Talpa sp.

Talpa sp.

Text-figs 7, 8

St u di ed mat eri al a nd meas u remen t s. MWQ1/2001: two ulnae (Pal. 3040, Pal. 3048).

MWQ2/2003: one fragment of mandible (Pal. 3404); one right lower premolar (Pal. 3522, 1.53×0.68); five humeri (Pal. Pal. 4014–4018) two ulnae (Pal. Pal. 4019, 4020).

MCQ3/2005: 4 humeri (Pal. 4418–4421); five ulnae (Pal. Pal. 4422–4427).

M e a s u r e m e n t s. see Tabs 1, 2.

D e s c r i p t i o n. Lower premolar. It has two roots. It is much longer than wide. There is a very small cuspule at the anterior edge, isolated from the rest of the tooth. The tip

The incisura trochlearis is thick and semicircular ( Text-fig. 8d). On the lateral face near the trochlea, there is a short central crest.

of the cuspid is in an anteriormost position. From it runs a slender cristid connected to a posterior cuspid ( Text-fig. 7). There is a short labial cingulid between the main cuspid and the posterior one. The labial margin is slightly concave.

Fragment mandible. The fragment of the mandible is edentulous. There are two alveoli for the m3 roots, as well as a partial ramus. The condylar process is low and elongated. The masseteric fossa is moderately deep.

Humeri. The pectoral area is large. There is a shallow notch between the tuber major and the crista pectoralis, which continues along the pectoral margin before reaching the crista humeri ( Text-fig. 8a). The caput humeri has an elongated drop-like shape ( Text-fig. 8b). Attached to its inner base, a short and very thin ridge is found in one of five specimens. The fossa brachialis is deep. The bicipital groove is marked and the musculus flexor digitorum ligament fossa is deep. The supratrochlear fossa and the olecranon fossa are wide ( Text-fig. 8a, b).

Ulnae. The diaphysis is almost straight ( Text-fig. 8c, d). Below the incisura radialis ulnae there is a deep, elongated basin reaching the base of the olecranon, which is robust and strongly developed. The basin is surrounded by a high posterior ridge. In medial view, the subtriangular basin is found between the incisura and the base of the olecranon.

R e m a r k s. The taxonomy of fossil Talpidae is not only based on the dentition, but also on the humeri ( van den Hoek Ostende and Fejfar 2006). Fortunately, the presence of many postcranial remains in the Mokrá-Quarry fissures helped to identify the assemblage. Scalopini DOBSON, 1883 and Talpini are distinguished by the presence or absence of the “scalopine ridge” ( Campbell 1939, van den Hoek Ostende and Fejfar 2006). The morphology of the humeri from Mokrá-Quarry clearly resembles that of Talpinae . More precisely, it is characterized by the absence of this ridge, and fits into the morphotype of Talpa . Moreover, it is more derived than the scalopine-like humerus of Talpa tenuidentata ZIEGLER, 1990 from the MN 3 Czech locality of Ahníkov I ( van den Hoek Ostende and Fejfar 2006). In all, the dimensions of the humeri are larger than those of Talpa minuta BLAINVILLE, 1840 ( Hutchison 1974, Ziegler 2000), but smaller than those of Talpa sp. from Petersbuch 28 ( Klietmann et al. 2015a, b). As for the ulnae, their dimensions are between those of T. minuta and the extant T. europaea LINNAEUS, 1758 ( Baudelot 1972, Sabol 2005), and only slightly smaller than those of Talpa sp. from Petersbuch 28 ( Klietmann et al. 2015a, b). Consequently, the assemblage from Mokrá-Quarry is referred to as Talpa sp.