Pliocene carnivorans from Jradzor, Armenia

The Jradzor locality (Armenia, South Caucasus) provides a stratigraphically constrained Pliocene carnivoran record spanning 4.16–3.98 Ma and 3.3 ± 0.03 Ma. Here we report new material of five taxa: Nyctereutes urartuensis, Chasmaporthetes lunensis and Pliocrocuta perrieri from the horizon JZ–7, Baranogale helbingi, and a lynx-sized felid from three older layers (JZ–3s, JZ–13 and JZ–15). Dental and mandibular morphology, together with morphometric analyses, indicate a guild combining an omnivorous raccoon dog, an archaic ictonychid mustelid and two large hyaenids representing distinct feeding strategies (cursorial hunting vs. bone cracking). The Jradzor assemblage documents carnivoran diversity and ecological structure at the biogeographic junction between Europe and Asia especially along the southern margin of the Eastern Paratethys and contributes to understanding dispersal and community dynamics during the Pliocene.