The extinction of the giant hyena Pachycrocuta brevirostris and a reappraisal of the Epivillafranchian and Galerian Hyaenidae in Europe: Faunal turnover during the Early–Middle Pleistocene Transition

Déjà vu: on the use of meat resources by sabretooth cats, hominins, and hyaenas in the Early Pleistocene site of Fuente Nueva 3 (Guadix-Baza Depression, SE Spain)

“…Under these new ecological circumstances, the trophic niche that hominins exploited vanished, and this forced them towards behavioural improvements that resulted in the development of the more effective Acheulean handaxes, which replaced the technologically less elaborated Oldowan flakes of the earlier populations. In the case of P. brevirostris, being constrained by its enormous size and by a highly specialized anatomy derived from its strict scavenging behaviour, the inevitable destiny of this species during this period of change was extinction (Arribas and Palmqvist,1999;Palmqvist et al 2011;Iannucci et al 2021). Therefore, the results obtained by Rodríguez-Gómez et al (2017b) on the changes in meat availability and competition intensity at the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene also support a scavenging role for hominins during the late Early Pleistocene in Europe.…”

“…The third possibility, primary access to intact carcasses of animals that died through natural causes or to prey leftovers left by the primary predators such as sabretooth cats, seems the most reasonable given the anatomy of early Homo as well as their apparently limited technological skills (Espigares et al 2019). Apart from vultures, the large hyaena P. brevirostris (Palmqvist et al 2011;Iannucci et al 2021) and the jackal-sized dog Canis mosbachensis (Martínez-Navarro et al 2010 would indeed be worthy competitors of the FN3 hominins in the access to carrion. Modern hyaenas and jackals often rely upon visual clues such as circling vultures to identify scavengeable resources, and then run long distances to secure the carcass (Bramble and Lieberman 2004).…”

Bone modifications by the giant hyaenaPachycrocuta brevirostrison large-sized ungulate carcasses from the Lower Pleistocene site of Tsiotra Vryssi (Mygdonia Basin, Greece)

“…During the late Villafranchian-Epivillafranchian, the sole hyaenid that appears in the European fossil assemblages is Pachycrocuta brevirostris (with the exception of Chasmaporthetes which is still present during the earliest late Villafranchian, and the appearance of Crocuta at the end of the Epivillafranchian) (Palombo 2014;Iannucci et al 2021). This hyaenid had an average estimate of body mass of 110 kg (nearly twice that of the spotted hyaena) and unique craniodental adaptations, which indicate great bone fracturing capability (Palmqvist et al 2011).…”

“…Its postcranial skeleton also shows adaptations for scavenging, with a robust body and shortened distal limb bones, less suited for a cursorial lifestyle, but offering strength and stability for the dismembering and transport of carcass parts (Turner and Antón 1996). Nevertheless, a more opportunistic behaviour, which besides scavenging included also hunting, is also proposed for Pachycrocuta brevirostris (Turner and Antón 1996;Galobart et al 2003;Dennell et al 2008;Iannucci et al 2021). The faunal and skeletal representation of Venta Micena (Spain), a site interpreted as a P. brevirostris accumulation, indicates that this hyaena selectively scavenged prey hunted by sabretooths, as well as the canid Canis (Xenoxyon) lycaonoides (Palmqvist et al 1996).…”

“…This taxon represents the most important fossil accumulator during the Early Pleistocene of Eurasia (Martínez-Navarro 2010), leaving its taphonomic signature in several fossil sites geographically distributed from East to West (e.g., Saunders and Dawson 1998;Boaz et al 2000;Mazza 2006;Dennell et al 2008;Palmqvist et al 2011;Madurell-Malapeira et al 2017;Arnold 2022;Kahlke 2022). The species probably originated in eastern Africa and dispersed to south Africa, Asia, and finally Europe, where it entered at ~2.0 Ma ('Pachycrocuta brevirostris event'; Martínez-Navarro 2010) and persisted until ~0.8 Ma (Iannucci et al 2021). Pachycrocuta is found in numerous sites, some of which with evidence of hominin presence, e.g., Fuente Nueva-3 and Barranco León in Spain, Pirro Nord in Italy, Dmanisi in Georgia, and Zhoukoudian in China (Boaz et al 2000;Tappen et al 2007;Arzarello et al 2007;Pavia et al 2012;Espigares et al 2019), and it is regarded as the most direct competitor of hominins for access to large mammal carcasses (Martínez-Navarro 2010).…”