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Hispanopithecus laietanus from the Late Miocene (9.8 Ma) of Can Llobateres 1 (CLL1; Vallès-Penedès Basin, NE Iberian Peninsula) represents one of the latest occurrences of fossil apes in Western mainland Europe, where they are last recorded at ∼9.5 Ma. The paleoenvironment of CLL1 is thus relevant for understanding the extinction of European hominoids. To refine paleoenvironmental inferences for CLL1, we apply ecometric models based on functional crown type (FCT) variables-a scoring scheme devised to capture macroscopic functional traits of occlusal shape and wear surfaces of herbivorous large mammal molars. Paleotemperature and paleoprecipitation estimates for CLL1 are provided based on published regional regression models linking average FCT of large herbivorous mammal communities to climatic conditions. A mapping to Whittaker's present-day biome classification is also attempted based on these estimates, as well as a case-based reasoning via canonical variate analysis of FCT variables from five relevant biomes. Estimates of mean annual temperature (25 °C) and mean annual precipitation (881 mm) classify CLL1 as a tropical seasonal forest/savanna, only in partial agreement with the canonical variate analysis results, which classify CLL1 as a tropical rainforest with a higher probability. The former biome agrees better with previous inferences derived from fossil plants and mammals, as well as preliminary isotopic data. The misclassification of CLL1 as a tropical forest is attributed to the mixture of forest-adapted taxa with others adapted to more open environments, given that faunal and plant composition indicates the presence of a dense wetland/riparian forest with more open woodlands nearby. The tested FCT ecometric approaches do not provide unambiguous biome classification for CLL1. Nevertheless, our results are consistent with those from other approaches, thus suggesting that FCT variables are potentially useful to investigate paleoenvironmental changes through time and space-including those that led to the extinction of European Miocene apes., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Excavations at Liang Bua, a limestone cave on the island of Flores, East Indonesia, have yielded a well-dated archaeological and faunal sequence spanning the last 95k.yr., major climatic fluctuations, and two human species -H. floresiensis from 95 to 17k.yr.(1), and modern humans from 11k.yr. to the present. The faunal assemblage comprises well-preserved mammal, bird, reptile and mollusc remains, including examples of island gigantism in small mammals and the dwarfing of large taxa. Together with evidence from Early-Middle Pleistocene sites in the Soa Basin, it confirms the long-term isolation, impoverishment, and phylogenetic continuity of the Flores faunal community. The accumulation of Stegodon and Komodo dragon remains at the site in the Pleistocene is attributed to Homo floresiensis, while predatory birds, including an extinct species of owl, were largely responsible for the accumulation of the small vertebrates. The disappearance from the sequence of the two large-bodied, endemic mammals, Stegodon florensis insularis and Homo floresiensis, was associated with a volcanic eruption at 17 ka and precedes the earliest evidence for modern humans, who initiated use of mollusc and shell working, and began to introduce a range of exotic animals to the island. Faunal introductions during the Holocene included the Sulawesi warty pig (Sus celebensis) at about 7ka, followed by the Eurasian pig (Sus scrofa), Long-tailed macaque, Javanese porcupine, and Masked palm civet at about 4ka, and cattle, deer, and horse - possibly by the Portuguese within historic times. The Holocene sequence at the site also documents local faunal extinctions - a result of accelerating human population growth, habitat loss, and over-exploitation.