Stratified Pleistocene vertebrates with a new record of a jaguar-sized pantherine (Panthera cf. gombaszogensis) from northern Saudi Arabia

Stimpson, Christopher; Breeze, Paul S.; Clark-Balzan, Laine; Groucutt, Huw S.; Jennings, Richard; Parton, Ash; Scerri, Eleanor M. L.; White, Tom S.; Petraglia, Michael D.

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2014.09.049

Cited by 21 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 34 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…7 shows an example of the results of these palaeohydrological analyses, in this case for the southern Nefud region, and demonstrates how the method models regional drainage and numerous potential palaeolake features across the region, including features matching lakes which have formerly been identified through field survey, such as at Jubbah and Jebel Katefeh (Garrard et al, 1981;Petraglia et al, 2011Petraglia et al, , 2012, Tayma (Engel et al, 2011), and Ti's Al Ghadah (Thomas et al, 1998; Table 1 Summary of results of field accuracy assessment for the palaeohydrological methods, and of archaeological survey targeted upon identified palaeolake basins. Stimpson et al, 2015). The implications of our modelled data for the whole Nefud region in the context of palaeoenvironmental and archaeological data are explored later in this paper.…”

Section: Palaeolake Mapping Resultsmentioning

confidence: 92%

Remote sensing and GIS techniques for reconstructing Arabian palaeohydrology and identifying archaeological sites

Breeze

Drake

Groucutt

et al. 2015

Quaternary International

Self Cite

107

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

a b s t r a c tFreshwater availability is critical for human survival, and in the Saharo-Arabian desert belt repeated fluctuations between aridity and humidity over the Quaternary mean the distribution of freshwater was likely a primary control upon routes and opportunities for hominin dispersals. However, our knowledge of the spatio-temporal distribution of palaeohydrological resources within Arabia during MideLate Pleistocene episodes of climatic amelioration remains limited. In this paper we outline a combined method for remotely mapping the location of palaeodrainage and palaeolakes in currently arid regions that were formerly subject to more humid conditions. We demonstrate the potential of this approach by mapping palaeochannels across the whole Arabian Peninsula, and palaeolakes and marshes for select regions covering c. 10% of its surface. Our palaeodrainage mapping is based upon quantitative thresholding of HydroSHEDs data, which applies flow routing to Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data, while our palaeolake mapping uses an innovative method where spectral classification of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery is used to detect palaeolake deposits within endorheic (closed) basins, before modelling maximum lake extents by flooding the basin to the level of the elevation of the highest detected deposit. Field survey in the Nefud desert and the Dawadmi and Shuwaymis regions of Saudi Arabia indicates accuracies of 86% for palaeodrainage mapping, and 96% for identifying former palaeolake basins (73% accuracy of classification of individual deposits). The palaeolake mapping method has also demonstrated potential for identifying surface and stratified archaeological site locations, with 76% of the surveyed palaeolake basins containing archaeological material, including stratified Palaeolithic archaeology. Initial examination of palaeodrainage in relation to archaeological sites indicates a relationship between mapped features and previously recorded Palaeolithic sites. An example of the application of these data for period-specific regional palaeohydrological and archaeological reconstructions is presented for a region of Northern Saudi Arabia covering the southern Nefud desert and adjacent lava fields.

show abstract

Section: Palaeolake Mapping Resultsmentioning

confidence: 92%

Remote sensing and GIS techniques for reconstructing Arabian palaeohydrology and identifying archaeological sites

Breeze

Drake

Groucutt

et al. 2015

Quaternary International

Self Cite

107

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…7 Ma (Bibi et al, 2009). Hippotragines are mostly restricted to Africa, but Plio-Pleistocene remains have been found in the Siwaliks of Pakistan (Patnaik, 2013), and Oryx is known from the Middle Pleistocene at Nadaouiyeh Aïn Askar, Syria (Reynaud Savioz and Morel, 2005) and Ti's al Ghadah, Saudi Arabia (Thomas et al 1998;Stimpson et al 2015Stimpson et al , 2016. Specimens attributable to Oryx and other ungulates of similar size dominate the Ti's al Ghadah faunal record.…”

Section: Hippotraginaementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Notwithstanding its geographical proximity, Arabia has largely been excluded from these discussions owing to a dearth of archaeological and palaeontological research in the region. However, new palaeoenvironmental (Rosenberg et al, 2013;Breeze et al, 2015;Farrant et al, 2015;Hoffmann et al, 2015;Jennings et al, 2015b;, archaeological (Armitage et al, 2011;Groucutt and Petraglia, 2012;Hilbert et al, 2014;Scerri et al, 2014;Shipton et al, 2014;Jennings et al, 2016) and palaeontological (Stimpson et al, 2015(Stimpson et al, , 2016 studies have begun to shed light on this region, highlighting its importance for a holistic understanding of faunal (including hominin) exchanges between Africa and Eurasia. The importance of Arabia has also been specifically stressed in the study of hominin dispersals (Groucutt et al, 2015b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Middle and Late Pleistocene mammal fossils of Arabia and surrounding regions: Implications for biogeography and hominin dispersals

Stewart

Louys

Price

et al. 2019

Quaternary International

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Plio-Pleistocene faunal turnovers and their implications for hominin dispersals have recently received considerable attention. Exploration and palaeontological study of faunal exchanges has traditionally centred on East Africa, North Africa and the Levant in Southwest Asia. Despite this attention, considerable debate surrounding the timings, rates, and directions of hominin dispersals remain. Notwithstanding its close geographical proximity to these regions and a landmass of over 3 million km2, the Arabian Peninsula has largely been excluded from these discussions, mostly owing to the paucity of its Pleistocene vertebrate record. However, recent palaeoenvironmental studies have demonstrated that Arabia experienced periods of climatic amelioration during the Pleistocene, resulting in the establishment of large, perennial water sources and open-grasslands; conditions vastly different than today. This interpretation is further underpinned by archaeological and palaeontological data, and it is now clear this region is important for understanding faunal and hominin movements between Africa and Eurasia. Examination of the Arabian Middle to Late Pleistocene fossil record in a biogeographical context indicates the composite nature of the Arabian faunal record, with Eurasian and African intrusions present in addition to well-established endemics. Open grassland habitats and taxonomic similarities between Pleistocene Arabia on the one hand, and the Levant and Africa on the other, suggests that hominin dispersal into Arabia did not require significant behavioural and/or technological innovations, while subsequent climatic deterioration likely resulted in hominin retreat/extirpation

show abstract

“…The potential for fossils to provide important chronological and palaeoenvironmental frameworks within which to interpret the archaeological record has also inspired research in (initially) less promising regions of the world that have previously received little attention, such as the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula (e.g. Groucutt et al, 2015;Stimpson et al, 2015Stimpson et al, , 2016. The resulting palaeontological data have the potential to be interpreted on a variety of scales, ranging from considerations of changing climatic conditions during a single interglacial in a given region (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fossils from Quaternary fluvial archives: Sources of biostratigraphical, biogeographical and palaeoclimatic evidence

White

Bridgland

Limondin-Lozouët

et al. 2017

Quaternary Science Reviews

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Fluvial sedimentary archives have the potential to preserve a wide variety of palaeontological evidence, ranging from robust bones and teeth found in coarse gravel aggradations to delicate insect remains and plant macrofossils from fine-grained deposits. Over the last decade, advances in Quaternary biostratigraphy based on vertebrate and invertebrate fossils (primarily mammals and molluscs) have been made in many parts of the world, resulting in improved relative chronologies for fluviatile sequences. Complementary fossil groups, such as insects, ostracods and plant macrofossils, are also increasingly used in multi-proxy palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, allowing direct comparison of the climates and environments that prevailed at different times across widely separated regions. This paper reviews these topics on a regional basis, with an emphasis on the latest published information, and represents an update to the 2007 review compiled by the FLAG-inspired IGCP 449 biostratigraphy subgroup. Disparities in the level of detail available for different regions can largely be attributed to varying potential for preservation of fossil material, which is especially poor in areas of non-calcareous bedrock, but to some extent also reflect research priorities in different parts of the world. Recognition of the value of biostratigraphical and palaeoclimatic frameworks, which have been refined over many decades in the 'core regions' for such research (particularly for the late Middle and Late Pleistocene of NW Europe), has focussed attention on the need to accumulate similar palaeontological datasets in areas lacking such long research histories. Although the emerging datasets from these understudied regions currently allow only tentative conclusions to be drawn, they represent an important stage in the development of independent biostratigraphical and palaeoenvironmental schemes, which can then be compared and contrasted. *Manuscript Click here to view linked References Highlights Research over the last decade into biostratigraphical data recorded in fluvial archives is reviewed Consideration of biogeography and palaeoclimatic evidence is also included This emphasizes the disparities in research priorities and fossil preservation on a global scale *Highlights (for review)

show abstract

Stratified Pleistocene vertebrates with a new record of a jaguar-sized pantherine (Panthera cf. gombaszogensis) from northern Saudi Arabia

Cited by 21 publications

References 34 publications

Remote sensing and GIS techniques for reconstructing Arabian palaeohydrology and identifying archaeological sites

Remote sensing and GIS techniques for reconstructing Arabian palaeohydrology and identifying archaeological sites

Middle and Late Pleistocene mammal fossils of Arabia and surrounding regions: Implications for biogeography and hominin dispersals

Fossils from Quaternary fluvial archives: Sources of biostratigraphical, biogeographical and palaeoclimatic evidence

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About