Tiny teeth of consequence: Vestigial antemolars provide key to Early Miocene soricid taxonomy (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae)

In the soricid fauna of the Early Miocene Petersbuch 28 fissure fill from Bavaria, Germany, specimens of Miosorex desnoyersianus (Lartet, 1851) and Paenelimnoecus micromorphus (Doben-Florin, 1964) retain a tiny penultimate antemolar. This antemolar was previously unknown for P. micromorphus, because the tiny antemolar has not been preserved until now. Miosorex desnoyersianus retains the rudimentary tooth; its possible function was to keep the p4 in upright position. The younger species of Paenelimnoecus have lost this vestigial tooth. Based on the alveoli, Miosorex pusilliformis is interpreted as a junior synonym of M . desnoyersianus, and the diagnoses of Miosorex desnoyersianus and Paenelimnoecus micromorphus are emended.