A new Species of Hipparion Horse Found in Miocene Neogene Greece

Hipparion phlegrae, sp. nov. (Mammalia, Perissodactyla): a new species from the Turolian locality of Kryopigi (Kassandra, Chalkidiki, Greece)

Authors:

Lazaridis et al

Abstract:

A new hipparion species, Hipparion phlegrae, sp. nov., is described on the basis of both morphological characters and metrical data as a member of Hipparion s.s. It is compared with H. dietrichi, H. prostylum, and similar forms of the Greco-Iranian province. The age of the Kryopigi fauna is discussed as Turolian on the basis of the hipparion assemblage, whereas the coexistence of a small Cremohipparion referred here as C. matthewi/nikosi indicates that H. phlegrae, sp. nov., is probably a derived species in respect to H. prostylum. The decreased size of the H. phlegrae and the short and wide muzzle are discussed for Hipparion s.s. during the Turolian period. Phylogenetic relationships of the new species and related taxa are reconstructed and also considered.