Carnivora dispersal in Western Mediterranean during the last 2.6 Ma

Abstract

Throughout the last 2.6 Ma the dispersal of several carnivores was an important component of the faunal renewal in Western Mediterranean. Nonetheless, whether first and last appearances of Carnivora species were or not related to climatic and environmental changes is still a matter of debate. Taxonomy and stratigraphic ranges of the Western Mediterranean Carnivora fossil record have been revised in order to assess the possible correlation among major dispersal, origination and extinction events and the extensive changes in environmental conditions occurring from the Middle Pliocene to the Late Pleistocene. The most noticeable dispersal phases occurred with discrete bioevents during the Late Pliocene (large canids and Pachycrocuta events) and at the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene ( Crocuta “lion”–leopard event), whereas the dispersal of Canis lupus was the main late Middle Pleistocene bioevent. The origination and extinction rates calculated for each faunal complex (FC), as well as the turnover indexes calculated at the transition between successive FCs, indicate that the most noticeable change occurred at the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene, somewhat later than the main structural changes already noted in ungulates. Results obtained support the hypothesis that dynamics of Carnivora renewal was more a consequence of changes that had already affected ungulate communities, than a mere answer to changing environmental conditions. The renewal of carnivorous lineages is due to dispersals both from Asia via Eastern Europe and from Africa via the Levantine corridor.