Qurliqnoria (Bovidae, Mammalia) from the Upper Miocene of Corakyerler (Central Anatolia, Turkey) and its biogeographic implications

Abstract

New bovid material from the Upper Miocene site of corakyerler (Canlun basin, Anatolia, Turkey) is described and compared here. The described taxon is identified as a representative of the stem caprine genus Qurlignoria, previously known from the pen-Tibetan area exclusively. The stronger horn-core divergence, weaker anterior keel, smoother horn-core surface, stronger lateral horn-core curvature, stronger and thicker interfrontal suture, less flexed and less pneumatized frontals, and smaller supraorbital foramina differentiate the corakyerler Qurlignoria from the type and only known species of the genus, Q. cheni from China, and demand the erection of a new species, Qurlignoria chorakensis n. sp. A review of other late Miocene bovid records allows the recognition of Qurlignoria in Sinap Tepe (Turkey) and Platania (Greece), suggesting a westward propagation of the genus during the Vallesian. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ireland Ltd Elsevier B.V. and Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, CAS. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.