When east met west: the sub‐fossil footprints of the west European hedgehog and the northern white‐breasted hedgehog during the Late Quaternary in Europe

Abstract

AbstractThe distinct distribution of the west European hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus and the northern white‐breasted hedgehog Erinaceus roumanicus and their separate refugial origins after the Pleistocene is a well‐known example in the zoogeography of the Holarctic. Among the Late Quaternary faunal assemblages, the west European hedgehog is recorded at 269 sites whereas the northern white‐breasted hedgehog is recorded only at 52 sites in Europe. The distribution patterns of the temporal and spatial Glacial records of the west European hedgehog show a general trend: a strong restriction to glacial refugia (the Iberian and Italian Peninsulas) during the Weichselian Glacial until the end of the Last Glacial Maximum, and a colonization of southern France during the early Late Glacial between 14 000 and 125 00 14C years BP (15 000–12 800 cal. BC). Whereas the British Isles could have already been colonised by the end of the Pre‐Boreal, in the rest of Central Europe E. europaeus was clearly distributed there in the Boreal for the first time. The west European hedgehog is an absolute Holocene faunal element in Central Europe. It appears in most parts of Central Europe during the Early Holocene, when the west European hedgehog met its eastern relative, which probably was similarly sensitive. After meeting each other, the distribution limit of both Erinaceus species in Central Europe seems to have been relatively constant in its geographic extent. Because of the clear climatic correlation, E. europaeus should be considered as an indicator species for temperate climatic conditions of the Holocene fauna. This should be considered during the reconstruction of climatic conditions with the help of the analysis of quaternary faunal material.