Dietary reconstruction of Plio-Pleistocene proboscideans from the Carpathian Basin of Romania using enamel microwear

Abstract

The paleodietary ecology of Late Pliocene-Late Pleistocene proboscideans (Anancus arvernensis, Palaeoloxodon antiquus, Mammut borsoni, Mammuthus meridionalis, Mammuthus trogontheriii and Mammuthus primigenius) from two Moldavian Republic localities and eight Romanian localities of the Carpathian Basin was investigated using enamel microwear. Results show a great degree of dietary flexibility as well as a temporal pattern involving the incorporation of more grass through time. Anancus avernensis, Mammut borsoni (Late Pliocene) and Mammuthus meridionalis (Early Pleistocene) have scratch/pit results consistent with browsing on leaves and twigs. Palaeoloxodon antiquus has scratch pit results indicating heavy reliance on browse, whereas Mammuthus trogontherii (Middle Pleistocene) and Mammuthus primigenius (Late Pleistocene) exhibited results typical of alternating between browsing and grazing. Mammuthus primigenius has some individuals occupied with pure grazing. Average scratch widths are largest and scratch textures are more homogenous in taxa that display results consistent with pure browsing (i.e., Mammut borsoni, Anancus arvernensis, and Mammuthus meridionalis) and suggest a relatively narrow food regime most likely relying on more twigs and bark than mixed feeding taxa which have smaller average scratch widths but a more heterogenous scratch textural array consistent with incorporating a greater variety of food items into their dietary regime such as leaves, twigs, bark and grass (i.e., Palaeoloxodon antiquus, Mammuthus trogontheriii, and Mammuthus primigenius). Results reveal a flexible, generalist strategy in proboscideans with a derived hypsodont and lophodont dentition and suggest that hypsodonty, once derived does not preclude feeding on relatively non-abrasive dietary items.