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Two species of the family Eomyidae are identified in the early Miocene localities of the Araia d'Alcora outcrop (Ribesalbes-Alcora Basin, Iberian Peninsula): Ligerimys florancei and Ligerimys ellipticus. The first is rarer than the second, which is one of the most abundant mammals in the Ribesalbes-Alcora Basin assemblages. Due to its abundance, we are able to describe its variability in dental morphology, showing characteristics never previously observed, including the presence of a mesoloph or other features previously described only in ancient assemblages of this species, such as the presence of the anteroloph, which appears in younger assemblages in the Araia sequence. Furthermore, based on the eomyids, we divide the record of the Campisano Ravine section into two long local biozones, depending on the species present. In addition, each local biozone is divided into two smaller subbiozones, depending on the abundance of each species. We retrospectively compare and correlate the assemblages studied here with other Ligerimys assemblages from the other basins in the Iberian Peninsula. We classify these sites based on the abundance and species of the genus Ligerimys. Additionally, we discuss the palaeoecological preferences of these species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Campisano Ravine in the Ribesalbes-Alcora Basin (Spain, early Miocene, biozone C, MN 4) yielded a relatively diverse assemblage of squirrels, composed by the ground squirrels Heteroxerus rubricati, Atlantoxerus blacki and Aragoxerus sp. the marmotines Palaeosciurus cf. sutteri, Spermophilinus sp., Marmotini indet. and the flying squirrel Aliveria cf. luteyni. Heteroxerus rubricati, Atlantoxerus blacki and Spermophilinus are typical early Miocene species from the Iberian Peninsula, and in this work we increase the knowledge of the variability of them. In MN4, the genus Aragoxerus is reported for the first time in the Iberian Peninsula, and, apart from France, it is its only record in Europe. We report here the first record of the species Palaeosciurus cf. sutteri in the Iberian Peninsula, and one of the oldest in Europe. The occurrence of Aliveria cf. luteyni marks the first record of the genus Aliveria in Western Europe. Additionally, the palaeoecological significance of this assemblage is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we describe a previously unknown species of the glirid Eliomys from the Late Miocene and Early Pliocene Cabriel, Alcoy and Granada basins of southeastern Spain. Eliomys yevesi sp. nov. is characterized by its relative small size, narrow lingual wall and common presence of two centrolophs in the upper molars, and well-developed centrolophids in the lower molars. The new species is the probable ancestor of E. intermedius, which in turn represents the ancestor of the extant E. quercinus. According to its morphologic and biometric features, the origin of E. yevesi sp. nov. is likely to be found in some population of E. truci from the Late Miocene. Based on these affinities, we propose the lineage E. truci-E. yevesi sp. nov.-E. intermedius-E. quercinus, in which there is a trend towards the development of centrolophs, as well as the reduction of accessory crests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]