Talpa masinii, Marchetti, Marco, 2024

Talpa masinii n. sp.

Text-fig. 10 http://zoobank.org:act: E32BC2FE-8E69-4B6F-9E24-6654BC14682F

1962 T. minor young individuals; Sulimski, tab. 4, pl. I, figs 5–7. [Węże 1]

1996 T. minor ; Dahlmann and Storch, tab. 5, pl. 1, fig. 17. [Gundersheim 4]

1997 Talpa sp. ; Fanfani and Masini, p. 371, pl. 1 figs 7–9. [Rivoli Veronese ]

1999 Talpa sp. ; Fanfani, pl. I.7, figs f–h. [Rivoli Veronese ]

2001 T. minor ; Dahlmann, tab. 8, fig. 7.2–3, pl. 7 figs 4–5. [Wölfersheim]

2004 T. cf. minor ; Sabol, tab. 7.1 + 7.2, figs 7.1.1, 7.1.2. [Hajnáčka 1]

2015 T. minor ; Bona et al., tab. 7, pl. 2, fig. 2 (CSG 24). [Coste San Giacomo]

2022 Talpa n. sp.; Berto et al., tab. 3, fig. 2. [Rivoli Veronese ]

H o l o t y p e. Right humerus (inv. no. RV374, Museo di Paleontologia e Preistoria Piero Leonardi of the University of Ferrara; Text-fig. 10a).

P a r a t y p e s. 1 toothless left mandible (RV386), 1 right mandible with p3 and m2 (RV385), 1 sternum (RV330), 3 left humeri (from RV375 to RV377), 1 right humerus (RV374), 1 right distal humerus (RV373), 1 left radius (RV381), 1 left distal femur (RV358), 1 right distal femur (RV383), 1 right proximal tibia (RV382).

E t y m o l o g y. In honour of Prof. Federico Masini of the Faculty of Mathematical, Physical, and Natural Sciences of the University of Palermo, who first acknowledged that the remains of this tiny mole probably belonged to a new species.

T y p e l o c a l i t y. Rivoli Veronese (Verona, north-eastern Italy). Late Villanyian – MN17/1.

M e a s u r e m e n t s. See Table 2.

D i a g n o s i s. Talpa species much smaller than any

Ruscinian to modern Talpa species in both cranial and postcranial elements, bearing at least up to three mental foramina and the pectoral tubercle of the humerus positioned in a rather variable position (central in some specimens, lateral in others).

D i f f e r e n t i a l d i a g n o s i s. It differs from the similarly-sized T. minuta BLAINVILLE, 1840 , as described by Hutchison (1974) and Ziegler (2003, 2006), because the only teeth available for comparison (p3 and m2) are distinctively smaller than those of T. minuta , while the Lm1

is, conversely, somewhat larger (even more so, because derived from alveolar length); furthermore, in T. masinii n.

sp. the pectoral tubercle is in a central to lateral position, while in T. minuta it is always centrally placed; additionally, the former mole, though this observation is based on one individual, bears three mandibular foramina, whereas the latter mole consistently exhibits only two mandibular foramina.

The small species, T. neagui and T. minor , are found respectively during the Ruscinian – MN 14–15 and since the early Villanyian – MN 16 to Toringian – MQ 2. Reference populations of the former species are those from Bereşti (type locality), Măluşteni, Węże 1, and Podlesice ( Rădulescu and Samson 1989), all well described and rich in number of remains. Reference populations for the latter species are mainly those from Erpfingen 3 ( Heller 1958), Petersbuch 1 ( Koenigswald 1970), Hundsheim (type locality) ( Rabeder 1972), Betfia ( Rzebik-Kowalska 2000), Żabia Cave ( Rzebik-Kowalska 2013), and Rivoli Veronese ( Berto et al. 2022) . The smallest remains from Rivoli Veronese differ noticeably from the two above-mentioned species in their unambiguously smaller size. Only exceptionally, in few cranial and postcranial elements, they reach the size of the smallest specimens of T. neagui and T. minor . However, when the proportions of the corresponding elements are considered, they totally differ from those of the latter two species. Moreover, the pectoral tubercle of the humerus is positioned in a central to lateral position, while it is always in a central position in T. neagui , and conversely, in a lateral position in T. minor .

Because the remains of this tiny mole differ from the other fossil and recent mole species, and are represented by cranial and postcranial remains with a high systematic value among talpids, such as mandibles, and especially, some well-preserved humeri, this definitely supported the past idea that they represented a new species.

D e s c r i p t i o n. All the cranial and postcranial elements are tiny, although they belong to adult individuals. Even those postcranial elements, such as sternum, radius, femurs, and tibia, that basically have no morphological features useful to discriminate among Talpa species, can nevertheless be assigned to the new species. In fact, they are distinctively smaller than those from Rivoli Veronese assigned to T. minor , or those from the collection of the Museo di Paleontologia e Preistoria Piero Leonardi of the University of Ferrara belonging to T. caeca , a species slightly larger than T. minor , collected near Tarvisio (Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region, north-eastern Italian Alps) and in Grotta della Serratuta (near Marina di Camerota, Salerno, Campania Region, southern Italy), in strata of latest Pleistocene to sub-recent age.

Mandibles. Based on scanty remains, three mental foramina, one below the original emplacement of m1, between the two alveoli, one below the distal end of the emplacement of p3, one below the original emplacement of p1 and p2, at the boundary of their alveoli.

Teeth. m2 and p3 are badly preserved, so no morphological features can be described.

Humeri. V-shaped delto-pectoral ridge; rather variable pectoral tubercle both in outline and position, respectively triangular and in a central position (RV374; Text-fig. 10a), or tongue-shaped and in a lateral position (RV376) ( Text-fig. 10c), depending on the specimens; head situated rather laterally; axis of the head subparallel to the long axis from the base to the proximal end.

R e l a t e d f o r m s. Fanfani (1999) observed on the humeri of the Italian Talpa populations an increase of size and robustness, and conversely, a decrease of the index of flattening over time. On the basis of these observations, he showed that the tiny mole from Rivoli Veronese is at the most primitive stage of evolution. An additional primitive characteristic noticeable in some remains from Rivoli Veronese can be considered the central position of the pectoral tubercle, given that this feature is found only in some of the earlier species ( Tab. 3). Therefore, I inferred that this tiny mole cannot represent an offspring of any penecontemporaneous species, and thus is not merely an isolated occurrence in the history of moles. Instead, given its primitiveness, it is likely evolutionarily related to earlier populations.

Tiny mole remains were previously found in Central European late Ruscinian – MN 15 to early Villanyian – MN 16 faunas of Węże 1 ( Sulimski 1962), Wölfersheim and Gundersheim 4 ( Dahlmann 2001), and Hajnáčka 1 ( Sabol 2004) as well. Nevertheless, they were assigned to T. minor . For example, Sulimski (1962) believed that the smallest humeri and teeth he described from Węże 1 belonged to young individuals of the population of T. minor , already recorded by Sulimski (1959) at the site, and later assigned to T. neagui by Rădulescu and Samson (1989). Fanfani and Masini (1997) and Fanfani (1999) implicitly rejected this assumption. According to the pictures and the text, even if some humeri seem in fact to belong to young individuals, some others of these supposed young individuals display the same structure as those stated to represent adults. In that circumstance, individuals with an intermediate size between the supposed young individuals and the adults would have been expected. In any case, no size difference in teeth can exist between young and adult individuals, because in Talpa , tooth-succession occurs before birth or, at least, before the time when fur grows upon the young creatures’ backs, and milk teeth differ notably from the permanent functional teeth, being rudimental and useless as organs of mastication ( Spence Bate 1867, Bolk 1923). Instead, according to the text, the teeth assigned to young individuals are permanent functional teeth while being sharply smaller than those assigned to adult individuals.

As I observed a sharp size difference between the above-mentioned Central European late Ruscinian to early Villanyian moles and the other moles of same age assigned to T. neagui and T. minor ( Text-figs 3–9), I inferred that these tiny moles might represent a new species. Hence, I assumed that they belong to T. masinii n. sp., because of the absence of any clear dimensional and morphological difference with the tiny mole from Rivoli Veronese . The large age difference between the above-mentioned faunas and that from Rivoli Veronese cannot be used to reject a specific similarity. In fact, the absence of T. masinii n. sp. for such a long time can be explained by the scantiness of Talpa remains in faunas of intermediate age, and by the scantiness itself of small mammal faunas from that intermediate time period ( Text-fig. 2). Its absence from faunas of intermediate age could also imply that, in later periods, it survived only locally as a Pliocene relict species, like other taxa collected in Rivoli Veronese ( Rhagapodemus and Pliopetaurista ; Berto et al. 2022) and in other late Villanyian European faunas (for example, Blarinoides mariae , Sulimskia kretzoii , and Deinsdorfia hibbardi in Poland ( Nadachowski 1998), and Dolomys milleri in Hungary ( Pazonyi et al. 2016)). Finally, I assumed that the smallest humerus ( Text-fig. 6) collected at Coste San Giacomo ( Bona et al. 2015) might represent an additional late Villanyian record of T. masinii n. sp., and thus its southernmost record. As a result, by taking into consideration all the populations here assigned to T. masinii n. sp., the lower molar row, even if represented by scanty remains, appears to be graded in size with Lm1> Lm2 and possibly with Lm2 = Lm3.

P h y l o g e n e t i c l i n k s. Because T. masinii n. sp. shows both similarities and differences in morphology and size compared to both earlier and later tiny to small species T. minuta , T. gilothi , T. aff. gilothi , T. neagui , and T. minor , with a mixture of features without any apparent ancestor-descendant relationship, this pushed me to exclude a phylogenetic link between T. masinii n. sp. and those five species, although T. neagui appears to be the species with the greatest similarities, particularly with regard to the size graduation of lower molars ( Tab. 3). However, this is a preliminary observation, as the comparison is, in some circumstances, of limited value, due to the scarcity or lack of data regarding some features of these species.

Biochronological range of the new s p e c i e s. From late Ruscinian – MN 15b to late Villanyian – MN 17/1 Rodent Ages (chronologically corresponding to the latest Early Pliocene to early Early Pleistocene Subepoch – latest Zanclean to Gelasian Ages).

P a l a e o b i o g e o g r a p h i c a l r a n g e o f t h e

n e w s p e c i e s. Central Europe and Italy.