The discovery of a new species of pangolin, previously thought to have existed in Europe during the early Pleistocene but not confirmed until now, has been made possible by fossil remains discovered at Grăunceanu, a rich fossil deposit in Romania, according to the University of Arkansas. Researchers believe it is Europe’s youngest and best-documented fossil pangolin, as well as the only fossil from the Pleistocene epoch.
Deeper examination of fossils from one of Eastern Europe’s most important paleontological sites has resulted in the discovery of a new species of pangolin, which was previously thought to have existed in Europe during the early Pleistocene but had not been confirmed until now.
“It’s not a fancy fossil,” said Claire Terhune, an anthropology associate professor at the University of Arkansas. “It’s only a single bone, but it represents a new species of a strange animal. We’re particularly proud of it because the fossil record for pangolins is extremely limited. This is the youngest pangolin ever discovered in Europe, as well as the only pangolin fossil from Pleistocene Europe.”
The identification of this fossil as a pangolin is significant because previous research suggested that pangolins vanished from the European paleontological record during the middle Miocene, around 10 million years ago.
Claire Terhune
The humerus, or upper arm bone, came from Grăunceanu, a rich fossil deposit in Romania’s Olteţ River Valley. Terhune and an international team of researchers have been working on Grăunceanu and other Olteţ sites for nearly a decade. These sites, which were discovered due to landslides in the 1960s, have yielded fossils from a wide range of animal species, including a large terrestrial monkey, a short-necked giraffe, rhinos, and saber-toothed cats, in addition to the new pangolin species.
“What’s especially exciting is that, while some research in the 1930s suggested the presence of pangolins in Europe during the Pleistocene, those fossils were lost, and other researchers questioned their validity,” Terhune said. “We now know for certain that pangolins existed in Europe at least 2 million years ago.”
The bone was discovered at the Grăunceanu paleontological site in Romania’s Olteţ River Valley, a rich fossil deposit studied for over a decade by Terhune and an international team of researchers. In addition to the new pangolin species, this site and others in the same area have yielded fossils from a wide range of animal species, including a large terrestrial monkey, a short-necked giraffe, rhinos, and saber-toothed cats.
Pangolins can be found in Asia and Africa today. They resemble the armadillos that roam the southern United States and are often referred to as scaly anteaters. They are sometimes mistaken for reptiles because they have scales from head to tail, but modern pangolins are mammals that are most closely related to carnivores. They are also among the world’s most illegally trafficked animals. The World Wildlife Fund classifies the eight species of pangolins that live on two continents as “vulnerable” to “critically endangered.”
The new pangolin fossil dates from approximately 1.9 to 2.2 million years ago, putting it within the Pleistocene Epoch, which lasted from approximately 2.6 million years ago to approximately 11,700 years ago. The identification of this fossil as a pangolin is significant because previous research suggested that pangolins vanished from the European paleontological record around 10 million years ago during the middle Miocene. Previous research hypothesized that pangolins were being pushed toward more tropical and subtropical equatorial environments as the world cooled.
The new species revises an earlier understanding of pangolin evolution and bio-geography as the youngest and best documented fossil pangolin from Europe, as well as the only fossil from Pleistocene Europe. The new species, Smutsia olteniensis, shares several characteristics with other living members of the genus Smutsia, which is currently found only in Africa.
According to the researchers, the identification of this fossil as a pangolin is significant because previous research suggested that pangolins vanished from the European paleontological record during the middle Miocene, around 10 million years ago.
Sabrina Curran of Ohio University, Timothy Gaudin of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and Alexandru Petculescu of the Emil Racoviţă Institute of Speleology in Bucharest were Claire Terhune’s collaborators.
Pangolins can be found in Asia and Africa today. They are sometimes mistaken for reptiles because they have scales from head to tail, but modern pangolins are mammals and are most closely related to carnivores, according to the University of Arkansas. They are also among the world’s most illegally trafficked animals.
