A new genus of Lophiodontidae (Perissodactyla, Mammalia) from the early Eocene of La Borie (Southern France) and the origin of the genus Lophiodon Cuvier, 1822

Abstract The Lophiodontidae are a European Eocene perissodactyl family that includes the genera Lophiaspis , Lophiodon and Paralophiodon . Despite their high specific diversity, their abundance and their dominance over Eocene large herbivores, the origin of this group still remains unclear. The La Borie locality (early Eocene, MP8-9), near Issel, Southern France, has yielded a new and well preserved skull of a new early lophiodontid. Building on this new specimen, a new phylogenetic hypothesis is proposed for Lophiodontidae, based on a cladistic analysis of dental, cranial and mandibular characters. The specimen displays a unique morphology that leads us to propose the new genus and species Eolophiodon laboriense . This monospecific genus is the sister group of the clade gathering Lophiodon and Paralophiodon . From the obtained phylogeny, it is proposed that the well-known group of derived lophiodonts might have arisen in Southern Europe soon after the origin of the family, and most probably from a Lophiaspis -like stock.