukrainica , Pontophoca sarmatica , and Devinophoca spp. ), and it further differs from other Paratethyan seals (except for Pachyphoca ukrainica and Pontophoca sarmatica ) in a deltoid crest distally reaching only half of the bone length.

Description

Skull ( Fig. 3 View Fig )

MCFFM V-150 preserved the nasal, frontal, and maxillary bones, with partially preserved palatal and alveolar processes. Also, it includes the nasal process of the premaxilla, an anterior fragment of the jugal, and the damaged neurocranium. Te parietal, lateral occipital (mostly the occipital condyles), squamosal (mostly the mandibular fossa) and tympanic bullae are also partially preserved. Te length of the skull (from the base of the occipital condyle to the nasal cavity) is 128 mm. Te DNFO/RH ratio (distance from the nasal foramen to orbit/height of the rostrum at the rostral edge of the nasal) equals 130%. Te snout, measured from the orbit to the nasal cavity, is approximately as long as the orbit.

Te nasal has a pointed posterior edge. It transversely expands both posteriorly and in its anteriormost part. Te posterior end of the nasal is located posteriorly to the maxilla-frontal suture. Te nasal is 11.3 times longer than its medial width (the length is 42.0 mm, and the width of the nasal is 3.8 mm).

Te premaxilla-nasal suture is short (7.1 mm). Te palatal process of the maxilla is slightly concave ventrally. Te maxilla has a small antorbital process.

Te interorbital minimum width (7.2 mm) is about 10% of the braincase width, and it is located in the anterior half of the interorbital region. Te frontal has a transversely short supraorbital process, and its maximum width is 14.6 mm.