Comparisons and relationships of the African and European Miocene carnivoran assemblages

In the present article, the Middle and Late Miocene carnivoran faunas of Europe and Africa are compared for establishing their relationships. The Middle Miocene carnivoran assemblages from both continents are quite different at the specific and generic levels, less expressed in family composition. The comparison of the Late Miocene carnivoran assemblages indicates the following: the African carnivoran assemblage is different from the European ones both at the generic and specific level; the carnivoran faunas of Europe can be split into two geographic groups, “western” and “eastern”; the Turolian African assemblage is more diversified at the family level; the African carnivoran assemblage differs from the European ones in the presence of herpestids, the higher abundance of mustelids and the fewer hyaenids. It is more similar to the Late Miocene carnivoran assemblages of western and central Europe than eastern Europe.