Abstract:
We describe new material of fossil golden moles (Chrysochloridae) from the early
Pliocene site of Langebaanweg, South Africa. This site has produced hundreds of isolated
craniodental and postcranial elements, all of which are easily identifiable as
chrysochlorid. Based on size and morphology, at least three species are represented in
this assemblage, two of which are represented by material of sufficient quality to name.
Based on relative abundance, humeral and mandibular types can be associated with
other material. Craniodentally, the most common Langebaanweg species closely
resembles the extant Cape golden mole, Chrysochloris asiatica, but differs in showing
a relatively narrow distal humerus, proportionally similar to that of the extant Eremitalpa
granti. A second, rarer species is represented by two well-preserved mandibles that
exhibit a stout, enlarged lower second incisor, a robust mandibular corpus, and is associated
with a less common humeral type that resembles living Chrysochloris. At least
one additional species is represented by a small number of relatively large humeri,
femora, and scapular fragments. Because it lacks any craniodental representation, it is
not named in this paper. We tentatively suggest that the relatively narrow distal margin
of the humerus of the new, C. asiatica-like species may have been adapted to a habitat
similar to that of the modern E. granti, a "sand-swimming" golden mole currently known
from northwestern South Africa and southern Namibia.
