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Small mammals from the early Pleistocene of the Granada Basin, southern Spain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Antonio García-Alix*
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra, Universidad de Cádiz, 11510 Puerto Real, Spain Institut Català de Paleontologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
Raef Minwer-Barakat
Affiliation:
Institut Català de Paleontologia, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
Elvira Martín Suárez
Affiliation:
Departamento de Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Universidad de Granada, Avda. Fuentenueva s/n, 18071 Granada, Spain
Matthijs Freudenthal
Affiliation:
Departamento de Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Universidad de Granada, Avda. Fuentenueva s/n, 18071 Granada, Spain Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
*
Corresponding author. Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra, Universidad de Cádiz, 11510 Puerto Real, Spain. Fax: +34 935868333.

E-mail address:[email protected] (A. García-Alix).

Abstract

The Pliocene and Pleistocene continental sedimentary records of the western sector of the Granada Basin, southern Spain, consist of alternating fluvial and lacustrine/palustrine sediments. Two Quaternary sections from this sector have been sampled: Huétor Tájar and Tojaire. They have yielded remains of rodents, insectivores and lagomorphs. The presence in the Huétor Tájar and Tojaire sections of Mimomys, Apodemus atavus, Castillomys rivas and two different species of Allophaiomys, indicates an Early Pleistocene age. These deposits, which are related to a fluvio-lacustrine system, can be differentiated from an older (Pliocene) braided fluvial system. Their dating has important repercussions on the paleogeographic reconstruction of the basin. The conditions inferred from the ecological preferences of the small mammal associations are wet and cold. These associations suggest a predominance of open herbaceous habitats, followed by forested habitats; semiaquatic habitats are the least represented.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
University of Washington

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