Carolinea 78

S chreiber : Fossil remains of Macaca sylvanus from the locality of Mauer 9 study here is quite different to that of the m2 (SM- NK-PAL 6602, Fig. 2 [MDL 9.9 mm, MB 8.0 mm, DB 7.6 mm], described by S chreiber & L öscher 2011) , but it matches a very common pattern seen in the fossils from the ‘Mauerer Sande’: a disarticulated, isolated, and partly fragmentary skeletal element, with primary white-coloured substances, like the enamel, in parts slightly yel- low, and the dentine with intensive yellow, red to brown areas coloured by several iron mineralisa- tions on the surfaces, and with manganese im­ pregnations (see S chreiber 2006). As mentioned above, from the anatomy of this tooth its position within the molars can be clear- ly considered as a right third lower molar (m3), because of its additional extension distally, com- posed of the hypoconulid and the tuberculum sextum. In comparison to the upper molars, the lower molars of the macaques are more slender in relation to their length, and both teeth from Mauer have a length-breadth-relation, which cor- responds to lower molars (Fig. 3). Considering only count data, both specimens (m2 and m3) could match the posterior part of a right lower cheek dentition from the same individual. But the two teeth come from levels separated by nearly one meter in the fluvial section (pers. comm. M. L öscher ), and their quiet different pre- servation patterns (Fig. 2) imply distinct diagene- tic histories. In conclusion it is more probable that the specimens come from different individuals. Discussion: systematics and taxonomy The bilophodont tooth pattern of the new Mauer specimen – with talonid basin, mesial, and distal foveae, its distal extension – is characteristic of Cercopithecidae, and the low relief of the crown (low-crowned tooth) indicates membership of the Papionini. The low degree of the molar flare (on the lingual and buccal side), and the relatively small size permit the reference to the genus Ma- caca (see S zalay & D elson 1979). The fossil cercopithecid Paradolichopithecus , a papionin from Puebla de Valverde, Spain ( A rdito & M ottura 1987), is larger than Macaca . The pa- pionin Theropithecus from Cueva Victoria, Spain ( G ilbert et al. 1995), has high-crowned teeth with three deep shaped basins and columnar cusps. Other fossil cercopithecids from localities in Eu- rope like Mesopithecus [Villafranca d’Asti ( G en - tili et al. 1998), Perpignan, Celleneuve, Pikermi, Saloniki, Titov Veles, Eppelsheim, Mollon ( A rdito & M ottura 1987)], and Dolichopithecus , a colobi- ne [Layna, Perpignan ( A rdito & M ottura 1987)], differ from Macaca in their high-crowned teeth ( S zalay & D elson 1979). Beside M . s . sylvanus and “ M . ? s . majori ” (pro- visorily treated as subspecies) S zalay & D elson (1979) additionally proposed three biochrono- logical subspecies of M. sylvanus for the fossil macaques, of which M. s. prisca , M. s. florenti- na , and M. s. pliocena are still under discussion for the Plio-Pleistocene fossil record ( R ook et al. Figure 2. Comparative picture of the lower right molars m2 (SMNK-PAL 6602) and m3 (SMNK-PAL 6630) from Mauer, and a mandible with the tooth row (shown [p4], m1, m2, m3) of an extant macaque (SMNK 5492, M. sylvanus ), scale is 10 mm.