An unpublished mandible of the large hyracoid Titanohyrax andrewsi from the early Oligocene Jebel Qatrani Formation, Fayum Depression, Egypt is described. This specimen has a twofold importance. Firstly, it opens an unexpected window on early paleontological research in the Fayum because it was discovered as early as 1904 by the French paleontologist René Fourtau during an expedition to the Fayum organized by the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris (MNHN). This expedition has remarkably never been mentioned in the literature. Secondly, the mandible documents the best-preserved specimen of T. andrewsi, permitting a revision of one of the very rare Paleogene hyracoids. Interestingly, the new mandible was discovered two years before the first report of the species by Charles W. Andrews. The hypodigm of T. andrewsi is reviewed and the dentition as a whole is compared in detail, notably with other Titanohyrax species from the Fayum. The validity of the large Titanohyrax “schlosseri” species is discussed, but a pronounced sexual size dimorphism for T. andrewsi is favoured. 

The study of another faunal assemblage (mostly macromammals) from Torralba de Ribota (Calatayud, Zara-
goza Prov.) demonstrates the Middle "Burdigalian" age of the deposit, MEIN zone 4a. Some ten genera have been recognized. a.o. Anchitherium, Aceratherium and Lagopsis. 

In this article is described a new species of Nyctitheriidae with primitive characters: Leptacodon nascimentoi n. sp. from the early Eocene of Silveirinha (Portugal). 

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. 

Many types of insectivores have been described from specimens found in the Quercy phosphorites. These remains very often were not dated because they came from old collections. Recent excavations have permitted the situation of Amphidozotherium cayluxi FILHOL in the late Eocene. Two new genera are descrlbed based on material both from the old collections (Cryplotopos nov. g.) and from that recently recovered (Darbonetus nov. g., beginning of the middle Oligocene). Their systematic positions are revised and comparisons with American faunas are made. Amphidozotherium is not a talpid, but an erinaceoid belonging to an indeterminate family. Saturninia gracilis STHELIN is classified among the Nyctitheriinae, Myxomygale antiqua FILHOL among the Urotrichini Talpinae, and the genus Geotypus POMEL among the Scaptonichini Talpinae. A new study of the talpids from Auvergne has been rendered necessary. During the late Eocene and Oligocene precise morphology relationships existed between certain insectivores of Europe and North America. 

The oldest european marsupials are described from some specimens (isolated upper molars) recently found from the Hainin sediment (Middle Paleocene of Belgium). These fossils document a new species of the Peradectes genus. They give evidence of a much older occurrence of the marsupials in Europe than it was assumed. They allow us to postulate a didelphid dispersal from South America towards the western-holarctic area operating in two phases : the first one of the Peradectes genus at the end of the Cretaceous; the second one of the Didelphíni tribe at the end of the Paleocene. A central american crossing is likely for the first one,  whereas a transafrican way is tentatively argued for the second one. 

A reconstruction of a multituberculate endocranial cast is made on the basis of a complete natural cast prepared from the skull of Chulsanbaatar vulgaris, and other less complete endocasts, all from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. The multituberculate endocast is of mammalian pattern but it has retained a therapsid-like lateral profile with a deep rhombencephalon and a shallow telencephalon. It is characterized by: a heart-shaped cross-section of the telencephalon; an extensive lissencephalic neocortex; a very prominent pons placed far anteriorly; a lack of cerebellar hemispheres, and very large paraflocculi. Its structure, very different from the brains of other mammals, suggests thats the Multituberculata branched very early from the main mammalian stock. This supports Simpson's (1945) idea that the Multituberculata should be placed in a subclass of their own: Allotheria MARSH. The endocast and braincase structure show that the Multituberculata had strongly developed senses of smell and hearing. The encephalization quotient of approx. 0.55 evaluated for Ch. vulgaris is relatively high for a Mesozoic mammal. 

A brief historical account of fossil vertebrate discoveries in the Eastern part of the Paris Basin between the beginning of the nineteenth century and 1950 is given. Other localities discovered since then are presented. A reconstruction of past landscapes is briefly elaborated. A biozonation based on mammals is proposed, from the Late Thanetian to the Middle Bartonian. Paleogeographical considerations are added. Suggestions regarding the search for new marnmal localities are made. 

Carolocoutoia ferigoloi gen. et sp. nov. is the largest of protodidelphid marsupials, known from Middle Paleocene levels at Itaboraí Formation, southeastern Brazil. It differs from other members of this family in having molars with low cusps which are basally inflated, rounded crests without cutting edges, and a thick enamel layer which is wrinkled, specially at the labial half. A comparative analysis among representatives of this family led us to recognize only three genera undoubtely assignable to it:  Protodidelphis PAULA COUTO, 1952, Robertbutleria MARSHALL, 1987, and Carolocoutoia gen. nov. Protodidelphids lack the basic derived features diagnostic of Polydolopimorphian marsupials, while most of its derived features agree with its belonging to the Didelphimorphia. Protodidelphids comprise a specialized clade of opossum-like marsupials adapted to frugivorous or frugivore-omnivorous feeding habits. They differ from other didelphimorphians in having very large, spire-like entoconids, reduced and antero-posteriorly compressed paraconids, absence of stylar cusp C and of para- and metaconules, large stylar cusps B and D which are proximate to each other, short postmetacristae, eccentric protocones, and molars that increase rapidly in size from M/ml to M/m3.
  

A critical review on the literature about the parataxonomy of amniote eggshells reasserts the great interest of this systematics tool for the progress of dinosaur eggshell paleontology. However, shedding light on its limits, we propose to give up the use of the basic types - morphotypes key system. 

Two new species, Omanodon minor n. g., n. sp. and Shizarodon dhofarensis n. g., n. sp., known from fifteen isolated teeth, are described here as the first adapiform primates (?Anchomomyini) recognizable to date in the Taqah material (early Oligocene of Sultanate of Oman).

Omanodon minor n. g., n. sp. displays special morphological similarity to the adapid tribe Anchomomyini from the Eocene of Europe, and especially to the Anchomomys lineage. Resemblances with the extant lemurifonn Microcebus are also noticeable and could be regarded as supporting Schwartz & Tattersall (1983) hypothesis of special relationships between the anchomomyine adapids and the cheirogaleid lemuriformes. However, these morphological affmities can be interpreted, altematively, as the results of parallelisms: important differences in upper molars indicate that the resemblances of cheirogaleids and Omanodon minor n. g., n. sp. are indeed probably due to parallelisms. Phyletic relationship of O. minor n. g., n. sp. to Anchomomyini is finally the most likely hypothesis.

Shizarodon dhofarensis n. g., n. sp., although much more poorly known, is closely related to Omanodon minor n. g., n. sp., at least at a familial level. The general morphology of this species suggests
also a close link with adapid Anchomomyini, although precise relationships within this tribe remain obscure. Interesting resemblances of Shizarodon dhofarensis n. g., n. sp. to Djebelemur martinezi lower molars (early Eocene of Tunisia) are also noticeable. These resemblances are even stronger than those betwen Omanodon minor and Djebelemur martinezi. However the very bunodont upper molars referred to D. martinezi are unusual for adapids, and there are moreover some notable differences in their lower molars. Thus resemblances in Djebelemur and Shizarodon are probably due to paralellisms.

Because of the fragmentary nature of the material and of possible parallelisms, the systematic position of Omanodon and Shizarodon within adapiformes cannot however yet be established definitively. 

An ilium from the Upper Eocene (MP l7a) of Hordle, England, represents the first report of Rana from the Eocene of Britain. The ilium is similar to those of the water frog (Rana [ridibunda]) species group. 

An isolated right costal 1 from the Late Cretaceous Massecaps locality (Cruzy, Hérault, southern France) is assigned to Dortoka vasconica (Dortokidae). This find adds a new element to the Late Cretaceous turtle fauna of Cruzy and further supports the hypothesis that two distinct lineages of Dortokidae were present in Europe during the Late Cretaceous-Paleogene due to geographical isolation.
  

The region of Porrentruy (Swiss Jura Mountains) is known for its rich and diverse assemblage of Late Jurassic coastal marine turtles (Thalassochelydia). Dominated by the “Plesiochelyidae”, this assemblage also includes representatives of the two other thalassochelydian groups, the “Thalassemydidae” and “Eurysternidae.” In this study, we present new shell-based material from Porrentruy referable to eurysternids. One specimen represents a juvenile individual or a relatively small taxon, and is notably characterized by a well fenestrated plastron exhibiting a wider than long central plastral fontanelle. Two other specimens are much larger and possibly represent the largest eurysternids known to date. The fourth specimen is characterized by a unique plastral morphology otherwise only known in very small juveniles. This is the first time this unique plastral morphology is known to persist in an adult or subadult. The new material described herein represents at least three distinct taxa, all of them probably new. However, we refrain from naming new species based on this incomplete material in order to avoid adding confusion to an already complex taxonomical situation. This study provides new insights into the great diversity of eurysternids during the Late Jurassic. 

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. 

Equus caballus antunesi, nova subspecies, was a hypsodont, slender, and rather small horse (around 141cm at the withers), with narrow hooves and protocones longer on P3/-P4/ than on M1/-M2/. It does not fit in any of the different "types" of Pleistocene caballine horses previously recognized but may be related to the horse from the Acheulean of Solana del Zamborino.
Hypsodonty, small size, slenderness, narrow hooves are all characters that can easily be related to ecological conditions. Equus caballus antunesi was probably a horse adapted to rather dry and cold conditions and to a hard ground. It does not seem related at all to the North-European Equus caballus germanicus-gallicus group. 

The mammalian fauna of the Tagai locality of Olhon Island in Lake Baikal contains six artiodactyls:
Amphitragulus boulangeri, Lagomeryx parvulus, Stephanocemas sp., Palaeomeryx kaupi, Orygotherium aff. escheri, and Brachyodus intermedius. They are reported from Eastern Siberia for the first time. A description of teeth and limb-bones are given. An analysis of the systematic composition of the Tagai fauna allows it to be correlated with European faunas of the second part of the Early Miocene (Orleanian, MN 3-4) and permit suggestion of the existance of a united European-Siberian zoogeographical sub-area in the middle latitudes of Eurasia at that time. 

Pangolins have never shown a high taxic diversity and their fossil record is scarce. We report here the first discovery of a partial humerus from late Oligocene deposits in Pech du Fraysse (MP28, France). The new specimen from Pech du Fraysse is described and compared to various extant and extinct species of pangolins. It shows a suite of morphological features very similar to the humeri discovered in Saint-André (MP 26), Solnhofen (Burdigalien), and Saulcet (Aquitanian), attributed here to Necromanis franconica. The description of the specimen from Pech du Fraysse allowed us to discuss the systematics of Paleogene and Neogene pholidotans. The differences between PFY 4051 and N. franconica on the one side, and N. quercyi on the other side, might be sufficiently important to justify a generic distinction. A comparison with extant species showed that N. franconica was likely terrestrial and fossorial based on its humeral morphology. 

The entelodonts of the Quercy phosphorites are essentially known from isolated teeth. The skull remains attributed to Entelodon magnum by Kowalewsky in 1876 and the type left mandible of Enteladon depereti RÉPELIN, 1918 do not belong to this family. From a morphologic point of view, the teeth from Quercy are quite comparable to those from the type localities of E. magnum and E. deguilhemi. In the absence of distinctive anatomical criteria between E. magnum (small species from the level of Ronzon) and E. deguilhemi (large species from the level of Villebramar) they are referred, according to their size, to one or the other of these two species. However, some of them are intermediate in size. Their existence speaks in favor of a close relationship between E. magnum and E. deguilhemi and confers a real stratigraphic interest to these entelodonts of Western Europe. Finally, some anatomical characters (notch on the mesial border of P4, presence of a paraconid joined to the metaconid, trigonid higher than talonid) considered until now as peculiar to the North American Archaeotherium and not yet cited in its European contemporary Entelodon have been brought to light on the teeth from Quercy.

  

The classifications of the recent vespertilionine bats were made wihtout taking in account the teeth morphology; this resulted in a reduction of the possibilities of comparison with the available fossils. The generalized use of dental formulae was abusive: this contributed to the admission of artificial genera. These conditions have long delayed the consideration of characters able to frame the phylogeny of the sub-family. In the first part of the study, the teeth morphologies are described and analysed. morphological reference types are established for each upper and lower tooth: they should make an easier elaboration of criteria for the differentiation at generic level. The position of the species in view of these criteria allows one to group them into homogeneous genera, and to appreciate the degree of relationship that the latter have between them. The second part of the study (next publicationà will develop inferences dealing with systematics and phylogeny