“…Many of the bone samples used here have been measured in studies of individual species variation by previous authors (e.g., Forsten, 1991Forsten, , 1993Forsten, , 1999Lister, 1994;Lister et al, 2010;Breda et al, 2010;Van Asperen, 2010, but here we compare body mass estimates instead of linear bone dimensions, and compare results across species as well.…”
Ungulate diets may vary following differences in vegetation, and their body size is affected by a complex set of ecological and physiological variables. Here we analyse Middle and Late Pleistocene British and German ungulate palaeocommunities to test whether there are significant correlations of diet and body size of ungulate species with vegetation openness. We also evaluate the role of interspecific interactions on the diet and body mass of the ungulate species. We use mesowear for dietary analyses and regression equations for estimating body mass from skeletal measures. The results show a correlation between ungulate mesowear and non-arboreal pollen percentages of the localities, but there are marked differences between species. Body masses of rhinoceroses (Rhinocerotidae) and deer (Cervidae) are on average higher in open environments, whereas aurochs (Bos primigenius) does not show clear connection of body size with vegetational conditions, and bison (Bison spp.) and wild horses (Equus ferus) have on average smaller mean size in more open ecosystems, possibly because of high population densities and resulting resource limitations. It is evident that the correlation of body size and vegetation openness is not straightforward and is likely to reflect the varying effects of population density, ecological adaptations and environmental conditions on body size in different species.
“…Many of the bone samples used here have been measured in studies of individual species variation by previous authors (e.g., Forsten, 1991Forsten, , 1993Forsten, , 1999Lister, 1994;Lister et al, 2010;Breda et al, 2010;Van Asperen, 2010, but here we compare body mass estimates instead of linear bone dimensions, and compare results across species as well.…”
Ungulate diets may vary following differences in vegetation, and their body size is affected by a complex set of ecological and physiological variables. Here we analyse Middle and Late Pleistocene British and German ungulate palaeocommunities to test whether there are significant correlations of diet and body size of ungulate species with vegetation openness. We also evaluate the role of interspecific interactions on the diet and body mass of the ungulate species. We use mesowear for dietary analyses and regression equations for estimating body mass from skeletal measures. The results show a correlation between ungulate mesowear and non-arboreal pollen percentages of the localities, but there are marked differences between species. Body masses of rhinoceroses (Rhinocerotidae) and deer (Cervidae) are on average higher in open environments, whereas aurochs (Bos primigenius) does not show clear connection of body size with vegetational conditions, and bison (Bison spp.) and wild horses (Equus ferus) have on average smaller mean size in more open ecosystems, possibly because of high population densities and resulting resource limitations. It is evident that the correlation of body size and vegetation openness is not straightforward and is likely to reflect the varying effects of population density, ecological adaptations and environmental conditions on body size in different species.
“… Figure 7. Faunal species recognised in the UK North Sea dataset, and their known occurrence in Britain (after Currant & Jacobi 2001; Schreve 2004; Breda et al . 2010; Lister et al . 2010; Preece & Parfitt 2012).…”
“…The last occurrences of S. hundsheimensis in Italy are recorded in the faunal assemblages chronologically related to MIS16-15 (Sala & Fortelius 1993, Coltorti et al 2005. In central and northern Europe, the last records of S. hundsheimensis are reported in sites earliest or close to MIS13 as Hundsheim (MIS15 or 13), Mauer (lower sands, MIS15) and Boxgrove (MIS13) (Toula 1902;Schreiber 2005, Breda et al 2010, Kahlke et al 2010, Wagner et al 2010.…”
A fragmentary rhinoceros skull from the "Campagna Romana" was analysed. The results of morphometrical and morphological analysis identify the skull as Stephanorhinus hemitoechus. The petrography and geochemistry of the volcanoclastic sediments containing the rhinoceros skull indicate that its geographic provenance is the northern area of Rome (between the Tiber River and the southern area of the Sabatini Volcanic District). The textural and geochemical features of white pumice indicate that the volcanoclastic sediments were deposited at ca 500 ka during the MIS13. A revision of the earliest records of S. hemitoechus in Europe reveals that the skull from Campagna Romana is the earliest record of the species. The time and spatial collocation of this occurrence postdate the diffusion of S. hemitoechus in the Mediterranean Basin, most likely due to the favourable climate. Successively, the species becomes common in the rest of western and northern Europe and reached its maximal geographic extension during MIS5.•
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