The earliest representative of the Megaviverra– Civettictis lineage (Mammalia, Carnivora, Viverridae) from the Arabian Peninsula documents Late Miocene dispersal between Asia and Africa

The Late Miocene fossil record of large viverrids is sparse, limiting understanding of their origin, early evolution, and dispersal. Here we describe Promegaviverra abudhabiensis gen. et sp. nov ., a new large viverrid from the Late Miocene Baynunah Formation of Abu Dhabi (c. 7 Ma, United Arab Emirates), representing the first definitive viverrid from the Arabian Peninsula. The new taxon is distinguished by a shallow mandibular corpus, elongated premolars, and a relatively narrow m1 with a shortened talonid and bicuspid hypoconulid. Comparative study shows that it differs from African and Asian Neogene viverrids traditionally assigned to Sahelictis , Viverra , and Vishnuictis , but shares derived features with the Pliocene genus Megaviverra . Phylogenetic analysis recovers Promegaviverra as the sister taxon of the Megaviverra – Civettictis clade, identifying it as the earliest known representative of this lineage and supporting the transfer of the South African species Civettictis vulpidens to Megaviverra . This revised phylogenetic framework extends the evolutionary history of the clade into the Late Miocene and clarifies its biogeographic history across Africa and Eurasia. The occurrence of Promegaviverra in Arabia fills a critical temporal and geographical gap between the Siwalik viverrids of southern Asia and the Pliocene large civets of Africa and Eurasia, providing the first direct fossil evidence that the Arabian Peninsula served as a dispersal corridor for large viverrines between Asia and Africa during the latest Miocene. These findings highlight Arabia as a key region for understanding the evolution and intercontinental dispersal of Old World carnivorans.