A hyracoid from the late Vallesian of Teruel Basin (Spain)

Fossils of the Order Hyracoidea are very scarce in the Spanish fossil record. The first hyracoid remains described in Spain were a lower incisor and an astragalus from the type area of the Vallesian (Can Llobateres, Sabadell, Barcelona), published in 1981 by the pioneering Neogene mammal researcher Miguel Crusafont, founder in 1969 of the Instituto Paleontológico Provincial in Sabadell (currently the Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont). After that, a quite complete hyracoid maxilla from the Vallesian of La Cantera (Teruel) was published in 1986, but since then only a few scarce remains from the upper Turolian of Las Casiones (Villaba Baja, Teruel) and Casablanca M (Castellón), and more abundant material from the Vallesian site of La Roma 2 (Alfambra, Teruel) – only preliminarily described – had been identified. The fairly preserved maxillae and mandibles from La Roma 2, with almost the complete dental series (both upper and lower ones), are described in this contribution. The fossils, some of them documented here for the first time, are attributed to Pliohyrax graecus .