New suid remains from the early Vallesian (Late Miocene) site of Can Missert (Vallès-Penedès Basin)

Abstract

No suid remains have been reported from the Miocene site of Can Missert (Terrassa; Vallès-Penedès Basin, NE Iberian Peninsula), variously correlated to MN7+8 (late Aragonian) or MN9 (early Vallesian) due to the uncertain presence of hipparionin equids. The recent donation of fossils collected decades ago by amateur naturalists has confirmed the presence of Hippotherium and enabled the description of a sample of 27 suid teeth from Can Missert 2. They are here attributed to the suine Propotamochoerus palaeochoerus and the tetraconodontine Parachleuastochoerus valentini, while Listriodon splendens is also recorded from Can Missert based on a previously unpublished male upper canine. The co-occurrence of Pr. palaeochoerus and hipparionins at Can Missert strengthens the view that the former is a biochronological marker of the Vallesian. In turn, the described tetraconodontine remains support the distinction of Pa. valentini from Conohyus simorrensis—considered its senior subjective synonym by some authors—but do not contribute to the ongoing debate about their potential congeneric status. The co-occurrence of Pr. palaeochoerus and Pa. valentini has also been recorded from the earliest Vallesian sites of Creu de Conill 20 and Castell de Barberà within the same basin. However, the composition of the Can Missert 2 suid assemblage more clearly differs from that of Castell de Barberà, where both Listriodon splendens and Albanohyus castellensis are also abundant. Given the restricted size of Can Missert sample, it is uncertain whether such differences are indicative of more open and/or seasonal paleoenvironmental conditions at Can Missert or just the result of sampling biases.