Late Holocene land vertebrate fauna from Cueva de los Nesofontes, Western Cuba: Stratigraphy, chronology, diversity, and paleoecology

Abstract

Here we report a late Holocene fossil-rich cave deposit from Cueva de los Nesofontes, Mayabeque Province, Cuba. The deposit's formation and its fauna were studied through a multidisciplinary approach that included stable isotope analyses, radiocarbon chronology, and stratigraphy. Thousands of microvertebrate skeletal remains were recovered, representing a diverse land vertebrate fauna that included threatened and extinct species. The deposit is characterized by profuse Nesophontes remains due to raptor predation. Previously unreported last appearance dates (LADs) are provided for the extinct 'island-shrew' Nesophontes major, the bats Artibeus anthonyi, and Phyllops vetus. Radiocarbon (14 C AMS) age estimates between ~1960 rcyr BP and the present were acquired for the assemblage. The presence of locally extinct species, including the endemic parakeet Psittacara eups, the flicker Colaptes cf. fernandinae, the bat Antrozous koopmani, and the eulipotyphlan Solenodon cubanus, suggests that these species had broader distributions in the near past. Isotope analyses and faunal composition indicate the previous presence of diverse habitats, including palm grove savannas and mixed woodlands near the cave. Isotopes also provide insight into the habitat and coexistence of the extinct bat Artibeus anthonyi and extant A. jamaicensis, the diet of Nesophontes major, and local paleoenvironmental conditions. Oxygen isotopes reveal an excursion suggestive of drier/colder local conditions between 660 and 770 AD. Our research further expands the understanding of Cuban Quaternary extinction episodes and provides data on the distribution and paleoecology of extinct taxa. It supports the conclusion that many Cuban extinct species survived well into the pre-Columbian late Holocene and retained wide distribution ranges until European colonization.

Nuevos hallazgos de aves en contextos paleontológicos y arqueológicos de Cuba

“…El segundo proceso, que incluiría a la mayor parte de la asociación ósea, fue la actividad trófica de las lechuzas (Tyto). En la dieta antigua y actual de T. furcata se han registrado tres especies de carpinteros [Xiphidiopicus percussus, 23 cm de talla; Melanerpes superciliaris, 28 cm; Colaptes spp., 33-34 cm] (Jiménez et al, 2005;López, 2012;Orihuela et al, 2020a), sin embargo, tratándose de un ave de talla grande como C. principalis (48 cm), portadora, además, de un poderoso pico, es posible que haya sido presa de las lechuzas Tyto cravesae y T. noeli, que fueron los titónidos gigantes con mayor distribución espacial y abundancia.…”

Osteological characters for the identification of Caribbean columbids

“…Several studies have described the past diversity and abundance of Columbidae in the Greater Antilles and Bahamian Archipelago. The initial work of Wetmore (1920Wetmore ( , 1922aWetmore ( , 1922bWetmore ( , 1925Wetmore ( , 1937 and more recent research in Cuba (Arredondo, 1984;Jiménez-Vázquez, 2001;Jiménez-Vázquez & Arrazcaeta, 2008, 2015Olson & Wiley, 2016;Orihuela et al, 2020) and the Bahamas (e.g. Brodkorb, 1959;Olson & Hilgartner, 1982;Steadman & Franklin, 2020) has documented about 15 columbid taxa from late Pleistocene to historical period.…”

Evidence of a Late Holocene giant barn owl (Aves: Strigiformes: Tytonidae) in Guadeloupe

“…likely vanished after the arrival of humans in the Caribbean (Orihuela et al 2020a(Orihuela et al , 2020b. The precise timing of their extinction, however, remains poorly documented.…”