2026 in paleomammalogy

This article records new taxa of fossil mammals of every kind that are scheduled to be described during the year 2026, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to paleontology of mammals that are scheduled to occur in the year 2026.

Afrotherians

Proboscideans

Proboscidean research

• Kumar (2026) reports the first discovery of fossil material of Anancus sivalensis from Indian Siwaliks, recovered from the Pliocene Tatrot Formation in Himachal Pradesh. ^[1]
• Hannold et al. (2026) reconstruct the diets of pygmy mammoths from Northern Channel Islands and Columbian mammoths from Rancho La Brea and coastal Santa Barbara in southern California on the basis of stable isotopes in tooth enamel. ^[2]

Euarchontoglires

Primates

Primate research

• Cartmill & Brown (2026) review the history of the visual-predation theory, and argue that it represents the best available explanation for the origin of primates. ^[3]
• Arias-Martorell et al. (2026) report evidence of similarities of shape of the radial head of Pliobates cataloniae and extant apes, and interpret Pliobates as better adapted to climbing than to behaviors involving forelimb-dominated suspension. ^[4]
• Evidence of similarity of molar morphology to those of members of the genus Papio , and likely evidence of opportunistic feeding strategies, is reported in a specimen of Paradolichopithecus aff. arvernensis from the Dafnero-3 site (Greece) by Plastiras et al. (2026). ^[5]
• Williams et al. (2026) study the anatomy of ulna and femur or Sahelanthropus tchadensis , interpreted as indicative of presence of adaptations to bipedalism in spite of similarities in size and geometric morphometric shape to bones of chimpanzees. ^[6]

General paleoanthropology

• The most complete skeleton of Homo habilis reported to date is described from the upper Burgi Member of the Koobi Fora Formation (Kenya) by Grine et al. (2026). ^[7]
• Hublin et al. (2026) report the discovery of new, approximately 773,000-years-old hominin fossils from Grotte à Hominidés at Thomas Quarry I in Casablanca (Morocco), close in age to Homo antecessor but morphologically distinct from members of this species, preserving a combination of primitive and derived traits seen in Eurasian archaic hominins and in Homo sapiens. ^[8]
• García-Morato et al. (2026) reconstruct climate and vegetation changes in southern Africa from Marine Isotope Stage 5 to Marine Isotope Stage 3, and find that the emergence of the 76,000-67,000-years-old Stilbaai lithic technocomplex coincided with humid, cool phase that likely supported high biomass and expanded habitable zones, while the 64,000-60,000 years of Howiesons Poort technocomplex arose and ended during peaks of aridity, with a wetter interval midway through them. ^[9]
• Evidence of application of poison derived from plants (likely from Boophone disticha ) on the tips of 60,000-years-old arrowhead from the Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter (South Africa) is presented by Isaksson, Högberg & Lombard (2026). ^[10]
• Evidence of intentional pyre cremation at the HOR-1 site (Malawi) approximately 9500 years before present, representing the oldest adult pyre cremation in the world reported to date, is presented by Cerezo-Román et al. (2026). ^[11]

Rodents

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Type locality	Country	Notes	Images
Clethrionomys sibiricola [12]	Sp. nov	Valid	Borodin & Tesakov	Pleistocene		Russia ( Omsk Oblast)	A species of Clethrionomys .
Sibirosiphneus sukhovi [13]	Sp. nov	Valid	Golovanov, Yakovlev & Lopatin	Pleistocene		Russia	A zokor.

Rodent research

• Bujalska et al. (2026) reconstruct the evolutionary history of European small hamsters on the basis of mitochondrial genomes from Late Pleistocene and Holocene remains from Central and Western Europe, the Balkans and Anatolia, identifying evidence of presence of the winter white dwarf hamster in Central Europe during the Late Pleistocene. ^[14]

Laurasiatherians

Artiodactyls

Cetaceans

Cetacean research

• Peacock & Thewissen (2026) compare volume measurements of the bony labyrinth in extant mammals and Eocene cetaceans, and hypothesize that fossil cetaceans had membranous ducts of relatively larger size compared to terrestrial even-toed ungulates, and that vestibular organs of early cetaceans were necessary for terrestrial locomotion. ^[15]

Other artiodactyls

Other artiodactyl research

• Martínez-Polanco (2026) determines diet of extant Neotropical deers (including local dietary variation within species) on the basis of the study of their tooth wear, providing reference data that can be used to determine diets of fossil deers and other small- to medium-sized ungulates. ^[16]

Carnivorans

Name	Novelty	Status	Authors	Age	Type locality	Country	Notes	Images
Otaria josefinae [17]	Sp. nov		Hostos-Olivera et al.	Pliocene-Pleistocene		Peru	A sea lion.

Carnivoran research

• Lopatin et al. (2026) describe a molar of a member of the genus Mellivora from the Pleistocene strata from the Tham Hai Cave (Vietnam), representing the first known record of Mellivorinae in Southeast Asia. ^[18]
• Kargopoulos et al. (2026) revise the composition of the ictitheriine hyaenid assemblage from the Miocene strata from the Venta del Moro (Spain), reporting possible evidence of presence of a second species in addition to Hyaenictitherium wongii . ^[19]
• Haji-Sheikh, Haji-Sheikh & Naples (2026) present new cranial endocasts of Smilodon fatalis , and calculate that the range of brain endocast volumes of the studied species overlaps with the published range of brain volumes of modern lions. ^[20]

Perissodactyls

Perissodactyl research

• Tissier & Smith (2026) reconstruct the early evolutionary history of Perissodactyla on the basis of a new phylogenetic study, recovering purported horse relatives Hyracotherium and Pliolophus as not belonging to Hippomorpha, and reporting evidence of rapid dispersals of Pliolophus and Cardiolophus in the northern continents around the Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum. ^[21]
• Guðjónsdóttir et al. (2026) sequence a high-coverage genome from woolly rhinoceros tissue preserved within the stomach of a permafrost-preserved wolf from Tumat (Sakha Republic, Russia) and reconstruct the evolutionary history of the woolly rhinoceros on the basis of genomic data from this and two other Siberian individuals, finding no evidence of genomic erosion or a prolonged reduction in population size before the extinction of the species. ^[22]
• Evidence from the study of morphology of petrosals and inner ears of fossil horses, indicating that the ear region is informative for the studied of phylogeny of odd-toed ungulates, is presented by Goodchild et al. (2026). ^[23]
• Calderón et al. (2026) present new information on growth and development of teeth of Anchitherium , based on the study of their histology. ^[24]

Xenarthrans

Pilosans

Pilosan research

• Feola et al. (2026) revise the fossil record of ground sloth footprints, and name new ichnotaxa Megatherichnidae, Falciformichnus and Megatherichnum agilis . ^[25]

General mammalian research

• Evidence from geochemical analyses of teeth of Blancan proboscideans and horses from the Rancho Jorge locality (Sonora, Mexico), indicating that the studied mammals lived in arid environment and had mixed diets based on C₃ and C₄ plants, is presented by Hernández-Sandoval et al. (2026). ^[26]
• Hullot et al. (2026) propose a standardized methodological framework for the study of enamel histology in fossil taxa, and apply it to the study of enamel histology and growth of molars of toxodont notoungulates Pleurostylodon modicus , Eurygenium pacegnum , Adinotherium ovinum and Nesodon imbricatus . ^[27]

References

1. Kumar, S. (2026). "On the occurrence of Anancus sivalensis from the Tatrot Formation (Pliocene) of Upper Siwaliks of Indian subcontinent". Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia. 28 (3) e20250539. doi: 10.4072/rbp.2025.3.0539 .
2. Hannold, C. D.; Wang, Y.; Wang, X.; Dunn, R.; Hoffman, J. (2026). "Diets and environments of late Pleistocene pygmy and Columbian mammoths: Isotopic evidence from Southern California". PLOS ONE. 21 (1) e0338674. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0338674 . PMC   12779040 . PMID   41499443.
3. Cartmill, M.; Brown, K. (2026). "The Visual-Predation Theory: A Binocular Look Backward". American Journal of Biological Anthropology. 189 (1) e70192. doi:10.1002/ajpa.70192. PMID   41517977.
4. Arias-Martorell, J.; Raventós-Izard, G.; Monclús-Gonzalo, O.; Urciuoli, A.; Gamarra, J.; Nakatsukasa, M.; Moyà-Solà, S.; Alba, D. M. (2026). "Ape-like locomotor adaptations in the radius of the stem catarrhine Pliobates shed light on hominoid evolution". iScience 114622. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.114622 .
5. Plastiras, C. A.; Kostopoulos, D. S.; Guy, F.; Thiery, G.; Lazzari, V.; Lyras, G. A.; van der Geer, A. A. E.; Petculescu, A.; Popescu, A.; Merceron, G. (2026). "New Insights on the Dietary Ecology of Paradolichopithecus (Cercopithecidae, Mammalia) from Dafnero-3 (Greece)". PaleoAnthropology. 2026 (1): 122–147.
6. Williams, S. A.; Wang, X.; Araiza, I.; Guerra, J. S.; Meyer, M. R.; Spear, J. L. (2026). "Earliest evidence of hominin bipedalism in Sahelanthropus tchadensis". Science Advances. 12 (1) eadv0130. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adv0130 .
7. Grine, F. E.; Yang, D.; Hammond, A. S.; Jungers, W. L.; Lague, M. R.; Mongle, C. S.; Pearson, O. M.; Leakey, M. G.; Leakey, L. N. (2026). "New partial skeleton of Homo habilis from the upper Burgi Member, Koobi Fora Formation, Ileret, Kenya". The Anatomical Record. doi:10.1002/ar.70100.
8. Hublin, J.-J.; Lefèvre, D.; Perini, S.; Muttoni, G.; Skinner, M. M.; Bailey, S. E.; Freidline, S.; Gunz, P.; Rué, M.; El Graoui, M.; Geraads, D.; Daujeard, C.; Davies, T. W.; Kupczik, K.; Imbrasas, M. D.; Ortiz, A.; Falguères, C.; Shao, Q.; Bahain, J.-J.; Queffelec, A.; Gómez-Olivencia, A.; Benazzi, S.; Le Cabec, A.; Sorrentino, R.; Bergmann, I.; Sbihi-Alaoui, F.-Z.; Gallotti, R.; Raynal, J.-P.; Mohib, A. (2026). "Early hominins from Morocco basal to the Homo sapiens lineage". Nature: 1–7. doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-09914-y .
9. García-Morato, S.; Sánchez-Goñi, M. F.; Urrego, D. H.; d'Errico, F. (2026). "Climatic variability, vegetation dynamics, and cultural innovation in Southern Africa during the Middle Stone Age". Communications Earth & Environment. doi: 10.1038/s43247-025-03051-0 .
10. Isaksson, S.; Högberg, A.; Lombard, M. (2026). "Direct evidence for poison use on microlithic arrowheads in Southern Africa at 60,000 years ago". Science Advances. 12 (2) eadz3281. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adz3281 .
11. Cerezo-Román, J. I.; Sawchuk, E.; Schilt, F.; Bertacchi, A.; Buckley, G.; Chibisa, E.; Fahey, B. P.; Falchenberg, S. G. H.; Kaliba, P.; Kennett, D. J.; Mercader, J.; Pargeter, J.; Stock, J.; Szymanski, R.; Thompson, J. C. (2026). "Earliest evidence for intentional cremation of human remains in Africa". Science Advances. 12 (1) eadz9554. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adz9554 .
12. Borodin, A. V.; Tesakov, A. S. (2026). "Ancestral Northern Red-Backed Vole from the Early Pleistocene of Western Siberia". Doklady Earth Sciences. 526 (1) 2. doi:10.1134/S1028334X2560834X.
13. Golovanov, S. E.; Yakovlev, A. G.; Lopatin, A. V. (2026). "Not so endemic? Occurrence of Asiatic burrowing rodents (zokors) in the southern Fore-Urals localities of the Early and Middle Pleistocene". Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology. doi:10.1080/08912963.2025.2601270.
14. Bujalska, B.; Golubiński, M.; Popović, D.; Berto, C.; Conard, N. J.; Lemanik, A.; Luzi, E.; Marković, Z.; Nadachowski, A.; Popov, V.; Horáček, I.; Baca, M. (2026). "Biogeographic history of the Late Pleistocene and Holocene European small hamsters (subfamily Cricetinae)". Scientific Reports. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-34298-4 .
15. Peacock, J.; Thewissen, J. G. M. (2026). "Inner ear volume scaling in mammals with specific reference to semicircular canals in cetacean origins". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 32 (4) 45. doi: 10.1007/s10914-025-09790-3 .
16. Martínez-Polanco, M. F. (2026). "Dietary ecology of neotropical brocket deer: Evidence from mesowear and microwear analyses". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 113542. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113542.
17. Hostos-Olivera, L.; Romero, P. E.; Carré, M.; Ochoa, D.; Salas-Gismondi, R. (2026). "New Plio-Pleistocene fossils from the eastern Pacific shed light on the early evolution of otariids (Carnivora: Pinnipedia) in the Southern Hemisphere". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 206 (1) zlaf174. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaf174.
18. Lopatin, A. V.; Gimranov, D. O.; Maschenko, E. N.; Dac, L. X. (2026). "Unexpected discovery of a fossil honey badger (Mustelidae, Carnivora) in Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Middle Pleistocene)". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 32 (4) 44. doi:10.1007/s10914-025-09779-y.
19. Kargopoulos, N.; Morales Flores, D.; Montoya, P.; Valenciano, A.; DeMiguel, D.; Morales, J.; Abella, J. (2026). "The last of Europe: systematics and palaeoecology of the ictitheres (Hyaenidae) from Venta del Moro (Spain)". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 32 (4) 43. doi: 10.1007/s10914-025-09780-5 .
20. Haji-Sheikh, M. S.; Haji-Sheikh, M. J.; Naples, V. L. (2026). "Determination of Smilodon fatalis (Carnivora: Felidae) brain volume and its place among extant felids by use of MicroCT scans". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 147 (1) blaf140. doi: 10.1093/biolinnean/blaf140 .
21. Tissier, J.; Smith, T. (2026). "Earliest perissodactyls reveal large-scale dispersals during the PETM". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 123 (4) e2519690122. doi:10.1073/pnas.2519690122.
22. Guðjónsdóttir, S. M.; Lord, E.; Pochon, Z.; Lemež, Š.; Dussex, N.; Stanton, D. W. G.; Sinding, M.-H. S.; Fedorov, S.; Dalén, L.; Chacón-Duque, J. C. (2026). "Genome Shows no Recent Inbreeding in Near-Extinction Woolly Rhinoceros Sample Found in Ancient Wolf's Stomach". Genome Biology and Evolution. 18 (1) evaf239. doi: 10.1093/gbe/evaf239 . PMID   41530912.
23. Goodchild, O. A.; Rosen, S. N.; Mennecart, B.; Meng, J.; Tissier, J. (2026). "The petrosal and bony labyrinth of extinct horses (Perissodactyla, Equidae) and their implications for perissodactyl evolution". PeerJ. 14 e20484. doi: 10.7717/peerj.20484 .
24. Calderón, T.; Cuccu, A.; Morales, J.; Azanza, B.; DeMiguel, D. (2026). "Quantitative histological analysis of dental variability in Anchitherium: insights into growth dynamics and dental development". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 113557. doi: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2026.113557 .
25. Feola, S. F.; Melchor, R. N.; Manera de Bianco, T.; Rojas-Manriquez, M. A. (2026). "Fossil ground sloth footprints: ichnotaxonomy and producers". Papers in Palaeontology. 12 (1) e70059. doi:10.1002/spp2.70059.
26. Hernández-Sandoval, D.; Montellano-Ballesteros, M.; Vasconcelos-Ginzo, R.; Sánchez-Beristain, F.; Bernal, J. P.; Hernández-Cristóbal, O.; Pack, A. (2026). "Blancan climate and feeding strategies of proboscideans and equids revealed by a multi-proxy geochemical analysis from a new locality in north-western Mexico". Fossil Record. 29 (1): 11–36. doi: 10.3897/fr.29.174847 .
27. Hullot, M.; Jordana, X.; Billet, G.; Gomes Rodrigues, H. (2026). "Enamel histology in extinct mammals: Standardization of a methodological framework applied to toxodont notoungulates (Mammalia)". Journal of Anatomy. doi:10.1111/joa.70098. PMID   41508558.