Late Miocene Carnivora from Chad: Lutrinae (Mustelidae)

We describe extensive Late Miocene fossil Lutrinae from Toros-Menalla, Chad. A minimum of four species are present in this fossiliferous area. Such a large number of species, diverse in size and dental morphology, is significant and unique in the fossil record of the subfamily Lutrinae in the Neogene of Africa. Two new taxa are described, Sivaonyx beyi sp. nov. and Djourabus dabba gen. nov. sp. nov.; the two other species, which are represented by more fragmentary remains, are assigned to Lutrinae indet. aff. Torolutra sp. and Lutrinae indet. aff. Aonyx sp. Sivaonyx beyi is the best known of the species. It is represented by many dental remains and a subcomplete skeleton. Postcranial characters of this species are not particularly specialized. It is interpreted here as a terrestrial predator with poorly developed aquatic adaptations. Fossils of otters are known from ten different localities at Toros-Menalla, each of which yielded a single individual of one or two species. The presence of four morphologically distinct otters in the area is indicative of a palaeoenvironment with a relatively well-developed freshwater system of lakes and/or rivers.