This paleomammology list records new fossil mammal taxa that were described during the year 2021, as well as notes other significant paleomammology discoveries and events which occurred during 2021.
Afrotherians Macroscelidea Name NoveltyStatusAuthorsAgeType localityCountryNotesImagesAfrohypselodontusGen. et 2 sp. novValidSenut & PickfordEocene (Bartonian-Priabonian)A Afrohypselodontidae Macroscelidea. The type species is A. minus; genus also includes A. grandis.EorhynchocyonGen. et sp. novValidSenut & PickfordEocene (Bartonian-Priabonian)A Rhynchocyonidae Macroscelidea Type species is E. rupestris.NamasengiGen. et sp. novValidSenut & PickfordEocene (Bartonian-Priabonian)An elephant shrew. Type species is N. mockeae.OligorhynchocyonGen. et sp. novValidStevens et al.Late OligoceneNsungwe FormationA Rhynchocyoninae elephant shrew. Type species is O. songwensis.PromyohyraxGen. et sp. novValidSenut & PickfordEocene (Bartonian-Priabonian)A myohyracine elephant shrew. Type species is P. namibiensis.RukwasengiGen. et sp. novValidStevens et al.Late OligoceneNsungwe FormationA myohyracine elephant shrew. Type species is R. butleri.
Proboscidea Name NoveltyStatusAuthorsAgeType localityCountryNotesImagesDagbatitheriumGen. et sp. novValidHautier et al.Eocene (Lutetian)A stem group Elephantiformes. Type species D. tassyi.
Proboscidean research A study on changes of ecomorphological diversity of proboscideans throughout their evolutionary history is published by Cantalapiedra et al. (2021). Revision of the fossil material of deinotheres belonging to the genus Prodeinotherium from the Miocene Vallès-Penedès Basin (Spain) is published by Gasamans et al. (2021). A study on faunal and floral components of dung associated with juvenile mastodon remains from East Milford (Nova Scotia, Canada) dated to ~75,000 years BP, and on its implications of the knowledge of mastodon diet and environmental conditions in eastern Canada prior to the onset of the Wisconsin glaciation, is published by Cocker et al. (2021). A study on the growth patterns of limbs of the mastodons is published by Htun et al. (2021). Review of the state of knowledge regarding migratory behaviour of mastodons and mammoths is published by Bonhof & Pryor (2021). A study on the chemical composition of fossilized dental calculus from specimens of Notiomastodon platensis from Brazil, Argentina and Ecuador is published by Mothé et al. (2021), who report the discovery of the first fossilized oral bacterial communities associated with extinct proboscideans, confirming the parasitism between oral bacteria and N. platensis. A study on the phylogenetic affinities of Notiomastodon platensis and evolutionary history of proboscideans, based on data from ancient DNA from a specimen of N. platensis from the Arroyo del Vizcaíno site (Uruguay), is published by Baleka et al. (2021). Osteopontin, osteonectin and BMP-2 are identified for the first time in a bone of a specimen of Anancus arvernensis from the Pliocene Lagerstätte of Willershausen (Germany) by Schmidt-Schultz, Reich & Schultz (2021). A study on the age distribution and population structure of Palaeoloxodon huaihoensis from Penghu Channel (Taiwan), based on data from fossil teeth, is published by Kang, Lin & Chang (2021). A study on the morphology of the petrosal bone of Palaeoloxodon tiliensis is published by Liakopoulou, Theodorou & van Heteren (2021). A study on the dwarfing process in the evolutionary history of the Sicilian dwarf elephant, based on mitochondrial genome data, is published by Baleka et al. (2021). A study on bone histology and likely life history of the Sicilian dwarf elephant is published by Köhler et al. (2021). Tracks of straight-tusked elephants, including calves and juveniles, are described from the Upper Pleistocene site known as "Matalascañas Trampled Surface" (Spain) by Neto de Carvalho et al. (2021), providing information on the locomotion, social group structure and reproductive ecology of these proboscideans. Description of a nearly complete skeleton of a straight-tusked elephant calf from the Pleistocene of the Cova del Rinoceront, and a study on the implications of this specimen for the knowledge of the ontogeny of this elephant, is published by Palombo, Sanz & Daura (2021). A large elephant cranium similar to partial crania of early Pliocene Loxodonta adaurora is described from the Lonyumun Member of the Koobi Fora Formation near Ileret (Kenya) by Sanders et al. (2021), who interpret the anatomy of this skull as unexpectedly advanced for an elephant of its antiquity, and indicating that by the early Pliocene L. adaurora evolved adaptations in phase with feeding preference for C4 grasses. Van der Valk et al. (2021) report the recovery of genome-wide data from three mammoth specimens dating to the Early and Middle Pleistocene, and evaluate the implications of their finding for the knowledge of the evolutionary history of mammoths. A study on the morphology, antiquity, individual age and affinities of Yuka is published by Maschenko et al. (2021). New method allowing the characterization of the genetic sex for highly degraded samples of elephant DNA is presented by Aznar-Cormano et al. (2021), who also apply their method to woolly mammoth ancient DNA from the Late Pleistocene of Siberia. A study on the population history and extinction dynamics of the woolly mammoth in northern Siberia, based on radiocarbon and genetic data, is published by Dehasque et al. (2021). A study aiming to determine the mobility and range of an Arctic woolly mammoth living 17,100 years ago, as indicated by data from its tusk, is published by Wooller et al. (2021).
Sirenia Sirenian research New sirenian specimen belonging to the genus Potamosiren is described from the Miocene Barzalosa Formation (Colombia) by Suarez et al. (2021), representing the earliest record of this genus reported to date, and providing new information on the evolutionary history of South American sirenians. A study on the morphology of the brain of a specimen of Dioplotherium from the middle Miocene Pirabas Formation (Brazil), and on the implications of this specimen for the knowledge of the evolution of the brain in sirenians, is published by Kerber & Moraes–Santos (2021). A study on the population history of the Steller's sea cow during the last several millions of years in the Bering Sea region, based on data from a genome of a historical specimen of this species, is published by Sharko et al. (2021), who interpret their findings as indicating that this species began to go extinct along the North Pacific coastline before the arrival of the first Paleolithic hunter-gatherers in the Beringia; however, Campos et al. (2022) subsequently argued that the population of the Steller's sea cow including the specimen studied by Sharko et al. might not accurately represent the demographic history of the entire species across its former geographic distribution.
Other afrotherians Miscellaneous afrotherian research Revision of the fossil material of hyracoids from the Oligocene Malembo locality (Angola) is published by Tabuce et al. (2021).
Euarchontoglires Lagomorpha NameNoveltyStatusAuthorsAgeType localityCountryNotesImagesAlloptox gudrunaeSp. novValidErbajeva & BayarmaaEarly MioceneA pika.
Primates NameNoveltyStatusAuthorsAgeType localityCountryNotesImagesHomo bodoensisNom. novUncertainRoksandic et al.Middle PleistoceneBodo D'ar in AfarA species of Homo closely related to Homo sapiens. The validity of the new species name has been questioned.Homo longiSp. novValidJi & Ni in Ji et al.Middle PleistoceneUpper Huangshan FormationA species of Homo closely related to Homo sapiens. Micropithecus chamtwaraensisSp. novValidPickford et al.MioceneChamtwara FormationA member of the family Dendropithecidae. Pronycticebus cosensisSp. novIn pressGodinot & Vidalenc in Godinot et al.EoceneCos, near Caylus (Quercy)A cercamoniine adapiform.Protoadapis andreiSp. novIn pressGodinot & Vidalenc in Godinot et al.EoceneCos, near Caylus (Quercy)A cercamoniine adapiform.QuercylorisGen. et sp. novIn pressGodinot & Vidalenc in Godinot et al.EoceneA member of the family Microchoeridae. Genus includes new species Q. eloisae.Simonsius harujensisSp. novValidMattingly et al.Early OligoceneA parapithecine.
General primate research A study on tooth morphology and probable diet of extinct strepsirrhines is published by Fulwood et al. (2021). A study on the changes in teeth and dentary shape through time in notharctines from the Eocene Willwood Formation (Wyoming, United States) is published by O'Leary (2021). A study on the evolution of dietary adaptations in the teeth of lemuriforms, based on data from fossil primates, extant strepsirrhines and recently extinct lemurs, is published by Fulwood et al. (2021). Marciniak et al. (2021) present a nuclear genome sequence of Megaladapis edwardsi, and evaluate the implications of their findings for the knowledge of the phylogenetic relationships of this species and its possible diet-related adaptations. A study on dietary niches of Miocene colobines Mesopithecus delsoni and M. pentelicus in southeastern Europe is published by Thiery et al. (2021). A study on the variations of the graminivorous behavior in fossil members of the genus Theropithecus, and on its probable impact on the evolution and extinction of these monkeys, is published by Fannin et al. (2021). DeMiguel et al. (2021) present a reconstruction of the local climate and environments through the densely sampled primate-bearing sequence of Abocador de Can Mata (Spain), and attempt to determine whether turnovers in Miocene primate assemblages from this sequence were correlated with environmental changes. Arias-Martorell et al. (2021) describe the first known postcranial specimen of Barberapithecus huerzeleri (a proximal radius) from the late Miocene of Castell de Barberà (Spain), and evaluate the implications of its anatomy for the knowledge of the locomotion of B. huerzeleri. A study on the morphology of the semicircular canals of the bony labyrinth of Epipliopithecus vindobonensis, and on its implications for the knowledge of the phylogenetic relationships of this species, is published by Urciuoli et al. (2021). A study on the orientation, proportions, and course of the carotid canal in Pliobates cataloniae, and on its implications for the knowledge of the ancestral carotid canal course in main anthropoid clades, is published by Bouchet et al. (2021). A study on the inner ear morphology and phylogenetic relationships of Hispanopithecus and Rudapithecus is published by Urciuoli et al. (2021). A study on the diversity of the Miocene dryopithecines from the Iberian Peninsula, as indicated by morphology of their molars, is published by Fortuny et al. (2021). A study on the mandibular shape variation and the degree of mandibular sexual size dimorphism in Ouranopithecus macedoniensis is published by Ioannidou et al. (2021). New femoral remains of Nacholapithecus kerioi are described by Pina et al. (2021), who evaluate the implications of these fossils for the knowledge of the distinctiveness of the femur of Nacholapithecus when compared with other Miocene and extant apes, and for the knowledge of the within-species anatomical variation and locomotion of this ape. A study on the age of putative hominin Trachilos footprints from Crete (Greece) is published by Kirscher et al. (2021). A study on the feeding ecology of Gigantopithecus blacki in Guangxi (China) during the earliest Pleistocene is published by Jiang et al. (2021). A study on the evolutionary history of the African hominid oral microbiome, based on data from dental biofilms of Late Pleistocene to present-day modern humans, Neanderthals and nonhuman primates, is published by Fellows Yates et al. (2021).
General paleoanthropology