How Far into Europe Did Pikas (Lagomorpha: Ochotonidae) Go during the Pleistocene? New Evidence from Central Iberia.
This paper reports the first find of pika remains in the Iberian Peninsula, at a site in central Spain. A fragmented mandible of Ochotona cf. pusilla was unearthed from Layer 3 (deposited some 63.4±5.5 ka ago as determined by thermoluminescence) of the Buena Pinta Cave. This record establishes new l...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2015-01-01
|
| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4633061?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1818911122000969728 |
|---|---|
| author | César Laplana Paloma Sevilla Juan Luis Arsuaga Mari Carmen Arriaza Enrique Baquedano Alfredo Pérez-González Nieves López-Martínez |
| author_facet | César Laplana Paloma Sevilla Juan Luis Arsuaga Mari Carmen Arriaza Enrique Baquedano Alfredo Pérez-González Nieves López-Martínez |
| author_sort | César Laplana |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper reports the first find of pika remains in the Iberian Peninsula, at a site in central Spain. A fragmented mandible of Ochotona cf. pusilla was unearthed from Layer 3 (deposited some 63.4±5.5 ka ago as determined by thermoluminescence) of the Buena Pinta Cave. This record establishes new limits for the genus geographic distribution during the Pleistocene, shifting the previous edge of its known range southwest by some 500 km. It also supports the idea that, even though Europe's alpine mountain ranges represented a barrier that prevented the dispersal into the south to this and other taxa of small mammals from central and eastern Europe, they were crossed or circumvented at the coldest time intervals of the end of the Middle Pleistocene and of the Late Pleistocene. During those periods both the reduction of the forest cover and the emersion of large areas of the continental shelf due to the drop of the sea level probably provided these species a way to surpass this barrier. The pika mandible was found accompanying the remains of other small mammals adapted to cold climates, indicating the presence of steppe environments in central Iberia during the Late Pleistocene. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T22:53:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3e9b92616243482db65a182a0ff8db0b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T22:53:40Z |
| publishDate | 2015-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-3e9b92616243482db65a182a0ff8db0b2022-12-21T20:02:42ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032015-01-011011e014051310.1371/journal.pone.0140513How Far into Europe Did Pikas (Lagomorpha: Ochotonidae) Go during the Pleistocene? New Evidence from Central Iberia.César LaplanaPaloma SevillaJuan Luis ArsuagaMari Carmen ArriazaEnrique BaquedanoAlfredo Pérez-GonzálezNieves López-MartínezThis paper reports the first find of pika remains in the Iberian Peninsula, at a site in central Spain. A fragmented mandible of Ochotona cf. pusilla was unearthed from Layer 3 (deposited some 63.4±5.5 ka ago as determined by thermoluminescence) of the Buena Pinta Cave. This record establishes new limits for the genus geographic distribution during the Pleistocene, shifting the previous edge of its known range southwest by some 500 km. It also supports the idea that, even though Europe's alpine mountain ranges represented a barrier that prevented the dispersal into the south to this and other taxa of small mammals from central and eastern Europe, they were crossed or circumvented at the coldest time intervals of the end of the Middle Pleistocene and of the Late Pleistocene. During those periods both the reduction of the forest cover and the emersion of large areas of the continental shelf due to the drop of the sea level probably provided these species a way to surpass this barrier. The pika mandible was found accompanying the remains of other small mammals adapted to cold climates, indicating the presence of steppe environments in central Iberia during the Late Pleistocene.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4633061?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | César Laplana Paloma Sevilla Juan Luis Arsuaga Mari Carmen Arriaza Enrique Baquedano Alfredo Pérez-González Nieves López-Martínez How Far into Europe Did Pikas (Lagomorpha: Ochotonidae) Go during the Pleistocene? New Evidence from Central Iberia. PLoS ONE |
| title | How Far into Europe Did Pikas (Lagomorpha: Ochotonidae) Go during the Pleistocene? New Evidence from Central Iberia. |
| title_full | How Far into Europe Did Pikas (Lagomorpha: Ochotonidae) Go during the Pleistocene? New Evidence from Central Iberia. |
| title_fullStr | How Far into Europe Did Pikas (Lagomorpha: Ochotonidae) Go during the Pleistocene? New Evidence from Central Iberia. |
| title_full_unstemmed | How Far into Europe Did Pikas (Lagomorpha: Ochotonidae) Go during the Pleistocene? New Evidence from Central Iberia. |
| title_short | How Far into Europe Did Pikas (Lagomorpha: Ochotonidae) Go during the Pleistocene? New Evidence from Central Iberia. |
| title_sort | how far into europe did pikas lagomorpha ochotonidae go during the pleistocene new evidence from central iberia |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4633061?pdf=render |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT cesarlaplana howfarintoeuropedidpikaslagomorphaochotonidaegoduringthepleistocenenewevidencefromcentraliberia AT palomasevilla howfarintoeuropedidpikaslagomorphaochotonidaegoduringthepleistocenenewevidencefromcentraliberia AT juanluisarsuaga howfarintoeuropedidpikaslagomorphaochotonidaegoduringthepleistocenenewevidencefromcentraliberia AT maricarmenarriaza howfarintoeuropedidpikaslagomorphaochotonidaegoduringthepleistocenenewevidencefromcentraliberia AT enriquebaquedano howfarintoeuropedidpikaslagomorphaochotonidaegoduringthepleistocenenewevidencefromcentraliberia AT alfredoperezgonzalez howfarintoeuropedidpikaslagomorphaochotonidaegoduringthepleistocenenewevidencefromcentraliberia AT nieveslopezmartinez howfarintoeuropedidpikaslagomorphaochotonidaegoduringthepleistocenenewevidencefromcentraliberia |