''Miomaci'' (Latinized , abbreviation of "

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

" + "little bear") is a genus of herbivorous ailuropodine bear from the late Miocene of Hungary. It is known only from teeth and jaws, but these indicate it was significantly smaller than its close relative ''

Indarctos ''Indarctos'' is an extinct genus of bear, present in Africa, North America, and Eurasia during the Miocene. It was present from ~11.1 to 5.3 Annum, Ma, existing for approximately . The oldest member is from Arizona (~11.1—7.7 Ma) and youngest ...

'', which could reach 265.74 kg.

Discovery and Naming

''Miomaci'' is known from dental remains of one individual including a left

maxilla In vertebrates, the maxilla (: maxillae ) is the upper fixed (not fixed in Neopterygii) bone of the jaw formed from the fusion of two maxillary bones. In humans, the upper jaw includes the hard palate in the front of the mouth. The two maxil ...

with P3-M2, left upper

canine Canine may refer to: Zoology and anatomy * Animals of the family Canidae, more specifically the subfamily Caninae, which includes dogs, wolves, foxes, jackals and coyotes ** ''Canis'', a genus that includes dogs, wolves, coyotes, and jackals ** Do ...

, 2 left

incisor Incisors (from Latin ''incidere'', "to cut") are the front teeth present in most mammals. They are located in the premaxilla above and on the mandible below. Humans have a total of eight (two on each side, top and bottom). Opossums have 18, wher ...

s, right M1, right M2, right p1, fragment of right

mandible In jawed vertebrates, the mandible (from the Latin ''mandibula'', 'for chewing'), lower jaw, or jawbone is a bone that makes up the lowerand typically more mobilecomponent of the mouth (the upper jaw being known as the maxilla). The jawbone i ...

with p3-m1, left hemimandible with alveoli with p1-p4, m1 (separated), m2-m3. The material is stored in the Geological Museum of the Geological and Geophysical Institute of Hungary. The specimens are known from the Edelény Formation near the town of Rudabánya, Hungary and date to the

Vallesian The Vallesian age is a period of geologic time (11.6–9.0 Ma) within the Miocene used more specifically with European Land Mammal Ages. It precedes the Turolian age and follows the Astaracian age. The so-called Vallesian Crisis resulted in th ...

age of the

late Miocene The Late Miocene (also known as Upper Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages. The Tortonian and Messinian stages comprise the Late Miocene sub-epoch, which lasted from 11.63 Ma (million ye ...

. The generic name is derived from '

' and Maci'', the Hungarian word for 'little bear' or 'teddy bear'. The specific name, ''pannonicum'', is Latin for 'comes from

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, on the west by Noricum and upper Roman Italy, Italy, and on the southward by Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia and upper Moesia. It ...

', the Roman province in which

Rudabánya Rudabánya is a town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Hungary. The town territory was the location of the discovery of a hominid from 12 million years ago, '' Dryopithecus brancoi'' (1969). International relations Rudabánya is twinned with: ...

is located.

References

Fossil taxa described in 2017 Miocene bears Miocene mammals of Europe Monotypic prehistoric carnivoran genera Ailuropodinae {{paleo-carnivora-stub