6533b7dbfe1ef96bd126ff93

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Pleistocene leopards in the Iberian Peninsula: New evidence from palaeontological and archaeological contexts in the Mediterranean region

Valentín VillaverdeCarmen TormoVicent SanchisRebeca DíazAgustí RiberaVíctor SauquéAlfred Sanchis

subject

Mediterranean climateArcheologyGlobal and Planetary ChangegeographyTaphonomygeography.geographical_feature_categorybiologyPleistoceneLeopardGeologyArchaeologyPrehistoryPeninsulabiology.animalRestes d'animals (Arqueologia)PantheraEcology Evolution Behavior and SystematicsHolocene

description

This study analyses the fossil record of leopards in the Iberian Peninsula. According to the systematic and morphometric features of new remains, identified mainly in Late Pleistocene palaeontological and archaeological sites of the Mediterranean region, they can be attributed to Panthera pardus Linnaeus 1758. The findings include the most complete leopard skeleton from the Iberian Peninsula and one of the most complete in Europe, found in a chasm (Avenc de Joan Guit on) south of Valencia. The new citations and published data are used to establish the leopard's distribution in the Iberian Peninsula, showing its maximum development during the Late Pleistocene. Some references suggest that the species survived for longer here (Lateglacial-Early Holocene) than in other parts of Europe. Finally, the contexts of appearance and origin of leopard remains are described and the processes of interaction with prehistoric human groups are assessed.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2015-09-01Quaternary Science Reviews
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.07.013