Situated in the Cape region of the Republic of South Africa (RSA), the paleontological site of Langebaanweg is dated to 5.1 Myr and is famous for having yielded an abundant vertebrate assemblage, including numerous rodent species from the Mio-Pliocene transition. Based on molar morphology and skull anatomy, the single Gerbillinae taxon identified at Langebaanweg and described in this paper is allocated to Desmodillus, which is a modern monotypic South African endemic genus. It is significant in being the oldest representative of the genus in Africa. We describe here a new species of this genus which is larger than the modern D. auricularis, but nevertheless retains some of its main characteristics, namely the shape of the maxilla and mandible, the presence of poorly fused alternating cusps, and no longitudinal crest. This taxon differs from modern South African Gerbilliscus representatives in some mandibular and maxillary characters, in the m1 prelobe cusp, and in having less fused cusps. Two fossil Gerbillinae discovered in the Upper Miocene of Africa and Asia, Abudhabia and Protatera, have been compared with the new species. We discuss their relationships with modern and Plio-pleistocene Gerbillinae and conclude that Abudhabia could be the sister taxon of Desmodillus and that around 6-5 Myr a vicariance event allowed Gerbillinae to diversify into modern Desmodillus in South Africa, and Gerbilliscus in East Africa. The murine/gerbilline ratio, which is a good indicator of rainfall, supports other proxies which suggest that at 5.1 Myr the climate in the Langebaanweg region was more humid than today. 

Cet article présente une étude détaillée du genre Stehlinia, un chiroptère du Paléogène d'Europe, basé sur un matériel abondant issu notamment du gisement d'Escamps (Quercy). L'analyse révèle que Stehlinia possède un mélange de caractères primitifs (comme une denture tribosphénique complète et des prémaxillaires soudés) et évolués (notamment dans le squelette post-crânien), le rapprochant des vespertilionoïdes actuels, en particulier des Kerivoula. 

The Montredon local fauna yielded very rare bats, represented by damaged isolated teeth. Only a few documents are available for this period of the European Neogene. ln this poor state of knowledge, the material represents three undetermined species, a supposed molossid and two vespertilionids. 

New dental and skeletal material referable to Palaeochiropteryx tupaiodon from the Middle Eocene locality of
Messel (G.F.R.) is studied, which provides additions to the previously gained knowledge of this european genus. Dental specimens from Geiseltal (G.D.R.), also of Middle Eocene age, allow us to analyze Cecilionycteria prisca. Some of these are separated to establish a new genus, Matthesia, and two new species, M. germanica and M. ? insolita. 

Some complete tooth rows and about one hundred isolated teeth enabled the identification of the deinothere of the Vallesian site Montredon (Hérault) as Deinotherium giganteum KAUP 1829, mainly by comparisons with the likewise Vallesian sample of the type locality Eppelsheim (Rheinhessen, F.R.G.).
Scatterdiagrams of the teeth show the importance of allometry during the phyletic size increase of the European deinotheres.
Some taphonomic problems of the Montredon deinothere are briefly mentioned. 

The dentitions as well as one complete and several partial skeletons of Equoids from the Eocene lignite beds of the Geiseltal locality are revised. Instead of 13 species distinguished up to now 3 chronoclines with 5 species and 3 separate species are recognized (text. fig. 1). Propalaeotherium hassiacum HAUPT, 1925 is evolving into Propalaeotherium isselanum (CUVIER, 1824) between the levels of the « obere Unterkohle ›› and the « untere Mittelkohle ›› of the Geiseltal section. Propalaeotherium argentonicum GERVAIS, 1849 is shown to be present in the « untere Unterkohle ››, whereas Lophiotherium pygmaeum (DEPERET,1901) occurs in the « obere Mittelkohle ›› and in the « oberes Hauptmittel ››. Plagiolophus cartieri STEHLIN, 1904 appears during the transition from the « Mittelkohle ›› into the « Oberkohle ›› as the earliest true Palaeothere. Therefore the « Oberkohle ›› is already regarded as Upper Eocene. This is corroborated by the occurrence of a phyletic descendant of Propalaeatherium parvulum (Propalaeotherium n.sp.) in the middle and upper "Oberkohle " because this species appears otherwise for the first time at the mammal level of Lissieu. On the other hand Propachynolophus gaudryz (LEMOINE, 1878) described by Matthes (1977) from the « untere Unterkohle ›› turns out te be in fact a Phenacodont. Thus the decisive argument for classifying the « untere Unterkohle ›› as Lower Eocene has to be dropped. Biostratigraphically the « Unterkohle ›› and the «Basishauptrnittel ›› correspond with the lower Middle Eocene (mammal level of Messel), whereas the «unteres Hauptmittel ›› and the « untere Mittelkohle ›› are equivalent to the middle part of the middle Eocene (mammal level of lssel), and the « obere Mittelkohle ›› together with the « oberes Hauptmittel ›› coincide with the upper Middle Eocene (mammal level of Bouxwiller). 

Pleistocene bird fossils have been studied from nine localities on Crete. Part of this material was described earlier by the author (Weesie, 1982) and will not be treated here in extenso, the results will be incorporated. More than one third of the over 10,000 fossil bird bones available could be identified ; they were found to represent at least 65 bird species. The following species of the Pleistocene Cretan avifauna are new to the fauna of Crete : Branta ruficollis, Haliaeetus albicilla, Gyps melitensis, Aquila chrysaetos simurgh n. ssp., Ketupa zeylomensis, Aegolius funereus, Dendrocopos leucotos, Zoothera dauma, Turdus iliacus and Pyrrhula pyrrhula. The Pleistocene Cretan avifauna differs less from comparable mainland avifaunas than (fossil) avifaunas from oceanic islands do. Still, the Pleistocene Cretan avifauna has two qualities that are characteristic of island avifaunas : the almost complete absence of a group of birds (the Galliformes) and the presence of two endemic (sub)species : the giant eagle Aquila chrysaetos simurgh n. ssp. and the long-legged owl Athene cretensis (Weesie, 1982). The new subspecies is described in the present study.
These endemic birds of prey were found in association with their supposedly principal prey species (now extinct as well) : endemic mice for the owl and endemic deer for the eagle. Endemic mammals have been found in association with endemic birds of prey on many islands, not only in the Mediterranean. There is evidence that the size of endemic birds of prey becomes optimally adapted to their feeding on certain endemic mammals, especially rodents. Another characteristic of the Pleistocene Cretan avifauna is the great number of species of birds of prey. This appears to be a common characteristic of fossil avifaunas from caves on Mediterranean islands as well as from caves on the European mainland. However, we think that ecological conditions on Pleistocene Crete (especially the abundant presence of mice) helped to account for the high representation of birds of prey. Furthemore, the fossil avifauna enables us to draw some conclusions about the climate and vegetation on Pleistocene Crete : it is concluded that the climate was cooler than today and that Crete was largely covered with forests. Finally, the reasons for the extinction or disappearance from Crete of some bird species of the Pleistocene Cretan avifauna are discussed. 

The rodent faunas of five afghan localities found in 1976 and 1977 (Sherullah, Ghazgay, Pul-e Charkhi, Dawrankhel 14 and 15) are studied.
The rodents (Muridae, Cricetidae and Rhizomyidae) represent 8 genera and 10 species. The detailed description of the 2 new genera and 7 species diagnosed in 1979 is given. An other species is created : Pseudomeriones crapouilloti n. sp. These faunas precise the origin and diversification of Muridae and Cricetidae. A phyletic lineage known in Afghanistan is represented in East Africa by a ramus or a collateral lineage. The five localities are dated from Lower Turolian to Ruscinian. They constitute the frame of a chronologie scale for the Upper Continental Neogene of Afghanistan.
The study of afghan material brings new data to the biogeography of Old Word's rodents during the Upper Neogene; from Pakistan to Europe and Africa, a rather warm and damp province would have existed till Upper Miocene; after which (in the mio-pliocene epoch) it would have divided into 3 parts, by aridification of the central area. 

This paper presents a preliminary list of insectivores from the Vallesian beds at Montredon (France). The associated rodent fauna has established a Vallesian age for the fauna. Eleven species belonging to the Soricidae, Talpidae, Erinaceidae, and Dimylidae are identified of which four only are referred with certainty to forms already named. 

The genus Cryptomeryx SCHLOSSER, 1886, inusited during a long period, has been discovered in Lower and Middle Oligocene localities of the Quercy region (South-West France). This new material, as well as specimens from the old collections referred to Cryptomeryx, are described; their study, allows us precising the definition of the genus, and confirming its allocation to the Tragulidae family. The type species of the genus, Crypmmeryx gaudryi (= Lophiomeryx gaudryi FILHOL, 1877), occurs in several localities at the base of the Middle Oligocene (Itardies, La Plante 2, Roqueprune 2, Soulce, Herrlingen 1). The new species C. matsoui n. sp. has been defined in the older locality of Mas de Got (top of Lower Oligocene). It is possible that the species Pseudamphimeryx decedens STEHLIN, 1910 pertains to the same genus. Also to the Tragulids must be referred the monospecific genus Iberomeryx (I. parvus GABOUNIA, 1964) from Upper Oligocene of Benara (Georgie, URSS), with which Cryptomeryx is related. These genera are not direct ancestors of Miocene tragulids; their occurrence in the Western European Oligocene results from a first immigration wawe of the family. These Tragulids are one of the most archaic groups of Ruminants. They are probably derived from a primitive stock which had acquired in Asia the selenodont condition of the dentition. 

The two species of Sandgrouse from Quercy, Pterocles validus MILNE-EDWARDS and P. larvatus MILNE-EDWARDS, are ascribed to the genus Archaeoganga MOURER-CI-IAUVIRÉ which includes a third, very large species, A. pinguis. The sandgrouse of Saint-Gérand-le-Puy, Pterocles sepultus MILNE-EDWARDS, is ascribed to a new genus, Lepzoganga. This form appears in the Upper Oligocene of Quercy, in Pech Desse and Pech du Fraysse localities, and is still present in the Lower Miocene of Saint-Gérand-le-Puy and Paulhiac. Recent sandgrouse live in semidesert or desert areas. The indications provided by mammal and bird faunas in the localities where sandgrouse were found, confirm that the paleoenvironment was open and arid. The morphological study of these fossils indicates that, in the Upper Eocene, the Pteroclidae were already completely individualized with respect to Charadriiformes.
  

This paper is about the oldest African rodents faunas, from the late Early Eocene, or early Middle Eocene, Glib Zegdou (Algeria) and Chambi (Tunisia) localities. Five species are described and figured, belonging to a new family here created, the Zegdoumyidae.

This family is compared to the Early and Middle Eocene rodents families from Asia, Europe and North America (Chapattimyidae, Yuomyidae, Gliridae, Theridomyidae, lschyromyidae and Sciuravidae), as well as to those known from the Late Eocene African locality Bir El Ater (Anomaluridae and Phiomyidae).

On the one hand, it seems clear that the African endemic Anomaluridae arise from the Zegdoumyidae. On the other hand, the lschyromyidae, or primitive Sciuravidae, may be the most reliable ancestral groups for the Zegdoumyidae. Thus, this new family can be considered as the sister group for the American Sciuravidae on the one hand, and for the European Gliridae on the other hand.

The biogeographical consequences of these phylogenetic hypotheses are discussed. A new phase of communication between Europe and North Africa is inferred, during the Early Eocene. It has been followed by a short period of endemism, allowing the adaptive radiation for the Zegdoumyidae, preceding the immigration of the Phiomyidae, during the Late Eocene, probably from Asian relatives. 

The late Pliocene site (MN 16) of Balaruc II (Hérault, France) has provided remains of the following amphibians and reptiles: Chelotriton pliocenicus nov. sp. and Triturus marmoratus (Salamandridae), cf. Rana (Ranidae), cf. Blanus (Amphisbaenidae), cf. Agama (Agamidae),  Gekkonidae indet., Lacerta s.l. (Lacertidae), "Ophisaurus" sp. (Anguidae), Michauxophis occitanus (Aniliidae), Erycinae indet. (Boidae), Elaphe cf. E. longissima and Malpolon sp. (Colubridae), cf. Naja (Elapidae) and Vipera sp. (Viperidae). The salamandrid Chelotriton pliocenicus and the aniliid Michauxophis occitanus constitute, up to now, the only records of these groups in the European Pliocene. The fauna is indicative of a warm, dry
subtropical climate. 

Suite à la récente publication d'une révision systématique des Chiroptera Vespertilioninae, conduite sur la base des morphologies dentaires comparées (Menu 1987), une remarque bienveillante du Dr. V. Aellen (Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle de Genève) a attiré l'attention de l'auteur sur un point précis du Code International de Nomenclature Zoologique. 

The revision of the Rhombodontidae from the Maastrichtian of Morocco led us to the description of a new species: Rhombodus andriesi.

The biometrical study of populations of R. binkhorsti and R. microdon, species sometimes considered as synonymous, supports the conclusion that they represent two distinct species and not young and adult specimens of a single species. The stratigraphical range of these two species confirms this
result.

The reexarnination of type-series studied by C. Ararnbourg led us to revise the generic status of Rhombodus bondoni which is now ranged, because his dental features, in the new genus Dasyrhombodus showing a less derived dentition than Rhombodus. The stratigraphical range of each species is clarified within the phosphatic series. 

We present here the preliminary results from a new nesting site "Sextius-Mirabeau", discovered close to the historical centre of Aix-en-Provence in Upper Cretaceous deposits. This extensive megaloolithid nesting ground, the first large scale excavation (3225 m²) in France, yielded more than 530 eggs, some organized in clusters. Their study reveals the reproductive strategy of the megaloolithid egglayer group which indicates nesting fidelity and gregarious behaviour.  

When the first edition of Mike Benton’s Vertebrate Palaeontology came out in 1990, sauropods still dragged their tails on the ground, the closest relatives of whales were mesonychids, and Mesozoic birds consisted essentially of Archaeopteryx, Ichthyornis and Hesperornis. Twenty-five years later, the book, now in its fourth edition, is a third longer, in a larger format and sports fine colour plates – in addition to a companion website. 

Dichobunoid artiodactyls are described in this paper from the middle Eocene Geiseltal lignite deposits near Halle (Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany). The genera Eurodexis and Parahexacodus are established based on odontologica1 studies. The type-species are E. ceciliensis (FRANZEN & KRUMBIEGEL, 1981) and P. germanicus n. sp. from the "obere Mittelkohle" (see text), MP 13. The genera are referred to the new subfamily Eurodexeinae (Dichobunidae, Artiodactyla, Mammalia), which also contains the monospecific genus Eygalayodon SUDRE & MARANDAT, 1993. These new genera show many features similar to North American homacodontids and antiacodontids. They exemplify a high degree of diversity in European dichobunids. Moreover, the family Dichobunidae includes the Dichobuninae and the Hyperdichobuninae. The connection of the posthypocristid with the postentocristid, the shift of a medial to a lingual position of the hypoconulid on the lower molars and the development of a large, caniniform P1 are regarded as the principal tendencies of the eurodexeines. The entoconid is larger and more mesially situated compared to that of Diacodexis. The hypoconulid has a lingual position on a broad postcingulid. The elongation of the premolars and the presence of diastemata are considered associated with extension of the muzzle. This and the acute tubercles of the molars could indicate a limited degree of insectivory. Protodichobune cf. oweni and Diacodexis cf. varleli, first reported here from the "untere Unterkohle" (MP 11) of the Geiseltal, demonstrate the existence of forms in the basal part of the middle Eocene, that are direct descendants of lower Eocene ones. Eurodexis russelli n. sp. from MP 10 of Premontre is the most primitive representative of Eurodexis. A further part of this lineage could be Messelobunodon sp. from MP 11 of Messel (Germany). Another form from Premontre, referred to Eurodexeinae indet., represents the origin of the lineage to Parahexacodus germanicus n. sp. from the Geiseltal (MP 13). The identification of several lineages in MP 10 is evidence of an adaptive radiation during this time. Unfortunately the history of the earlier species of Diacodexis is not known well enough to exclude earlier diversifications. Our study shows the independent development of artiodactyls at the end of the lower Eocene in Europe, North America (and maybe in Asia) with much convergence. The question of the geographic origin of the genus Diacodexis is still open. 

La faune de Rongeurs d'Escamps (Lot) bien que relativement pauvre en espèces (dix) s'avère riche d'enseignement pour les Rongeurs de l'Oligocène inférieur d'Europe Occidentale. Cette periode semble caracterisée par une cladogenèse des Théridomyines. A Escamps, un nouveau genre (Patriotheridomys) est décrit ainsi qu'une nouvelle espèce de Theridomys. Avec Oltmamys platyceps, décrit ici plus complètement et désormais bien situé stratigraphiquement, les deux espèces précédentes constituent un ensemble original du Sud de la France. A la même époque, en Angleterre, Allemagne et Espagne, des espèces «régionales» de Théridomyinés se dersifient.  A côté de ces formes qui ne semblent pas franchir la «Grande Coupure» sont représentées deux lignées d'Issiodoromyinés (Elfomys sp et Pseudoltmomys cuvieri), une de Théridomyiné (T. (Blainvillimys) rotundidens) ainsi qu'un Gliridé, Gliravus priscus (que l'on différencie nettement de la deuxième lignée des Gliravus oligocènes : G.  meridionalis -> G. majori). On retrouve ces formes dans les gisements plus récents du niveau de Hoogbutsel où elles sont à peine plus évoluées. Le fait que les degrés évolutifs de ces lignées soient très proches laisse supposer que le laps de temps séparant les niveaux d'Ecamps et Hoogbutsel fut relativement court. 

    Two families are reviewed (Hyracodontidae and Rhinocerotidae) from the Paleogene of Mongolia. The following taxa are described from the former family:  Triplopus? mergenensis sp. nov., Prohyracodon meridionale CHOW, Prohyracodon? parvus sp. nov., Forstercooperia ergiliinensis GABUNIA & DASHZEVEG, Ardynia praecox MATTHEW & GRANGER, A. mongoliensis (BELIAYEVA), Ardynia sp., Urtinotheríum sp. (or Indricotherium) and Armania asiana GABUNIA & DASHZEVEG. All of them are from the Paleogene of the eastem Gobi Desert The hyracodontid Pataecops parvus RADINSKY is described from a new locality, Menkhen-Teg (Middle Eocene), in the Valley of Lakes.
    In the second family, a new species of Ronzotherium, R. orientale sp. nov. has been recognized from the Oligocene of Ergilin Dzo and Khoer Dzan of the eastem Gobi Desert. Ronzotherium sp. and Allacerops sp. have been described from the Oligocene of Khoer Dzan. The genus Ronzotherium, formerly known from the Oligocene of eastem Europe, has been reliably established in the Oligocene fauna of Mongolia. The genus Symphysorrachis BELIAYEVA, 1954, previously believed to be a junior synonym of Ronzotherium, is here resurrected.
    Descriptions are provided for key localities in the Eocene and Oligocene of Mongolia and the adjacent territories of northern China, containing fossil Hyracodontidae and Rhinocerotidae. In addition, the question of the Eocene-Oligocene boundary in these Mongolian and Chinese sections is discussed. Paleontological evidence has been used to correlate Eocene-Oligocene boundary layers in the eastem Gobi Desert (Mongolia) and Inner Mongolia (China). A brief discussion is provided on the phylogenetic affinities of the genera within the family Hyracodontidae.