First detailed description of Cricetodon albanensis from La Grive-Saint Alban (France)

Abstract

The material of Cricetodon albanensis (Rodentia, Cricetodontinae) from La Grive-Saint Alban (carrière Milliat, fissure M) is described in detail for the first time. This species is a large sized Cricetodontinae that is characterised by having incomplete ectolophs and indistinct or very short mesolophs on the upper molars and by the presence of double metalophids and the absence of mesolophids on the lower molars. The acquisition of a dominant anterior metalophulid on the m1 has been developed independently in different lineages over time and could be related to a change in dietary habits towards more abrasive food, which may be linked to the cooling event Mi3 (circa 13.8 Ma). However, the development of this character does not seem to have been enough to prevent these Middle Miocene European cricetodontines to become extinct, while their more evolved European competitors (Hispanomys) flourished.