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Speciated mechanism in Quaternary cervids (Cervus and Capreolus) on both sides of the Pyrenees: a multidisciplinary approach - PubMed

  • ️Sat Jan 01 2022

Speciated mechanism in Quaternary cervids (Cervus and Capreolus) on both sides of the Pyrenees: a multidisciplinary approach

Antigone Uzunidis et al. Sci Rep. 2022.

Abstract

Cervids, and especially the red deer Cervus elaphus, are among the most regularly and abundantly recorded ungulates in Pleistocene/Paleolithic bone assemblages. Numerous Pleistocene or Holocene subspecies have been described, reinforcing their status as essential proxies for environmental and chronological reconstructions. Despite this, at the beginning of the Late Pleistocene, their diversity seems to have decreased. In this study, we analysed teeth and some postcranial elements of Cervus and Capreolus from north-eastern Iberia and south-eastern France to clarify their morphological characteristics and ecological adaptations. We describe a transitional form in north-eastern Iberia between the western European stock and the current form C. e. hispanicus. Such sub-speciation processes are connected to biogeographical factors, as there were limited exchanges between north-eastern Iberia and the northern Pyrenees, whereas the north-western part of the peninsula seems more connected to the northern Pyrenees. The anatomical plasticity (morpho-functional adaptation and body size) of red deer is connected to dietary flexibility (dental meso- and microwear). Conversely, Capreolus shows greater morphological and ecological homogeneity. Body size variations seem directly correlated with their ability to browse throughout the year. The marked differences between the eco-bio-geographical responses of the two taxa can be explained by their habitat selection.

© 2022. The Author(s).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1

Geographical position of Pié Lombard rockshelter and Teixoneres cave (in red) and of MIS 5 to 3 Cervus and Capreolus populations used as examples in this work (in black). Map base by Sémhur / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36847349

.

Figure 2
Figure 2

Cluster analysis (Ward’s method) of the first three components of the MCA describing the presence/absenceof Cervus m2’s morphological parameters (see Supplementary Table S6). The identifiers are the name of the sites (PL = Pié Lombard; IPHES = C. e. hispanicus; Tx = Teixoneres) followed by the name of the unit (when relevant) and the number of the specimen.

Figure 3
Figure 3

Principal components (PC) scatterplot between PC1 (48.16%) and PC2 (17.86%) performed on the shape data of the m3 according to the population (Teixoneres Unit IIIa and IIIb, Pié Lombard and current C. e. hispanicus) with a visualization of shape variation along PC1 and PC2.

Figure 4
Figure 4

(A) Simpson diagram comparing the length of lower Cervus teeth from Teixoneres (this study), Pié Lombard (this study), C. e. hispanicus (this study), Grotte du Prince, Abri des Canalettes, Grotte de la Crouzade, grotte de Tournal, Cueva de Valdegoba, Level V, Cueva Millan, Level 1B, Cueva del Buho, Prado Vargas and Abric Romani. Reference 0: Rangifer tarandus. (B) Scatter plot comparing the lateral length and the distal width of talus of Cervus from Teixoneres (this study), Pié Lombard (this study), C. e. hispanicus (this study), Cueva del Buho, Cueva de Valdegoba, Level V, Abri des Canalettes and Abric Romani.

Figure 5
Figure 5

Weight estimation of Capreolus from Teixoneres, Pié Lombard, Cueva de Valdegoba, Level V, Gerde and Abri des Canalettes. Weight estimated through the measurements of M2, m1, m2 and m3 (equations from Janis).

Figure 6
Figure 6

Principal components (PC) scatterplot with a visualisation of shape variation along PC1 and PC2: A: PC1 (65.38%) and PC2 (15.27%) performed on the shape data of the third anterior phalanges according to the population (Teixoneres Unit IIb and Pié Lombard). B: PC1 (50.83%) and PC2 (35.36%) performed on the shape data of the third posterior phalanges according to the population (Teixoneres Unit IIIb and Pié Lombard).

Figure 7
Figure 7

(A) Mesowear score (MWS) of Cervus and Capreolus from Pié Lombard and Teixoneres compared to the values of recent ungulates published by Fortelius and Solounias, Solounias and Semprebon, Rivals et al.,. (B) Bivariate plot of the mean number of pits and scratches of Cervus and Capreolus from Pié Lombard and Teixoneres. The error bars correspond to the standard deviation (± 1 SD). The ellipses correspond to the Gaussian confidence ellipse (p = 0.95) on the centroids of current grazers and browsers published by Solounias and Semprebon.

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