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Bats are well known for species richness and ecological diversity, and thus, they provide a good opportunity to study relationships and interaction between species. To assess interactions, we consider distinct traits that are probably to be triggered by niche shape and evolutionary processes. We present data on the trophic niche differentiation between two sympatric European trawling bat species, Myotis dasycneme and Myotis daubentonii, incorporating a wide spectrum of methodological approaches. We measure morphological traits involved in foraging and prey handling performance including bite force, weightlifting capacity and wing morphology. We then measure resulting prey consumption using both morphological and molecular diet analyses. These species closely resemble each other in morphological traits, however, subtle but significant differences were apparent in bite force and lift capacity, which are related to differences in basic body and head size. Both morphological and molecular diet analyses show strong niche overlap. We detected subtle differences in less frequent prey items, as well as differences in the exploitation of terrestrial and aquatic-based prey groups. Myotis dasycneme feeds more on aquatic prey, like Chironomidae and their pupal stages, or on the aquatic moth Acentria ephemerella. Myotis daubentonii feeds more on terrestrial prey, like Brachycera, or Coleoptera. This suggests that these bats use different microhabitats within the habitat where they co-occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. The European roe deer Capreolus capreolus is a typical faunal element of the Holocene. It was already present in Europe at least 600 000 years ago and it has been known from both glacial and interglacial phases since then. With nearly 3000 fossil and subfossil records, it is one of the most frequent mammals in the Late Quaternary. 2. During the Middle and Late Weichselian Pleniglacial, the distribution of the roe deer was not restricted to the Mediterranean peninsulas but repeatedly reached regions of central Europe. In contrast to that, roe deer records from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 21.0–14.5 ka 14C BP) are largely confined to the Mediterranean peninsulas – with the exception of south-western France and the surroundings of the Carpathians where several records attest to its occurrence during the LGM. 3. During the Greenland Interstadial 1 (12.5–10.8 ka 14C BP), the species' distribution extended further north and the roe deer appeared north of the Alps and reached regions of central Germany. This seems to be correlated with the abrupt change to more favourable environmental conditions during this period. It is very likely that the roe deer disappeared north of the Alps during the Younger Dryas cooling (10.8–10.0 ka14C BP). The northern regions of the central European lowlands were recolonized by roe deer during the late Preboreal 9.7–9.5 ka 14C BP for the first time since the Weichselian Glacial. 4. The combined pattern of genetic data and fossil records of European roe deer suggests several regions in the Iberian peninsula, southern France, Italy and the Balkans as well as in the Carpathians and/or eastern Europe as glacial refugia. It further suggests that C. capreolus might have recolonized most parts of central-northern Europe out of one or more eastern European (not Balkan) and/or Carpathian refugia. This recolonization wave might have blocked immigration from the traditional Mediterranean areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, we use mtDNA sequence data (cyt b gene) in combination with nuclear DNA sequences (C-mos, Rag2 genes, R35 intron), nuclear genomic fingerprints (ISSR) and morphological data to reveal species diversity within the Southeast Asian leaf turtle genus Cyclemys, a morphologically difficult group comprising cryptic species. Two morphologically distinct major groupings exist, a yellow-bellied species group with three taxa ( Cyclemys atripons, C. dentata, C. pulchristriata) and a dark-bellied species group. The latter contains besides the morphologically variable C. oldhamii three additional new species ( C. enigmatica n. sp., C. fusca n. sp., C. gemeli n. sp.). According to mtDNA data, C. fusca and C. gemeli constitute with high support the sister group of a clade comprising all other species, indicating that the dark-bellied species are not monophyletic, despite morphological similarity. mtDNA sequences of C. enigmatica, being highly distinct in nuclear genomic markers, do not differ from the sympatric C. dentata, suggesting that the original mitochondrial genome of C. enigmatica was lost due to introgressive hybridization. Morphological discrimination of Cyclemys species is possible using multivariate methods. However, gross morphology of most dark-bellied species on the one hand and of C. atripons and C. pulchristriata on the other is so similar that reliable species determination is only possible when genetic markers are used. The high diversity within Cyclemys requires revision of the IUCN Red List Categories for leaf turtles because the former assessment was based on the wrong assumption that in the entire range of the genus occurs only a single species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distinct distribution of the west European hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus and the northern white-breasted hedgehog Erinaceus roumanicus and their separate refugial origins after the Pleistocene is a well-known example in the zoogeography of the Holarctic. Among the Late Quaternary faunal assemblages, the west European hedgehog is recorded at 269 sites whereas the northern white-breasted hedgehog is recorded only at 52 sites in Europe. The distribution patterns of the temporal and spatial Glacial records of the west European hedgehog show a general trend: a strong restriction to glacial refugia (the Iberian and Italian Peninsulas) during the Weichselian Glacial until the end of the Last Glacial Maximum, and a colonization of southern France during the early Late Glacial between 14 000 and 125 00 14C years BP (15 000–12 800 cal. BC). Whereas the British Isles could have already been colonised by the end of the Pre-Boreal, in the rest of Central Europe E. europaeus was clearly distributed there in the Boreal for the first time. The west European hedgehog is an absolute Holocene faunal element in Central Europe. It appears in most parts of Central Europe during the Early Holocene, when the west European hedgehog met its eastern relative, which probably was similarly sensitive. After meeting each other, the distribution limit of both Erinaceus species in Central Europe seems to have been relatively constant in its geographic extent. Because of the clear climatic correlation, E. europaeus should be considered as an indicator species for temperate climatic conditions of the Holocene fauna. This should be considered during the reconstruction of climatic conditions with the help of the analysis of quaternary faunal material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Glacial refugia were core areas for the survival of temperate species during unfavourable environmental conditions and were the sources of postglacial recolonizations. Unfortunately, the locations of glacial refugia of animals and plants are usually described by models, without reference to facts about real geographical ranges at that time. 2. Careful consideration of the faunal assemblages of archaeological sites from the Younger Palaeolithic, which are precisely dated to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), gives indications about the distribution of species during the LGM (23 000–16 000bp) and provides evidence for the locations of glacial refugia for mammalian species in Europe. 3. In Europe, 47 LGM sites, dating from 23 000 to 16 000bp and containing typical temperate mammal species, have been described. The geographical range of these archaeological sites clearly shows a distribution which differs from the hypothesized traditional refuge areas of the temperate fauna. A considerable number of sites situated in the Dordogne in south-western France and the Carpathian region contain records of red deer Cervus elaphus, roe deer Capreolus capreolus, wild boar Sus scrofa and red fox Vulpes vulpes. 4. The faunal composition of the majority of the evaluated Palaeolithic sites in the southern European peninsulas (with the exception of Greece), as well as France and the Carpathian region, indicates the co-occurrence of these temperate species with cold-adapted faunal elements such as mammoth Mammuthus primigenius and/or reindeer Rangifer tarandus. 5. The survival of species in Central European refugia would have significant consequences for phylogeography and would be revealed by the dominant distribution of haplotypes, originating from this region. A Carpathian refuge could also be the reason for the very early records of small mammals or mustelids from the Late-Glacial or Interstadials before the LGM in regions like southern Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the fossil deposits of the Late Pleistocene ( c. 115 000–11 500 years ago), five felid species are recorded in Europe: the wildcat Felis silvestris, Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx, Iberian lynx Lynx pardinus, leopard Panthera pardus and cave lion Panthera leo spelaea. In the Holocene, Europe was colonized by F. silvestris, L. lynx and L. pardinus as well as the lion Panthera leo. The status of P. pardus in post-glacial Europe is unknown. So far, only sparse records indicate that P. pardus survived into the early Holocene. During the Late Glacial, both L. lynx and L. pardinus occurred on the Iberian Peninsula. However, from the Holocene, only the Iberian lynx is recorded in this region. There are subfossil records that indicate that L. pardinus also occurred in central and western France until c. 3000 years ago. Surprisingly, with reservations on the determination of the bones (by J. Altuna), both lions and cave lions seem to be recorded in the Iberian Peninsula in the Late Glacial. There are published records of the lion P. leo in the northern Iberian Peninsula from the early Holocene. However, its presence in Europe on the basis of subfossil records was proven initially from the Atlantic period. In Ponto-Mediterranean regions of Europe, the lion is recorded from the Atlantic to the younger sub-Atlantic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. At the end of the Last Glacial Maximum brown bearsUrsus arctosrecolonized the glacial landscape of Central and Northern Europe faster than all other carnivorous mammal species of the Holocene fauna.Ursus arctoswas recorded in Northern Europe from the beginning of the Late-Glacial. The recolonization of northern Central Europe may have taken place directly after the maximum glaciation. The distribution of the brown bear was restricted to glacial refugia only during the Last Glacial Maximum, for probably no more than 10 000 years.2. Genetic analyses have suggested three glacial refugia for the brown bear: the Iberian Peninsula, the Italian Peninsula and the Balkans. Subfossil records ofUrsus arctosfrom north-western Moldova as well as reconstructed environmental conditions during the Last Glacial Maximum in this area suggest to us a fourth glacial refuge for the brown bear. Because of its connection to the Carpathians, we designate this as the‘Carpathian refuge’.3. Due to the low genetic distance between brown bears of northern Norway, Finland, Estonia, north-eastern Russia and the northern Carpathians (the so-called eastern lineage), the Carpathians were considered the geographical origin of the recolonization of these regions. During the recolonization of northern Europe the brown bear probably reached these areas rapidly from the putative Carpathian refuge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]