A new species of Urva (Herpestidae, Carnivora) from late Upper Pleistocene deposits of East Fissure-Fillings, Fanchang, Anhui Province of Eastern China

Here we describe and erect a new species, Urva fanchangensis, from the middle or late Early Pleistocene of eastern Asia. Urva fanchangensis is the first known fossil species of the genus, and is a medium-sized member, characterized by moderately sized premolars, a robust P4 with a large parastyle and strong protocone, and transversely widened M1 and M2. It is closely related to the modern U. urva and U. semitorquata. Comparative studies suggest that U. fanchangensis is either the ancestor of U. urva or a common ancestor of U. urva and U. semitorquata. This species provides valuable information for estimating the divergence time of the genus as a node calibration, indicating that the divergence of Urva might occur more recently than previously thought.