A reassessment of the evidence for hydrothermal activity in the Neogene-Quaternary lacustrine environments of the Baza basin (Betic Cordillera, SE Spain) and its paleoecological implications

The bears from Dmanisi and the first dispersal of early Homo out of Africa

“…The analyses of tooth microwear and dental morphometrics performed here on the specimens of U. etruscus suggest that the bear species that coexisted with the first hominin populations that inhabited Eurasia was clearly opportunistic and had an omnivorous behavior, feeding on both plant resources and vertebrate flesh depending upon availability. Isotopic data from Venta Micena indicates that U. etruscus recorded high levels of δ 15 N, which suggests that a regular consumption of fish from the moderately saline lacustrine systems present at the Orce basin of the Baza and Guadix depression 58 could have played a significant role in the diet of U. etruscus 51 . Moreover, although these high δ 15 N values could also have resulted in part from a prolonged hibernation 59 , climatic reconstructions for the Orce sites suggest a milder and less seasonal climate than in present times in the surroundings of the lacustrine areas, which were fed by thermal springs, thus arguing against hibernation 60,61 .…”

A new species of dog from the Early Pleistocene site of Venta Micena (Orce, Baza Basin, Spain)

“…The paleontological site of Venta Micena is located in the Baza and Guadix Depression (Fig. 1), a NE-SW elongated sedimentary basin (c.110 km long) that covers a surface of c. 4000 km 2 and is situated in the contact between the external and internal zones of the Betic Cordillera (Oms et al 2011;García-Aguilar et al 2013, 2014, 2015. After its uplift around 8 Ma (Hüsing et al 2010, and references therein) the depression was characterized by an old set of sediments (Late Miocene marine deposits), overlapped by a modern set of sediments with an angular unconformity (latest Miocene to middle Pleistocene continental deposits) (Vera 1970;García-Aguilar & Martín 2000;Viseras et al 2005;García-Aguilar & Palmqvist 2011;García-Aguilar et al 2014).…”

“…After its uplift around 8 Ma (Hüsing et al 2010, and references therein) the depression was characterized by an old set of sediments (Late Miocene marine deposits), overlapped by a modern set of sediments with an angular unconformity (latest Miocene to middle Pleistocene continental deposits) (Vera 1970;García-Aguilar & Martín 2000;Viseras et al 2005;García-Aguilar & Palmqvist 2011;García-Aguilar et al 2014). The Baza and Guadix Depression includes two different depocenters: the Guadix Basin, in the southwestern sector, and the Baza Basin, in the northeastern one (García-Aguilar et al 2013, 2014, 2015. The Plio-Pleistocene continental infilling was deposited under an endorheic regime and consists of a c. 600 m-thick continuous succession and has been historically divided into three formations (with different facies that change laterally): 1) the Guadix Formation, which includes alluvial-fluvial sediments (Guadix Basin); 2) the Gorafe-Huélago Formation, formed by carbonate lacustrine sediments (Guadix Basin); and 3) the Baza Formation, consisting of lacustrine limestones, marls and gypsum (Baza Basin) (Vera 1970).…”

Déjà vu: A reappraisal of the taphonomy of quarry VM4 of the Early Pleistocene site of Venta Micena (Baza Basin, SE Spain)

“…During the last decades, taphonomic studies of VM3, the main quarry excavated at the site [4][5][6][7][8][9][10]13 , have shown that: (i) the excavated surface (~220 m 2 ) has provided 6,331 identi able skeletal remains from 339 individuals distributed among 24 mammalian taxa, 1,819 anatomically identi able bones that could not be determined taxonomically (e.g., diaphyseal fragments and small cranial fragments) and several thousands of bone shafts (Table 1); (ii) the fossils range in size from isolated teeth and phalanges of small carnivores to mandibles of elephants; (iii) girdle/limb bones and, to a lesser extent, cranial elements predominate over ribs and vertebrae; (iv) herbivore taxa dominate the assemblage, both in number of identi able specimens (NISP) and minimal number of individuals (MNI); (v) the age estimated for the individuals includes calves and juveniles with deciduous teeth as well as prime and past prime adults with fully erupted permanent dentition; (vi) more common herbivores, such as horse Equus altidens and megacerine deer Praemegaceros cf. verticornis, show high frequencies of non-adults, >45% in both cases; and (vii) among carnivores, only adult individuals have been recovered, with the exception of the giant (~110 kg) 10 , short-faced hyaena Pachycrocuta brevirostris, which is represented by 50% of non-adults, and a few juveniles of the wild dog Lycaon lycaonoides, the wolf Canis orcensis and the bear Ursus etruscus (Table 1).…”