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The Columbretes Islands (eastern Spain) comprise a volcanic archipelago 50 km off the eastern Spanish coast. Illa Grossa is the main island of the archipelago. After the settlement of humans during the mid-19th century, strong modifications in biodiversity took place, including the reduction of the non-flying vertebrate fauna to a single taxon, Podarcis liolepis atratus (Boscá, 1916). The study of the fossils yielded at the COLT site (dated by AMC between 2780-2724 cal BP and 2600-2492 cal BP) from a loess deposit located at the south of Illa Grossa Island shows that this fauna was more diverse in the past. The assemblage was dominated by squamate reptiles, belonging to two lizards (Chalcides bedriagai (Boscá, 1880) and cf. Podarcis Wagler, 1830) and one snake (Vipera cf. latastei Boscá, 1878). The record in the late Holocene of Columbretes of Vipera cf. latastei settles the existing controversy about the identity of snakes in the archipelago. Regarding Chalcides bedriagai, this is the first record of its presence in the Columbretes Islands. Other faunal elements recovered from the site include at least six species of undetermined birds (passeriforms and procellariforms) and the anthropophilic Mus cf. musculus Linnaeus, 1758. The origin of the squamates taxa from Columbretes palaeontological site (COLT) is still unclear, but was probably related to the Late Pleistocene-Greenlandian (11 700 to 8300 BP, Early Holocene) sea transgression, natural passive colonization, and/or human introduction. We hypothesize implications for the conservation and management of the Natural Reserve.

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International audience; We studied Viperidae remains from Qafzeh Cave, Israel, to understand past dispersal timing and range expansion of Afro-Arabian taxa to the Southern Levant during the early Late Pleistocene (Marine Isotope Stage 5). A total of 62 African adder (Bitis) snake remains were retrieved from multiple layers at Qafzeh Cave, alongside five non-Bitis ‘Oriental viper’ taxa vertebrae. These are the only available specimens of Bitis ever reported in the Southern Levant. The morphology of the maxilla and vertebrae corresponds well to that of the Bitis arietans complex. Qafzeh Cave thus becomes the northernmost boundary of the B. arietans complex expansion ever recorded outside Africa. The unprecedented occurrence of Bitis at Qafzeh Cave, in conjunction with other archaeozoological evidence at the site, attest to exceptional climatic and environmental conditions in the surroundings of the cave during the Mousterian Homo sapiens occupations. It reinforces previous evidence for taxa expanding from sub-Saharan Africa to the Mediterranean biome of the Southern Levant through the now hyper-arid Saharo-Arabian desert belt. The environmental conditions following deposition of the early Late Pleistocene layers were probably not favourable for the establishment of the snake, and eventually the B. arietans complex became locally extirpated.

International audience; Cuatro taxones de reptiles han sido determinados en los niveles del Epipaleolítico, del Mesolítico y del Neolítico Antiguo y Medio del yacimiento de Cova Fosca: cf. Mauremys leprosa, Timon lepidus, Zamenis scalaris y Vipera latastei. Al menos una parte de los restos es- tudiados muestra trazas de digestión y evocan la acción de un depredador de tipo mamífero en el que el hombre no puede ser excluido. El conjunto de reptiles permite inferir la existencia de un clima mediterráneo y de un paisaje con vegetación aclarada y un punto de agua.

Supplemental Data for the article:A new pipid from the Cretaceous of Africa (In Becetén, Niger) and early evolution of the Pipidae&nbsp

El Salt (Middle Palaeolithic; Alcoi, Spain) is a key site for understanding the disappearance of Neanderthals in the eastern Iberian Peninsula, a process that is observed along its stratigraphic sequence. To improve our understanding of the palaeoclimatic context in which this process took place, we applied the UDA-ODA discrimination technique to the fossil herpetological assemblages from Stratigraphic Units (SU) Xb (52.3 ± 4.6 ka) and V (45.2 ± 3.4/44.7 ± 3.4 ka). This method is based in the application of an ecological criterion, the maximum altitude of each species on each Iberian range, to discern and remove those areas that do not meet their ecological requirements (UDA) from those that do (ODA), which are included in its distribution from Atlases from which the common distribution species is going to be extracted. Results indicate the existence of an alternation between “cold and wet” moments with “warm and dry” ones, all of them in a more humid context than nowadays. Climate was slightly warmer than nowadays in SU Xb, whereas was cooler in SU V. Regarding MAP, our results show less variation between SUs than it has been provided by previous studies. These results do not fully agree with those provided by small mammals from the same SUs, which indicate an increase of the temperatures whereas rainfall experienced the contrary. These differences could be related with the wider distribution of the Iberian herpetofauna, and some differences in the applied ecological criterion. Furthermore, herpetofaunal palaeoclimatic reconstruction shows that the abandonment of the site by Neanderthals seems to have occurred during an arid phase.

International audience; Jeddaherdan aleadonta Apesteguía et al., 2016 is currently known as the first and single Mesozoic iguanian lizard from Africa. The original description and age of the holotype and only known specimen (i.e. a dentary fragment bearing five teeth) are revised here. We show that this fragmentary specimen was misinterpreted anatomically, does not come from Cretaceous beds but is instead Quaternary in age, and must be assigned to an indeterminate species of Uromastyx (spiny-tailed lizards). Therefore, the genus Jeddaherdan is considered a junior synonym of Uromastyx, and the species J. aleadonta (= Uromastyx sp.) is considered a nomen dubium. Our results refute the presence of iguanian lizards in the Mesozoic of Africa and have major implications for reconstructing the evolution and palaeobiogeography of this group.

International audience; The Cretaceous is a key period for anurans, as several clades, such as the aquatic Pipidae and the speciose Neobatrachia (~96 % of extant taxa) underwent a rapid and vast diversification. This event is considered to have taken place on Gondwana, as it was breaking apart into several continents, including South America and Africa. Fossiliferous sites from this period from both continents are key to understand how this diversification unravelled. Unfortunately, few cretaceous sites with anuran remains are known from Africa. Among them is the Ibeceten site from the Coniacian-Santonian of Niger. Located in the South-East of Niger, this site has been the subject of several field campaigns during the 1970s by the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris. The peculiar pipid Pachycentrata taqueti was described in 1998. However, most of the material remained undescribed. Here we present a thorough study of the anuran material from Ibeceten, which leads to the recognition of a new taxon. New anatomical studies suggest the presence of at least six taxa, although numerous bone fragments remain unattributable. This makes Ibeceten the most diverse anuran fauna of the African fossil record. Half of the identified taxa belong to Pipimorpha (total-group of Pipidae), while another one is an ornamented anuran that resembles the cretaceous neobatrachians from South America. Among the pipids, one new taxon should be erected. Phylogenetic analysis of pipimorphs places two Ibeceten taxa among the pipids. The presence of more than one pipid shows that the clade was already diversified during the early Late Cretaceous, and that the clade might have emerged in Africa, before spreading to South America. In addition, the putative presence of a neobatrachian shows that the clade was already widespread in South America and West Africa.

International audience; Les phosphorites du Quercy forment un ensemble de gisements phosphatés ayant livré une importante faune, couvrant la transition Eocène-Oligocène. Au sein de ces gisements, les restes osseux d’amphibiens sont nombreux, bien que majoritairement isolés. En 1873, plusieurs spécimens d’amphibiens et de serpents en furent extraits, présentant une fossilisation assez unique en trois dimensions conservant la forme, les dimensions et l’aspect externe in vivo de ces petits vertébrés. Communément appelés « momies » par leur aspect externe préservé, ces derniers furent décrits au XIXème siècle, sans que leur anatomie interne ne soit en fait connue. Depuis 2012, les spécimens de ces amphibiens commencent à être tomographiés, révélant ainsi la présence interne de tissus mous et squelettiques quasiment complets et articulés. Nous décrivons ici la tomographie d’un deuxième spécimen d’anoure, identifié préalablement comme un « crapaud » (Bufo servatus). Elle révèle la même anatomie que l’autre momie déjà décrite, mais à un stade de développement plus avancé et avec une ceinture pectorale non déformée. Ces individus peuvent être attribués au taxon Thaumastosaurus gezei, et représentent des stades ontogénétiques différents. Avec ces données anatomiques, nous avons inclus Thaumastosaurus au sein d’une phylogénie, le plaçant proche des Pyxicephalidae, clade d’anoures africains. Thaumastosaurus représente à la fois la seule occurrence avérée de ce clade dans le registre fossile et hors d’Afrique. Sa présence en Europe permet par ailleurs de mettre en évidence un échange faunique entre l’Afrique et l’Europe durant l’Eocène. L’émergence de ce type d’herpétofaune africaine en Europe à ce moment serait liée au climat chaud dans la région. Ce taxon et la plus grande partie de cette herpétofaune africaine disparaissent cependant d’Europe lors du refroidissement de la limite Eocène-Oligocène (autour de 34 millions d’années) connu sous le nom de Grande Coupure.

Pristine environmental conditions and wide biodiversity are the best evidence of pre-colonial times, before anthropic interference in the Anthropocene. The Galeao shell mound represents the main example of an insular archaeological site located in the context of the Guanabara Bay in the Middle Holocene. The faunal remains from this shell mound were identified through comparative anatomy, to access the ichthyofauna and also amphibian, reptile and mammal paleodiversity. The diagnostic elements revealed the presence of predominantly demersal teleost fish, typical inhabitants of estuarine and marine systems, along with the usual species inhabiting rocky shores and rocky bottoms. Additionally, it revealed an exceptional diversity of sharks, including the presence of pelagic taxa, as well as stingrays. The local wildlife consists of species commonly found in swampy, mangrove, Brazilian restinga and Atlantic forest biomes. This study shows widely practiced fishery and hunting by the Amerindian using the resources of the Guanabara Bay and indicates specific targets during the Middle Holocene. Degradation of coastal environments and/or overfishing threaten the local biodiversity, with species now absent and some with statuses which go from Vulnerable to Critically Endangered.

International audience; The Quercy Phosphorites are a set of Eocene-Oligocene deposits from South-West France that yielded numerous vertebrate fossils, including amphibians, mostly as isolated bones. However, in 1873, several exceptional amphibian specimens were discovered, with the external surface of the unmineralized tissues preserved, and were commonly referred as “mummies”. In the 19th century, they were described without any knowledge of their internal anatomy. Since 2012, we have started scanning these “mummies”, revealing the preserved internal soft tissues and articulated skeleton. A first specimen was attributed in 2013 to Thaumastosaurus gezei and we here present our results from the tomography of a second “mummified” anuran, previously identified as Bufo servatus. The tomography showed a preserved articulated skeleton, and its osteological characteristics are similar to the first scanned anuran “mummy”, representing different ontogenetic stages. Both are now both attributed to Thaumastosaurus servatus nov. comb. The new anatomical information is used to assess the affinities of T. servatus, which appears to belong to the Pyxicephalidae, an African anuran clade. Thaumastosaurus thus represents both the oldest occurrence of this clade in the fossil record and its first occurrence outside of Africa. Its presence in Europe highlights a faunistic exchange with Africa during the Eocene, also documented for several clade of squamates. The presence of this African herpetofauna in Europe might be linked to the warmer climate during the Eocene. However, most of this herpetofauna, including Thaumastosaurus, disappeared from the region around an extinction event (named the “Grande Coupure”) that took place around the Eocene/Oligocene transition (~34 Ma)

The locality of El Salt (Alcoi, Spain) is a key site for understanding the extirpation of Neanderthals in the eastern part of Iberia. In this paper, we analyse an assemblage of amphibians and reptiles from Stratigraphic Unit V (45.2 ± 3.4 ka to 44.7 ± 3.4 ka), which corresponds to one of the last regional records of Neanderthals, to improve knowledge of the palaeoecology and palaeoclimate of this event. The assemblage comprises three anurans (Pelodytes sp., Alytes obstetricans, and Epidalea calamita), two lizards (Lacertidae indet. and Chalcides bedriagai), and five snakes (Colubridae indet., Coronella sp., Coronella sp./Zamenis sp., Natrix maura, and Vipera latastei). Palaeoclimatic reconstruction, based on the Mutual Ecogeographic Range method, indicates that climate was cooler and slightly wetter climate than the present day climate of the Alcoi area. Applying the Habitat Weighting Method, we infer that the area surrounding El Salt was dominated by open dry regions, alternating with rocky areas with scarce scrubs and forest patches that would have developed under mesomediterranean conditions. These results are not entirely consistent with those obtained with other proxies (charcoal and small mammal assemblages) from the same site, which suggest slightly warmer and drier conditions. We hypothesise that these divergences may be partly related to the current wide distribution of reptiles and amphibians across Iberia. A key finding is that the extirpation of the Neanderthals in Iberia coincided with aridification. Fil: Marquina Blasco, Rafael. Universidad de Valencia; España. Museu Valencià D’història Natural; España Fil: Fagoaga, Ana. Universidad de Valencia; España. Museu Valencià D’història Natural; España Fil: Crespo Roures, Vicente Daniel. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Paleontología Vertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina. Museo Paleontológico de Alpuente; España Fil: Bailon, Salvador. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique; Francia. Histoire naturelle de l’Homme prehistorique; Francia Fil: Mallol, Carolina. Universidad de La Laguna; España Fil: Hernández, Cristo M.. Universidad de La Laguna; España Fil: Galván, Bertila. Universidad de La Laguna; España Fil: Ruiz Sánchez, Francisco Javier. Universidad de Valencia; España. Museu Valencià D’història Natural; España. Universidad Estatal Península de Santa Elena; Ecuador

Indigenous human populations in Guadeloupe coexisted with island reptile species extinguished by later European colonialists., Large-scale extinction is one of the defining challenges of our time, as human processes fundamentally and irreversibly reshape global ecosystems. While the extinction of large animals with popular appeal garners widespread public and research interest, the importance of smaller, less “charismatic” species to ecosystem health is increasingly recognized. Benefitting from systematically collected fossil and archaeological archives, we examined snake and lizard extinctions in the Guadeloupe Islands of the Caribbean. Study of 43,000 bone remains across six islands revealed a massive extinction of 50 to 70% of Guadeloupe’s snakes and lizards following European colonization. In contrast, earlier Indigenous populations coexisted with snakes and lizards for thousands of years without affecting their diversity. Study of archaeological remains provides insights into the causes of snake and lizard extinctions and shows that failure to consider fossil-derived data probably contributes to substantial underestimation of human impacts to global biodiversity.

In the 19th century, natural mummies of amphibians were discovered in the Quercy Phosphorites. The specific collection site was never formally reported, which hampers precise dating of these specimens. Still, the name Bufo servatus was erected based on the external morphology of one of the mummified specimens. A tomography of a similarly preserved specimen revealed a preserved skeleton, soft tissues and gut contents. We analyze here the holotype of Bufo servatus using CT-scanning in order to investigate its potentially preserved internal features. Like the previous specimen, a subcomplete articulated skeleton was identified in the B. servatus holotype. Surprisingly, this skeleton is almost identical to that of Thaumastosaurus gezei, an Eocene anuran from Western Europe to which other specimens from this mummy series were previously assigned. The few differences between the specimen skeletons highlight ontogenetic and intraspecific variations, making T. gezei a junior synonym of B. servatus and creating the new combination Thaumastosaurus servatus. Given its association with previously described Quercy specimens, this redescribed anuran is probably from the same time interval as T. gezei. Previous phylogenetic analyses assigned T. servatus to Ranoides, with natatanuran affinities. Using data from this newly described specimen, we tested here further its taxonomic affinities. Our analyses confirm this position, and formally identify T. servatus as a Natatanuran member of Pyxicephalidae (currently endemic of equatorial Africa) and more precisely, a stem-Pyxicephalinae. This result confirms the origin of Thaumastosaurus, a member of the African herpetofauna occupying Western Europe before the Grande Coupure at the Eocene/Oligocene transition.

Viperinae is a subfamily of viperid snakes whose fossil record in the Mediterranean islands is, until now, restricted to 12 palaeontological deposits on seven islands. Revision of the material excavated 30 years ago from the Middle/Late Pleistocene–Holocene deposit of Es Pouàs [Eivissa (= Ibiza), Balearic Islands, western Mediterranean] revealed about 6000 bones of a small-sized viper across different stratigraphic levels. Its morphological characteristics are different enough to known species of Vipera to warrant the description of a new species, but the nearly complete mitochondrial genome obtained from this snake based on a sample dated to 16 130 ± 45 bp, suggested it belonged to a new insular population of Lataste’s viper (Vipera latastei), Vipera latastei ebusitana subsp. nov. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that the dispersal of the ancestors of V. l. ebusitana to Eivissa, most probably from a north-east Iberian population, occurred via overwater colonization

The small-vertebrates’ assemblage recovered comes from Units I to IV from El Salt site (Alcoi, Spain). The sample is composed by nearly 310 remains, and includes one toad (Epidalea calamita), two lizards (Lacertidae indet. and Chalcides cf. bedriagai), two snakes (Coronella cf. girondica and cf. Coronella sp.), two insectivores (Crocidura sp. and Sorex sp.), one lagomorph (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and seven rodent taxa (Arvicola sapidus, Microtus sp., M. arvalis, M. cabrerae, M. duodecimcostatus, Apodemus sylvaticus, and Eliomys quercinus). All the species described in the present work are consistent with a Late Pleistocene-Holocene chronology. The presence of M. cabrerae (absent in the Middle Pleistocene) and M. duodecimcostatus (absent in the Mediterranean until the Late Pleistocene) seem to confirm this age. The presence of Neolithic pottery and M. arvalis in the same deposit is inconsistent from a biochronically point of view since this species was extirpated from this region at the end of the Late Pleistocene. Several taphonomic alterations related to transport within the small mammal remains have been identified. Further taphonomical and geoarchaeological work is needed to clarify the provenience of the studied faunal assemblages, which, given the high energy, erosional morphology and lithology of the sedimentary deposit, could have been reworked in a more recent time period.

Paleo- and neo-taphonomic analyses of bone assemblages rarely consider all the occurring taxa in a single study and works concerning birds of prey as accumulators of microvertebrate bone remains mostly focus on small mammals such as rodents and soricomorphs. However, raptors often hunt and consume a large range of taxa, including vertebrates such as small mammals, fishes, amphibians, squamates and birds. Bone remains of all these taxonomic groups are numerous in many paleontological and archaeological records, especially in cave deposits. To better characterize the predators at the origin of fossil and sub-fossil microvertebrate accumulations and the taphonomic history of the deposit, it is thus mandatory to conduct global and multi-taxa taphonomic approaches. The aim of this study is to provide an example of such a global approach through the investigation of a modern bone assemblage from a sample of pellets produced by the Lesser Antillean Barn Owl (Tyto insularis) in the island of Dominica. We propose a new methodology that allows us to compare different taxa (rodents, bats, squamates and birds) and to experiment with a cross-validation process using two observers for each taxonomic group to test the reliability of the taphonomic observations. 1. Introduction 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Owl Pellets Sampling 2.2. Prey Identification 2.3. Taphonomic Analysis 2.3.1. Anatomical Representation 2.3.2. Fragmentation 2.3.3. Surface Modifications 2.3.4. Size/Weight Classes of Preys 2.4. Cross-Validation of Observations 3. Results 3.1. Faunal Spectrum 3.2. Anatomical Representation 3.3. Fragmentation 3.4. Modifications of Bone Surface 4. Discussion 4.1. Diet of Tyto Insularis in Dominica 4.2. Taphonomic Impact of Tyto Insularis on Small Vertebrate Bone Assemblage 4.2.1. Remarks on the Size/Weight Classes of Preys 4.2.2. Anatomical Representation 4.2.3. Fragmentation 4.2.4. Digestion 4.3. Degree of Inter-Observer Differences and Potential Outcomes 4.4. Towards an “Inter-Taxa Calibration” 5. Conclusions

During the Natufian period, more than 12,000 years ago, Eynan (Ain Mallaha) was an important human settlement in the Hula Valley, Israel. This study concentrates on the anuran and squamate assemblage from the ultimate stage of the Natufian period at the site, the Final Natufian. Over five thousand bones assigned to at least sixteen taxa were studied from a sampled segment of the excavated open-air site. Relative species abundance, spatial distribution, taphonomic observations and ecological considerations all pointed to the conclusion that the inhabitants of Eynan intensively exploited three large “colubrine” snakes species: the Large Whip Snake (Dolichophis jugularis), the Eastern Montpellier Snake (Malpolon insignitus) and an Eastern Four-lined Ratsnake (Elaphecf.sauromates). These snakes were the most desired and were intensively gathered, while other snakes and lizards could have been opportunistically collected when encountered. We raise questions about whether the large “colubrines” exploitation should be interpreted as additional evidence of increasing diet breadth. We suggest challenging this line of reasoning and offer possible alternative motives.

Small vertebrates on archaeological sites are generally the result of predation from different accumulator agents. Depending on their hunting habits, these agents can bias palaeobiodiversity representation; therefore, before undertaking any palaeoenvironmental analysis, it is essential to identify them. Multi-taxa analysis allows better identification of the main accumulator, but the lack of modern referentials is, for now, significantly limiting. The main goal of this study was to set up a comparative tool for small vertebrate taxa and to complete the existing referentials. We analyzed a Eurasian Eagle-Owl (Bubo bubo) accumulation – which provided the remains of thousands of rodents, lagomorphs, birds, amphibians, squamates and fishes – n order to study taxonomic composition, skeletal representation, digestion and fragmentation. We then compared these results with the available referentials for different taxa and discussed the use of different variables to better characterize such accumulations. We also present an original taphonomical method to study snakes vertebrae.

International audience; Amphibians and reptiles are decribed for the first time from the Cenozoic of Afghanistan. They originate from four Neogene localities. Sherullah 9 (late Miocene) yielded anuran amphibians (? Alytidae Fitzinger, 1843 (? Discoglossinae Günther, 1858), “Ranidae” Batsch, 1796 and another, indeterminate family), one chelonian, the terrestrial testudinine AgrionemysKhozatsky & Młynarski, 1966, which is compared to a Maragheh fossil specimen, and the genus still being present in the Kabul area; one indeterminate lizard, snakes (Colubridae Oppel, 1811 s.l. and two distinct snakes that pertain to either the Colubridae s.l. or Elapidae Boie, 1827). The faunas of the three other localities are very poor. Molayan (late Miocene) produced only one lizard (Varanus sp. Merrem, 1820, Varanidae Gray, 1827). Pul-E Charkhi (early Pliocene) yielded indeterminate anurans, one indetermined lizard and colubrid snakes. Only an indeterminate anuran family is known at Hadji Rona (early Pliocene). Then, as known, the fauna is constituted of families which still have representatives living in Afghanistan.; Des amphibiens et reptiles sont décrits pour la première fois dans le Cénozoïque d’Afghanistan. Ils proviennent de quatre gisements. Sherullah 9 (Miocène supérieur) a fourni des amphibiens anoures (? Alytidae Fitzinger, 1843 (? Discoglossinae Günther, 1858), «Ranidae» Batsch, 1796 etune autre famille, indéterminée), la tortue terrestre testudinine Agrionemys Khozatsky & Młynarski, 1966, d’un genre présent actuellement dans la région de Kaboul, et comparé à un spécimen fossile de Maragheh (Iran) ; un lézard indéterminé, des serpents Colubridae Oppel, 1811 s.l. et deux serpents différents qui peuvent appartenir aux Colubridae s.l. ou aux Elapidae Boie, 1827. Les trois autres gisements sont très pauvres. Dans le Pliocène inférieur de Molayan seul un lézard (Varanus sp. Merrem, 1820, Varanidae Gray, 1827) a été trouvé. Pul-E Charkhi (Pliocène inférieur) a livré des anoures et un lézard indéterminé ainsi que des colubridés, aussi indéterminés. Hadji Rona (Pliocène inférieur) n’a fourni qu’un anoure appartenant à une famille indéterminée. Dans la mesure où elle est connue, la faune est ainsi constituée de familles toujours présentes en Afghanistan

We present a paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic reconstruction based on microfaunal assemblages preserved at Lezetxiki II Cave (Arrasate, Basque Country, Iberian Peninsula) and synthesize previously published and new chronological work from the cave to better understand the environmental history of the region. The stratigraphic sequence of this short gallery ranges from the end of the middle Pleistocene to the middle Holocene and has great micropaleontological relevance for the Iberian Peninsula, especially because it contains the most ancient small vertebrate remains found in the Cantabrian region, likely deposited during Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 7–6. Thirty-two small vertebrate taxa, including two extinct species, were identified. Environmental reconstruction based on small vertebrates suggests an open landscape at the base of the sequence (three lower levels) that progressively changed to woodland in the upper levels. Other paleoenvironmental data suggest a similar interpretation of the environmental history of the region, and although some uncertainty in the environmental reconstruction and chronology still exists, our data provide a richly detailed record of small vertebrates from an area that likely represented an important late Quaternary migration corridor for species traveling between the Iberian Peninsula and European continent.

In this paper we present a natural deposit in Marie-Galante island (French West Indies), Blanchard 2, where historical-period Audubon's shearwater remains dominate the vertebrate assemblage. We combined a study of sediment geometry, a taphonomic analysis of molluscs, crustaceans and vertebrate remains, and direct radiocarbon dating on bird bone to demonstrate that the cave was used as a nesting ground during the island's colonial period. This approach also allows the discussion of the causes leading to the desertion of the site by birds. Finally, we investigate hypotheses regarding the dynamics of Audubon's shearwater nesting during prehistoric and historical times and the impact of anthropogenic phenomenon on these birds.

This paper aims to demonstrate how subfossil bone remains from Pleistocene and Holocene deposits can help to reconstruct the history of recently extinct taxa through the example of Pholidoscelis li...

A new anuran assemblage from the early Zanclean of Mallorca (Balearic Islands) is described using a set of 47 fossil bones obtained at the deposit of Na Burguesa-1, Mallorca. The assemblage includes four different anuran taxa: Alytes (Baleaphryne) aff. muletensis, Discoglossus sp., an indeterminate Bufonidae, and an indeterminate Ranidae. The record of Alytes and Discoglossus in this site represents the earliest evidence for the presence of their lineages on the Balearic Islands. The remains of the bufonid and the ranid constitute the first fossil record of these families in the Balearics. The discovery of this anuran assemblage has a relevant significance for the knowledge of the vertebrate colonisation of the Balearic Islands during the Messinian Salinity Crisis, especially due to the presence of a ranid and Discoglossus. These two taxa suggest that dispersal via a riparian corridor could have played a significant role in the Messinian colonisation of Mallorca, together with the corridor formed by the subaerial exposition of the Balearic Promontory. The Na Burguesa-1 site furnished one of the most diverse early Pliocene fossil anuran assemblages known so far in the Mediterranean islands.

This paper presents a multiproxy palaeoenvironmental study from Abric del Pastor (Alcoy, Spain), a rock shelter which has yielded evidence for Middle Palaeolithic human occupation. The sedimentary sequence has been analysed for lipid biomarker n-alkane abundances (ACL, CPI), compound specific leaf wax δH and δC, and bulk organic geochemistry (TOC, %N, %S), providing a record of past climate and local vegetation dynamics. Site formation processes have been reconstructed through the application of soil micromorphology. Analyses of anthracological, microvertebrate and macrofaunal assemblages from selected subunits are also presented here. Our data indicates that a variable climate marked by predominantly cold conditions persisted through most of the sequence and that Neanderthal occupations in stratigraphic unit IVd, assigned to MIS 4 or late MIS 5, occurred in a landscape setting characterised by a mosaic of biotopes. The presence of key resources inside the ravine where the site is located suggests that the occupation of the rock shelter may have been strategically motivated by a subsistence and mobility strategy which focused on zones of localised ecological resilience, such as intra-mountainous valleys or ravines, during periods of global or regional environmental downturn., This research was supported by the ERC Consolidator Grant project PALEOCHAR – 648871. Excavations at Abric del Pastor are funded by Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities Project HAR2015-68321-P and the Government of Valencia Cultural Heritage Department.

Snakes of the family Dipsadidae Bonaparte, 1838 still occur on most of the Lesser Antillean islands, although they have been strongly impacted by modern and historical anthropogenic disturbances as it has been demonstrated for many squamate taxa worldwide. However, these observations mostly rely on modern assemblages, whereas the fossil record of dipsadid snakes, which is the most direct way to assess their past diversity, remains largely understudied. In order to fill this gap we performed a comprehensive review of the dipsadid snake fossils recovered on the Guadeloupe Islands. We identify the fossils on the basis of both qualitative osteological criteria and a morphometric study of the vertebrae. These approaches allow us to recognize three different dipsadid snake taxa, two of which still occur nowadays in Guadeloupe, but have been partly extirpated: Alsophis antillensis (Schlegel, 1837) and Erythrolamprus juliae cf. copeae (Parker, 1936), and a third one that is now extinct (Alsophis sp. 2). In addition, we evaluate previous interpretations of occurrences of snake remains in archaeological deposits. Our conclusions raise questions about the putative consumption of snake meat by past Amerindian populations, which is still far from being clearly demonstrated.

Disarticulated remains of anguid lizards from the latest Early Pleistocene of the Sierra de Quibas (Abanilla, Murcia, SE Spain) are described and assigned to a new species, Ophisaurus manchenioi. Although Ophisaurus is still extant in subtropical humid environments in North America, Northern Africa, and Southeast Asia, the new species is the youngest known fossil representative of the genus in Europe. Analysis of the palaeobiogeographic distribution of the genus reveals that its maximum extension occurred during the Miocene, followed by a north-south withdrawal, leading to its late Pliocene restriction to the Mediterranean area. Its European extirpation occurred at ca. 1.2–0.9 Ma, after having survived in a few Early Pleistocene refugia on the southernmost Iberian Peninsula. This extirpation is coeval with the Early-Middle Pleistocene transition, an episode of major climatic change related to the intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciation between 1.4 and 0.7 Ma, and which led to the disappearance of the subtropical humid forest biome at around 1.2 Ma. Based on its latitudinal withdrawal, temperature is inferred to have been an important limiting factor for the distribution of the genus Ophisaurus. However, as the climate seems never to have been very cold on the southernmost Iberian Peninsula, increasing aridity or habitat fragmentation linked to such increasing aridity may have also played a role in the extirpation of the genus Ophisaurus from Western Europe during the Early-Middle Pleistocene transition.

The Acheulian site of Gesher Benot Ya’aqov (GBY) and the Mousterian site of Nahal Mahanayeem Outlet (NMO) are open-air sites situated on the bank of the Upper Jordan River at its southern estuary in the Hula Valley, Israel. Both sites were deposited on the shore of a paleo-Lake Hula, a shallow body of water that persisted throughout a considerable part of the Pleistocene as a fresh-water lake. Most of the amphibian and squamate taxa recovered are aquatic species related to the natural biota of the Hula Valley, alongside some terrestrial species. Twelve amphibian and squamate taxa were recovered at each site. Most of the species recovered from the archaeological contexts do not differ from extant Hula Valley amphibians and squamates, with the exception of a varanid (Varanussp.) recovered at GBY and the possible presence of the eastern fourlined ratsnake (cf.Elaphe sauromates). The snake’s presence could indicate slightly cooler conditions during human occupation at NMO. A noteworthy continuity in species presence is observed throughout the many archaeological horizons as well as in comparison to the current Hula basin fauna. This suggests a surprising similarity in environmental conditions over a significant portion of the Quaternary in this region.

Aquatic resources play a major role in modern Amazonian societies, however little is known about their importance in pre-Columbian economies. In this paper, we present results of the first zooarcheological study in the Central Amazon, carried out at the Hatahara site, a large pre-Columbian settlement situated at the confluence of the Amazon and Negro rivers. The faunal assemblage comes from archeological features belonging to the Paredao phase occupation (750–1230 CE) and reveals that fish were the primary animal resource. The richness of ichthyofaunal spectrum (37 taxa) recovered is the most varied continental fish spectrum described to date in South-American archeology and shows the fishermen's profound knowledge of specific ecological niches and fishing techniques. Amazon aquatic turtles ( Podocnemis spp.) were the second most frequently exploited aquatic resource. These data demonstrate the key role of aquatic resources in ancient Amazonia economies and suggests that fishing could have provided long-term subsistence to large Amerindian settlements.

The Hula Painted Frog (Latonia nigriventer) is a rare frog species endemic to the Hula Valley, Israel. The species is the sole relict of a clade that was widespread mainly in Europe from the Oligocene until the beginning of the Pleistocene. The osteological characteristics of L. nigriventer are described based on X-ray microtomography scans of extant specimens and Pleistocene bones from the Hula Valley, to elucidate the evolutionary history of Alytidae and more specifically of Latonia. Based on the osteological description of L. nigriventer, we now better understand the differences, between Latonia and its sister taxon Discoglossus. They differ mainly in their cranial structure with the reinforced skull of Latonia having powerful jaws. Latonia nigriventer can achieve great force while closing its jaws, due to increased adductor muscle insertion surfaces as expressed by the presence of an additional paracoronoid process and an enlarged upper margin of the postero-lateral wall of the lower jaw. In addition, a wider pterygoid fossa and higher canthus postero-lateralis of the frontoparietal, compared to that of Discoglossus, also suggest the presence of well-developed adductor muscles. Furthermore, L. nigriventer have particularly strong skulls as expressed by: long articulations between different skull elements, interdigitation in the contact area between the nasals and between nasals and the frontoparietals, and fused frontoparietals. Both males and females L. nigriventer have very robust forelimbs, as indicated by well-developed medial crests of the humerus. Based on limited eastern Mediterranean paleontological data, we can only suspect that the dispersal of Latonia into the Levant from Asia Minor occurred at some point during the Miocene or later. The first appearance of L. nigriventer in the Hula Valley, its current habitat, dates to approximately 780 thousand years ago at the archaeological site of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov. J. Morphol. 277:1131-1145, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Several studies have reported the occurrence of fossil remains of a now extinct Boa snake from the upper Pleistocene of Marie-Galante Island, French West Indies. However, these remains have never been fully investigated and no complete description of this possible new species has been published. In this paper, we try to bridge this gap by providing a detailed morphological study of the Boa remains discovered in the three major fossil deposits of Marie-Galante Island. Our study reveals the specific morphological aspects of this fossil snake and allows us to identify it as a new species, Boa blanchardensis. We also reconstructed its body size, carried out a paleohistological investigation, and suggest that this snake may have been a dwarf species. We then discuss the possible explanation for the extinction of this snake on Marie-Galante Island and possibly also on other Guadeloupe islands.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7E352396-4945-447D-80A8-C2D9057B39EBSUPPLEMENTAL DATA—Supplemental materials are available for this article for free at www.tandfonline.com/UJVPCitation for this article: Bochaton, C., and S. Bailon. 2018. A new fossil species of Boa Linnaeus, 1758 (Squamata, Boidae), from the Pleistocene of Marie-Galante Island (French West Indies). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2018.1462829.

Most small terrestrial vertebrate accumulations in archaeological and palaeontological sites result from predation but we are far from having an exhaustive knowledge of modern predators’ diet, ecological niches and bone modification patterns especially in North African sites. The few neotaphonomic referentials available result from taxon-specialized palaeontologists’ initiatives. A survey of the literature on North Africa predators shows that their prey diversity is high and not only include rodent and shrews but also amphibians, squamates, bats and insects. We performed here a pilot taphonomic study of a Moroccan Tyto alba nest pellets including the whole taxa consumed (birds, rodents, shrews, amphibians, insects). We analyzed bone representation, fragmentation and digestion for each taxa and then compared the results. We observe differences between the taxa but on the whole find higher modification levels for this assemblage compared to roost sites of barn owls from other sites. We used for the comparisons homologous bones like the femur and the humerus and also found differences between the taxa. For example, digestion was lower on amphibians and birds than on micromammals. We discuss here some methodological issues as well as archaeological and palaeoenviromental ones by comparison with the Pleisto-Holocene site of El Harhoura II (Morocco)., The taphonomic study was funded by the GDR Taphena 3591 and we thank Jean Philip Brugal for supporting this project as well as the GDR Biogeoarcheodat. The fieldwork was sponsorized by the NSF-RHOI project.

Although diploglossine osteoderms were mentioned in several systematic and paleontological studies, their morphological variability in single specimens or within species remains paradoxically undescribed. This is mainly the effect of the lack of attention paid hitherto to the morphological and histological characteristics of the tail osteoderms. This study demonstrated that a previously undescribed morphological variability exists in these osteoderms, especially in those resulting from tail regeneration. Indeed, regenerated osteoderms display a plesiomorphic anguid morphology that was previously considered to be absent in Diploglossinae. We also provide the first histological description of diploglossine osteoderms and new information about the obvious differences in growth dynamic between regenerated and nonregenerated osteoderms. These new data raise questions about the usefulness of diploglossine osteoderms in systematic, paleontological, and skeletochronological studies. Our study shows that the exact position on the trunk or on a regenerated or nonregenerated tail of each studied osteoderm must be known in order to avoid mistakes related to their important interspecies and intraspecies variability. J. Morphol. 276:1333–1344, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The end of the Middle Pleistocene is an interesting period for investigating the transformation of Neandertal behavior from the early Middle Paleolithic to the late Middle Paleolithic. Few sites in the Iberian Peninsula have sequences corresponding to the last interglacial (MIS5) and even fewer in the Cantabrian Region. One of the best places to investigate this subject is the sequence recently excavated in Arlanpe cave. Several proxies (sedimentology, pollen, small vertebrates, malacofauna, U/Th dating) locate the first phases of this sequence between MIS7 and MIS5, with the important occurrence of temperate environmental evidence. The archaeological record describes populations with high mobility that used the cave as an occasional shelter in the first phases, or as an activity area in the later ones. The characteristics of lithic productions show a combination of Lower (Acheulean bifacial shaping) and Middle Paleolithic (Levallois Technology) traits that justifies an early Middle Paleolithic attribution.

The cave of Askondo (Manaria, Bizkaia, Spain) is an archaeological site on the western flank of Asko Mount. Archaeological excavations in 2011 have provided a prehistoric and historic sequence from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Bronze Age. Approximately 3000 microvertebrate elements (including mammals, reptiles, and amphibians) were recovered, of which 387 were identified to the genus and/or species levels. The small mammal assemblage comprises at least 17 taxa: nine species of rodents (Glis glis, Apodemus sylvaticus-flavicollis, Arvicola amphibius, Microtus agrestis, Microtus arvalis, Microtus (Terricola) sp., Microtus oeconomus, Chionomys nivalis, and Clethrionomys glareolus), two insectivores (Sorex araneus-coronatus and Talpa sp.), three amphibians (Bufo calamita, Bufo bufo, and Rana temporaria-iberica), and three reptiles (Lacertidae indet., Anguis fragilis, and Colubridae indet.). This assemblage has enabled us to roughly reconstruct the environmental conditions that prevailed in the cave's surrounding area. It evolved from a landscape with considerable woodlands to an arid one, characteristic of cold conditions, at the beginning of the Upper Palaeolithic (ca. 35,300 cal BP). After a short episode of alternating woodland expansion and contraction, the woodlands expanded again at the end of the Solutrean (ca. 21,000 cal BP). Finally, at the top of the sequence, the climate began a warming trend that has led to its current landscape.

Fossil remains provide useful insights into the long-term impact of anthropogenic phenomena on faunas and are often used to reveal the local (extirpations) or global (extinctions) losses of populations or species. However, other phenomena such as minor morphological changes can remain inconspicuous in the fossil record depending on the methodology used. In this study, we used the anole of Marie-Galante Island ( Anolis ferreus ) in Guadeloupe (French, West Indies) as a model to demonstrate how the morphological evolution of an insular lizard can be tracked through the Pleistocene/Holocene climatic transition and the recent anthropization of the island. We used a fossil assemblage of nearly 30 000 remains and a combination of anatomical description, traditional morphometry and geometric morphometrics. These fossils are attributed to a single taxon, most likely to be A. ferreus on the basis of morphological and morphometric arguments. Our results show the disappearance of a distinct (sub)population of large specimens that were about 25% larger than the modern representatives of A. ferreus . We also demonstrate an apparent size stability of the main fossil population of this species since the Late Pleistocene but with the possible occurrence of a reduction in morphological diversity during the Late Holocene. These results highlight the impact of anthropic disturbances on a lizard whose morphology otherwise remained stable since the Late Pleistocene.

The locality of El Salt (Middle Paleolithic, Alcoy, Spain) is mainly known by having one of the youngest Neanderthals records of the southeastern Iberian Peninsula. In this work, we have analysed the herpetofaunal fossils from the upper part of stratigraphic unit Xb, dated at 52.3 ± 4.6 ka (MIS 3). The faunal list is composed by three taxa of anurans (Alyte obstetricans, Bufo bufo s.l., and Epidalea calamita), one taxon of blanid (Blanus cinereus s.l.), two taxa of lizards (Chalcides bedriagai and cf. Acanthodactylus erythrurus), and one taxon of snakes (cf. Rhinechis scalaris). All of them have a broad distribution range in the Mediterranean, with wide ecological preferences range. This association of amphibians and reptiles from the Unit Xb suggests a slightly warmer and more humid climate than the current one; with an annual temperature range less accused and a similar seasonality of the rainfall than it is recorded nowadays in Alcoy. These results may correspond to a warm period (Daansgard-Oeschger event) during the MIS 3. A landscape composed by bushland and forest patched in which some open areas were present, with presence of permanent water bodies in the nearby areas, would characterize the surroundings areas of El Salt.