Recent shrinkage of the range of the Eastern Spadefoot Toad, Pelobates syriacus (Amphibia: Anura): archaeological evidence from the Bronze Age in Israel

Abstract

The analysis of the remains collected in the Ara Burial Cave in Lower Galilee, Israel (Late Bronze Age II, c. 1300-1200 BCE), permitted the identification of 725 anuran remains belonging mostly to Bufo viridis but also to Pelobates cf. syriacus. The origin of the anuran assemblage in Ara cave appears to be intrusive, probably related to the need to find aestivation shelter during the dry and hot summer season. Despite the relative rarity of Pelobates remains (attributable to a single individual), their presence in the Ara cave testifies to a wider range of the taxon in the recent past, since the cave is located outside its present range. Pelobates remains are also found in several Israeli Late Pleistocene archaeological sites that lie outside the present fragmented range of the species and completely fill its main gap in this country. This suggests recent environmental modifications, which may be due to climatic fluctuations as well as anthropogenic impact. An accurate analysis of the range contraction evidenced by the zooarchaeological record, and of the environmental changes that recently occurred in the region, should be taken into consideration in the preparation of soundly based conservation or reintroduction plans in Israel.