Beremendia fissidens ( Petényi, 1864 )

Pazonyi, Piroska, Mészáros, Lukács, Hír, János & Mta-Mtm-Elte, Zoltán Szentesi, 2016, The lowermost Pleistocene rodent and soricid (Mammalia) fauna from Beremend 14 locality (South Hungary) and its biostratigraphical and palaeoecological implications, Fragmenta Palaeontologica Hungarica 33, pp. 99-134 : 107-108

Beremendia fissidens ( Petényi, 1864)

(Fig. 6)

Material – 14 left more or less complete mandibles (containing also coronoid process and condyle), with 7 I 1, 7 A 1, 8 A 2, 11 M 1, 12 M 2, 9 M 3 ; 14 right one, with 8 I 1, 4 A 1, 7 A 2, 13 M 1, 12 M 2, 10 M 3 ; 11 left mandible fragments with 2 I 1, 2 A 1, 2 A 2, 2 M 1, 3 M 2 ; 10 left mandible fragments with 3 I 1, 1 A 1, 2 A 2, 7 M 1, 5 M 2, 1 M 3 ; 3 left more or less complete skulls; left teeth: 3 I 1, 3 A 1, 3 A 2, 2 A 3, 3 P 4, 3 M 1, 2 M 2, 1 M 3 ; right teeth: 3 I 1, 1 A 1, 1 A 2, 2 A 3, 1 A 4, 3 P 4, 3 M 1, 3 M 2, 2 M 3 ; 8 left maxillary fragments with 6 P 4, 4 M 1, 4 M 2, 2 M 3 ; 12 right maxillary fragments with 1 I 1, 2 A 1, 3 P 4, 8 M 1, 4 M 2, 1 M 3 ; isolated teeth: 19 left and 14 right I 1, 13 left and 8 right M 1, 6 left and 7 right M 2, 7 left and 6 right M 3, 15 left and 14 right I 1, 10 left and 8 right P 4, 5 left and 4 right M 1, 9 left and 6 right M 2, 1 left and 2 right M 3 , 48 antemolars.

Measurements – Table 3 .

Description – Dental formula is 153/123. The teeth are intensively stained dark red. The I 1 is fissident with a bifid apex. Four upper antemolars are present. A 1 and A 2 are of about equal size, A 3 is smaller and A 4 is even smaller, it is quite reduced. The posterior emargination is moderate on the P 4, M 1 and M 2. The lingual part of the P 4 crown is very low. The occlusal outline of the M 1 is square with rounded corners, M 2 is trapezoidal. The M 3 is relatively small and triangular. The I 1 is grooved, acuspulate, the apex curves upwards. The A 1 is unicuspid, the A 2 is bicuspid. The M 1 and M 2 trigonid basins are deep and broad, entoconid crests are present. The M 3 is reduced but its talonid is basined. The mandibular body is robust, strongly built, slightly leans laterally. The ascending ramus is anteroposteriorly broad and leans strongly medially. The coronoid process is narrow, short, stout and leans anteriorly in lateral view. The coronoid spicule is thin, poorly developed and nearly vertical. The condyloid process is characteristic. The upper articular facet is narrow and cylinder-shaped. The interarticular area is broad. The lower facet leans strongly anteriorly and it is not visible in buccal view. The angular process is very short. The internal temporal fossa is small, deep and pocketed, its shape is often round.

Remarks – There are two Beremendia species known from the European fossil assemblages. According to BOTKA & MÉSZÁROS (2015) the larger B. fissidens and the smaller B. minor are well distinguished by the size of the upper and the lower molars. On the basis of these measurements the Beremend 14 form seems to belong to the bigger species, so it was determined as B. fissidens (see Table 2 and BOTKA & MÉSZÁROS 2015, Tables 1–2 ).