Late Miocene ‘οvibovin’ bovids (Mammalia, Bovidae) from Çorakyerler, Turkey

Fossil ‘ovibovin’ bovids are described from the Upper Miocene of Çorakyerler (north-central Anatolia). Two taxa have been recognized: the predominant <i>Criotherium argalioides</i>, known by several craniodental remains, and the less common <i>Hezhengia</i>? cf. <i>inundata</i>, documented by a few dentitions. A review of <i>C. argalioides</i> records from Samos and Kemiklitepe D and a thorough comparison with the Çorakyerler sample provides new data on the morphological and metric variability of this taxon, as well as its chronological and geographic range. <i>Hezhengia</i>? cf. <i>inundata</i> from Çorakyerler reveals important similarities with the Garkin (Turkey) taxon, which, in contrast to previous studies, we find more similar to the Chinese <i>Hezhengia</i> than to the Chinese <i>Plesiaddax</i> as originally suggested. The same is true for “<i>Plesiaddax</i>” <i>simplex</i> from Kayadibi (Turkey), which is referred to as <i>Hezhengia</i>? <i>simplex</i>. The co-occurrence of two ‘ovibovin’ bovids of similar size in the same assemblage was previously suspected but never before documented.