Pliocene carnivorans from Jradzor, Armenia

Bartolini-Lucenti, Saverio; Madurell‑Malapeira, Joan; Marciszak, Adrian; Meyer, Marie; Becker, Damien; Vasilyan, Davit

doi:10.3897/sjp.145.180311

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Journal article

Pliocene carnivorans from Jradzor, Armenia

DOKPE

Bartolini-Lucenti, Saverio ORCID Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy
Madurell‑Malapeira, Joan Università degli Studi di Firenze, Italy
Marciszak, Adrian ORCID University of Wrocław, Poland
Meyer, Marie Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, France
Becker, Damien ORCID University of Fribourg
Vasilyan, Davit ORCID JURASSICA Museum, Porrentruy, Switzerland

2026

Published in:

Swiss Journal of Palaeontology. - Pensoft Publishers. - 2026, vol. 145, p. 579-596

English The Jradzor locality (Armenia, South Caucasus) provides a stratigraphically constrained Pliocene carnivoran record spanning 4.16–3.98 Ma and 3.3 ± 0.03 Ma. Here we report new material of five taxa: Nyctereutes urartuensis, Chasmaporthetes lunensis and Pliocrocuta perrieri from the horizon JZ–7, Baranogale helbingi, and a lynx-sized felid from three older layers (JZ–3s, JZ–13 and JZ–15). Dental and mandibular morphology, together with morphometric analyses, indicate a guild combining an omnivorous raccoon dog, an archaic ictonychid mustelid and two large hyaenids representing distinct feeding strategies (cursorial hunting vs. bone cracking). The Jradzor assemblage documents carnivoran diversity and ecological structure at the biogeographic junction between Europe and Asia especially along the southern margin of the Eastern Paratethys and contributes to understanding dispersal and community dynamics during the Pliocene.

Faculty

Faculté des sciences et de médecine

Department

Département de Géosciences

Language