First evidence of a chalicothere (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) in The Netherlands

Amongst many fossils from ‘de Kuilen’ in Mill-Langenboom (The Netherlands, Noord-Brabant province) an upper molar fragment of a peculiar land mammal, hitherto unknown in the Netherlands, has generated special interest. Comparison of the molar with several fossil large mammals, in particular extinct Miocene chalicotheres, in the Natural History Museum, Basel, made clear that the specimen is a second or third upper molar of a representative of the subfamily Chalicotheriinae. Due to the incompleteness of the specimen, a more accurate judgement of the position of the molar (M2 or M3) is not possible. A conclusion as to which species it could belong to is also difficult to draw, because morphology as well as dimensions of the teeth in two species, Chalicotherium grande (de Blainville, 1849) and C. goldfussi (Kaup, 1833) show a very strong resemblance. The fossil therefore is described as Chalicotherium sp.