We describe five new dento-gnathic specimens of
Tetraconodon, a genus of Miocene tetraco nodontine suid (Mammalia, Artiodactyla), discovered in Myanmar (= Burma). In Myanmar, we recognized three distinct species of
Tetraconodon (
T. minor,
T. intermedius and
T. malensis sp. nov.) and one specifically undetermined specimen, which is here named
Tetraconodon sp. cf.
T. intermedius. The new species,
T. malensis, has characteristics of
Tetraconodon, such as extremely enlarged P
4 and simple and relatively small M
3. It is distinct from the other
Tetraconodon species in being much smaller, suggesting that it is the most primitive known
Tetraconodon species. The dental size and characteristics of
T. malensis suggest that
Tetraconodon was derived during the late middle Miocene from the early middle Miocene
Conohyus sindiensis, which was discovered in the Siwalik Group of Indo-Pakistan and Nepal and has also been found in the middle Miocene deposits of Thailand, or a close relative. The discovery of the most primitive form in Myanmar suggests that
Tetraconodon may have originated in Myanmar.
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