ABSTRACT

The Early and Middle Pleistocene were characterised by two major climatic events: the onset of the Quaternary glaciations and the Early-Middle Pleistocene Transition (EMPT) with glacial cycles changing their periodicity. The present study reviews recent research on the palaeoecological adaptations of Pleistocene ungulates from Mediterranean Europe following these global climatic changes, through an examination of dental wear patterns and hypsodonty indices of 27 fossil taxa from 4 key localities. Ungulates from Coste San Giacomo (2.1 Ma) adopted a wide range of feeding behaviours suggesting the presence of heterogeneous environments in the region. Following the gradual deterioration of climatic conditions and drier habitats ungulates display narrower diet ranges with no incidence of obligated browsers as attested at Olivola (~1.8 Ma). The diffusion of open habitats from the Early Pleistocene onwards is also reflected by the reduction of brachydont taxa. Discrepancy between dental mesowear and microwear patterns of Vallparadís Estació (~1.0–0.6 Ma) and Fontana Ranuccio (0.4 Ma) ungulates points to an increase in seasonality during the EMPT and after its consolidation. All examined taxa display dietary plasticity through the Early and Middle Pleistocene with even specialised groups, such as equids, showing a certain flexibility in their diet.

摘要

早中更新世的特点是两个主要气候事件：第四纪冰川的开始和早中更新世过渡（EMPT），冰川循环改变了它们的周期性。本研究通过检查来自 4 个关键地区的 27 种化石分类群的牙齿磨损模式和牙齿畸形指数，回顾了最近关于地中海欧洲更新世有蹄类动物在这些全球气候变化之后的古生态适应的研究。来自 Coste San Giacomo (2.1 Ma) 的有蹄类动物采取了广泛的进食行为，表明该地区存在异质环境。随着气候条件的逐渐恶化和更干燥的栖息地，有蹄类动物的饮食范围更窄，Olivola (~1.8 Ma) 证明没有发生强制浏览器。从早更新世开始，开放栖息地的扩散也反映在短齿兽类群的减少上。Vallparadís Estació (~1.0–0.6 Ma) 和 Fontana Ranuccio (0.4 Ma) 的牙科中观磨损和微磨损模式之间的差异表明 EMPT 期间和巩固后季节性增加。所有被检查的分类群都显示出早、中更新世的饮食可塑性，甚至专门的群体，如马科动物，在他们的饮食中表现出一定的灵活性。