Soricidae (Soricomorpha, Mammalia) from the Pliocene of Tollo de Chiclana (Guadix Basin, southern Spain)

Abstract

ABSTRACT The fossil shrews (Soricidae, Lipotyphla, Mammalia) from the Pliocene continental deposits of Tollo de Chiclana (Guadix Basin, southern Spain) are described. Remains of Asoriculus gibberodon, Blarinoides aliciae, Petenyia hungarica, Paenelimnoecus pannonicus, Myosorex meini, and an indeterminated species of Soricidae have been recognized. With the exception of A. gibberodon, these species are very uncommon in the south of the Iberian Peninsula; in fact, this finding represents the first record of Petenyia, Blarinoides, Paenelimnoecus, and Myosorex in the Guadix Basin. The changes in the abundance of Soricidae in the studied levels indicate wet and warm climatic conditions during the late Ruscinian and early Villanyian, and a decrease in the temperature and precipitation in the late Villanyian.