Meles thorali Viret, 1950

Sablin, M. V. & Iltsevich, K. Yu., 2022, Early Pleistocene Caniformia from Palan-Tyukan (Azerbaijan), Proceedings of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences 326 (2), pp. 47-58 : 52

Species Meles thorali Viret, 1950

Type locality: Saint-Vallier , France .

Age of the type locality: Early Pleistocene, MN 17 .

Description. The remains belong to one adult individual.

Upper teeth. The left P4 (ZIN 34168–1, L= 9.9 mm; W= 8.3 mm) displays a high and buccolingually compressed paracone and a well-developed protocone ( Fig. 3A). This specimen has the cuspule on the precingulum at the base of the paracone, and displays a lingual ridge running from the apex of the paracone to the lingual margin of the tooth (A1 category of Baryshnikov et al. 2002). The left M1 (ZIN 34168–2, L= 14.4 mm; Lext = 9.7 mm; W= 11.9 mm) displays a trapezoid occlusal profile ( Fig. 3B). The paracone is slightly larger than the metacone, and the metaconule is situated somewhat distolingually to the metacone, thus creating a notch on the labial margin of the crown (B1 or B2 categories of Baryshnikov et al. 2002). The position of the root and the postprotocrista extension are both difficult to trace due to tooth wear. The talon is strongly projected distally.

Left ulna. The specimen ZIN 34168–3 is not complete. The coronoid process is triangular-shaped and more marked in the lateral view ( Fig. 3C). The greatest breadth across the coronoid process is 19.4 mm.