Revision of Oryctolagus lacosti (Lagomorpha, Mammalia) from the Upper Pliocene of Perrier (Auvergne, France).

Roger de Marfa (1) , Pierre Mein (2)

1 Departament d'Estratigrafia, Paleontologia i Geoci`encies Marines, Universitat de Barcelona,
2 PEPS - PaleoEnvironnements et PaleobioSphere

Fossil leporids from the Upper Pliocene of the locality of Perrier- ´ Etouaires (Auvergne, France) are here revisited. They were initially attributed to Lepus lacosti by Pomel (1853), and later to the genus Oryctolagus. This material had been neither accurately described nor figured until now. Thus, a lectotype and two paralectotypes have been chosen among the material of the original collection. The diagnostic character of Oryctolagus lacosti is its big size, similar to that of modern hares (Lepus), together with other morphological characters that fit in the variability range of European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Fossils of leporids similar to those of Perrier have also been found in several Plio-Pleistocene localities from western Europe.

Mots clés: France; Perrier; Upper Pliocene; Lagomorpha; Systematics

Domaines: Paléontologie

Roger de Marfa, Pierre Mein. Revision of Oryctolagus lacosti (Lagomorpha, Mammalia) from the Upper Pliocene of Perrier (Auvergne, France).. Comptes Rendus. Palevol, 2007, 6, pp.327-334. ⟨10.1016/j.crpv.2007.05.003⟩. ⟨hal-00295349⟩