Filling a gap in the proboscidean fossil record: a new genus from the Lutetian of Senegal

A long hiatus encompassing most of the Eocene (end of the Ypresian to the early Priabonian) breaks up the proboscidean evolutionary history, which is otherwise documented by a rich fossil record. Only two post Ypresian localities from West Africa (Mali and Senegal) yielded scarce Moeritherium-like dental remains. Here, we study one of these remains from Senegal and name a new genus, Saloumia. This taxon, confidently mid-Lutetian in age, evokes Moeritherium and elephantifoms in view of its wrinkled enamel, the lack of centrocrista, and its strong lingual cingulum. However, due to its pronounced bunodonty, which departs from the bunolophodonty of both Moeritherium and elephantifoms, we cannot exclude that Saloumia documents an early experiment in dental diversity among Paleocene-Eocene proboscideans, without direct relationships with later proboscideans.