This paleomammalogy list records new fossil mammal taxa that were described during the year 2017, as well as notes other significant paleomammalogy discoveries and events which occurred during that year.
Metatherians
Research A study on the morphology and phylogenetic relationships of Eobrasilia coutoi is published by Carneiro & Oliveira (2017). New information on the skull anatomy of Peratherium cuvieri is published by Selva & Ladevèze (2017). Zeusdelphys complicatus from the Eocene of Brazil is interpreted as a member of Hatcheriformes by Carneiro & Oliveira (2017). Description of the skull morphology of Epidolops ameghinoi and a study on the phylogenetic relationships of Polydolopimorphia is published by Beck (2017). A study on the causes of decline and extinction of sparassodonts is published by López-Aguirre et al. (2017). A study on the age of a specimen of Zygomaturus trilobus recovered from the Willandra Lakes locality (Australia), indicating that this species persisted for a considerable time after the first arrival of Indigenous Australians, is published by Westaway, Olley & Grün (2017). A study evaluating whether the decline of Australian megafaunal population in the Pleistocene, leading to megafaunal extinction in Australia, was caused by the climate changes is published by van der Kaars et al. (2017). A study on the environmental setting and diet of marsupials from two concentrated, fossil bone horizons at Cuddie Springs (Australia: one from the middle Pleistocene, and the second from the late Pleistocene, based on isotopic data and teeth microwear, is published by DeSantis et al. (2017). A study on the Pleistocene marsupial Diprotodon optatum, indicating it undertook seasonal, two-way migration in eastern Sahul, is published by Price et al. (2017). A study on the species richness and relative abundance of macropodiform marsupials from Riversleigh is published by Butler et al. (2017). A study exploring the potential of the collagen fingerprinting method also known as Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry in studying Australian vertebrate palaeobiodiversity, using it to identify Late Pleistocene kangaroo fossils from two caves in Tasmania, is published by Buckley et al. (2017). A study on the Oligo-Miocene local faunas from the Riversleigh World Heritage Area (Australia), aiming to identify potential mammalian palaeocommunities and palaeocommunity types, is published by Myers et al. (2017).
New taxa Name Novelty Status Authors Age Unit Location Notes ImagesAnatoliadelphysGen. et sp. novValidMaga & BeckEocene (Lutetian)Uzunçarşıdere FormationA probable non-marsupial member of Marsupialiformes. The type species is A. maasae.Barinya kutjamarpensisSp. novValidBinfield et al.MioceneWipajiri FormationPerameles wilkinsonorumSp. novValidTravouillon et al.PlioceneA bandicoot, a species of Perameles.SilvicultorGen. et comb. et 2 sp. novValidTravouillon et al.PlioceneA bandicoot. The type species is "Peroryctes" tedfordi Turnbull, Ludelius & Archer (2003); genus also includes new species S. karae and S. hamiltonensis.Wakaleo schouteniSp. novValidGillespie, Archer & HandLate Oligocene and early MioceneRiversleigh World Heritage AreaA member of the family Thylacoleonidae.
Eutherians
Research A study on the timing of the diversification of placental mammals based on genomic data, indicating that the placentals underwent a continuous radiation across the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary without apparent interruption by the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, is published by Liu et al. (2017). A study on the completeness of the eutherian fossil record, intending to establish whether the lack of placental mammal fossils in the Cretaceous is more likely to be caused by poor fossil record or by genuine absence of placental mammals in the Cretaceous, is published by Davies et al. (2017). Revision of the fossil material of the species assigned to the basal eutherian genus Prokennalestes and a study on their morphological and size variability is published by Lopatin & Averianov (2017). A study on the impact of biotic (competition pressure) and abiotic factors (environmental change) on the evolutionary success, decline and extinction of large fossil herbivorous mammals from North America, Europe and Turkana Basin in Africa is published by Žliobaitė, Fortelius & Stenseth (2017). A study on the impacts of temperature and human activities in causing extirpations on local and regional scales, as well as on the causes of the extinction or major extirpations of four megafauna mammalian groups (i.e. mammoth, rhinoceros, horse and deer) in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene, is published by Wang & Zhang (2017). A study of the phylogenetic relationships of the Paleocene placental mammals is published by Halliday, Upchurch and Goswami (2017). A study on the impact of the Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 on the evolution of the body size in four placental lineages, especially in the early equid lineage Arenahippus pernix, is published by D'Ambrosia et al. (2017). A study evaluating whether the extinction of the Pleistocene megafauna of North America was caused by rapid overhunting after the appearance of humans by comparing the dates of the last appearances of megafauna and first appearances of humans across North America is published by Emery-Wetherell, McHorse & Davis (2017). Menéndez et al. (2017) infer the climatic variables for the middle Miocene of the Somosaguas vertebrate fossil site (Spain) on the basis of the body size structure of the mammal fauna known from the site, which is intimately related to climate and vegetation. Carnivore marks are identified on mammal bones from the Pleistocene of Argentina, including three ground sloth bones and one toxodontid bone, by Chichkoyan et al. (2017). Description of the osteology of the skull of the pampathere Holmesina floridanus based on the fossils from the Blancan of Florida is published by Gaudin & Lyon (2017). A study on the diet of Pleistocene glyptodonts and ground sloths from the Pleistocene of Argentina as indicated by δ13C values in bone collagen and carbonate is published by Bocherens et al. (2017). A study on the phylogenetic placement of members of the genus Thalassocnus within Megatheria is published by Amson, de Muizon & Gaudin (2017). Description of new mylodontine sloth remains from the late Pleistocene of Ecuador and Peru and a revision of the taxonomy of the genus Glossotherium is published by De Iuliis et al. (2017), who consider Glossotherium tropicorum to be a valid species. A study on a specimen of Stegomastodon platensis (or Notiomastodon platensis) recovered from Pleistocene fluvial sediments in the Santiago Basin (Chile), recovering life history information relating to the final four years of life and the season of death, is published by El Adli et al. (2017). An incomplete juvenile skull of Gomphotherium wimani from the Miocene Hujialiang Formation and cheek teeth of a member of the same species from the Miocene Dongxiang Formation (China) are described by Yang, Li & Wang (2017). A study on the dietary differences between members of the genera Sinomastodon, Stegodon and Elephas from the Pleistocene of South China is published by Zhang et al. (2017). Pleistocene proboscidean remains associated with human teeth are described from the Mawokou Cave (Guizhou, China) by Wang et al. (2017), who assign this fossil material to the species Stegodon orientalis and Elephas maximus. A study on the population dynamics of the mammoths and mastodons in the North American Midwest during the late Pleistocene and the possible causes of their regional extinction is published by Widga et al. (2017). A study on the regional variability of the diet of the American mastodon (Mammut americanum) is published by Green, DeSantis & Smith (2017). Meyer et al. (2017) report the recovery of full mitochondrial genomes from four and partial nuclear genomes from two fossils of the straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus), the analysis of which indicated that the straight-tusked elephant was a close relative of the African forest elephant. A study on the detrimental mutations in members of the relict, Holocene population of the woolly mammoth from the Wrangel Island prior to the extinction of the population is published by Rogers & Slatkin (2017). A study on the phylogenetic relationships of the late Pleistocene woolly mammoth populations based on the data set of 143 mammoth mitochondrial genomes is published by Chang et al. (2017). A study determining the sex of 98 woolly mammoth specimens collected at various locations throughout Siberia is published by Pečnerová et al. (2017), who report a significant skew toward males among the studied specimens and search for possible explanations of the observed skew in sex ratio. Fellows Yates et al. (2017) identify and generate twenty woolly mammoth mitochondrial genomes based on Late Pleistocene material from central Europe. A study on the habitat preferences of the desmostylians Desmostylus and Paleoparadoxia as indicated by their fossil occurrences is published by Matsui et al. (2017). A study on the humeral morphology of the desmostylians, intending to establish whether different desmostylian genera can be distinguished on the basis of their humeri, is published by Matsui (2017). Description of cranial and postcranial remains of Pyrotherium from the Oligocene locality of Quebrada Fiera (Mendoza Province, Argentina) is published by Cerdeño & Vera (2017). A study on the diversity of bats of Haiti through time based on fossil evidence is published by Soto-Centeno, Simmons & Steadman (2017). A study on the body size variation in Neogene odd-toed ungulates and even-toed ungulates from Europe and North America and on whether it is correlated with origination and/or extinction rates across clades and regions is published by Huang et al. (2017). A redescription of the skull anatomy of the holotype specimen of Eoastrapostylops riolorense, with an emphasis on the auditory region, is published by Kramarz, Bond & Rougier (2017), who interpret this species as a member of a basal meridiungulate lineage that diverged before the differentiation among astrapotheres, pyrotheres and notoungulates. A description of the microstructure of the tooth enamel of Carodnia vieirai is published by Bergqvist & von Koenigswald (2017). A fossil of the litoptern species Neolicaphrium recens is described from the Pleistocene deposits of the Río Dulce (Santiago del Estero Province, Argentina) by Gaudioso et al. (2017), representing the northernmost and westernmost record of the species. A nearly complete mitochondrial genome of the litoptern Macrauchenia patachonica is recovered by Westbury et al. (2017). A study on variation in teeth growth and eruption in notoungulates in the context of geological, climatic and environmental changes taking place in South America from the late Paleocene onwards is published by Gomes Rodrigues, Herrel & Billet (2017). A systematic revision of members of the family Archaeopithecidae from the Eocene of Patagonia (Argentina) is published by Vera (2017), who recognizes Archaeopithecus rogeri as the only valid species. A study on the phylogenetic relationships of hegetotheriid notoungulates, as well as their possible ancestral area and vicariance, dispersal and extinction events, is published by Seoane, Roig Juñent & Cerdeño (2017). Revision of the content of the hegetotheriid species Prohegetotherium sculptum based on a reexamination of the type specimens and a study on the phylogenetic relationships of hegetotheriids is published by Kramarz & Bond (2017). Description of a skeleton of Thomashuxleya externa with a well-preserved skull and jaws associated with postcrania, recovered from the Eocene of Cañadón Vaca (Argentina), and a study on the phylogenetic relationships of the species is published by Carrillo & Asher (2017).