Neogene gerbils from Europe

In this paper, a review of the gerbils that appear in the late Miocene and early Pliocene of Europe is presented. Among the Myocricetodontines, the presence of Myocricetodon is reported in Salobreña (Granada, Southern Spain), Almenara M (Castellón, Eastern Spain), Pino Mojón (Guadix-Baza Basin, Southern Spain) and Castelnou-3 and Font Estramar (Roussillon Basin, Southern France). Within the same subfamily, today’s genus Calomyscus is present in Western Europe in Salobreña, Almenara M and possibly Font Estramar. In Eastern Europe, Calomyscus is present in the Ruscinian of Maritsa (Rhodes, Greece). Among the Taterillinae, they are restricted to Western Europe (Spain) and represented by two consecutive species, Protatera almenarensis and Debruijnimys julii. Both are closely related, although an ancestor-descendant relationship cannot be established between them. Finally, two supposed Gerbillinae, Pseudomeriones and Epimeriones are also considered. Both are considered as true gerbils, although their assignment to the subfamily Gerbillinae is questioned. Besides a number of features, Epimeriones differs from Pseudomeriones in its very different geographic range and also in its association with much more wooded environments.