In recent years, air sac parasitic helminths have been reported to cause severe disease in birds. In addition, various species appear to be expanding and infecting new avian hosts in various regions worldwide. In this context, an air sac nematode was initially detected in 2014 infecting the Eurasian scops owl, hospitalized in the local wildlife hospital in Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain). Years later, the parasite was detected in 2 other owl species. Air sac nematodes had never been reported in the Mallorcan Strigiformes before. A comprehensive molecular and morphological characterization analysis, including scanning electron microscopy, was required for species confirmation. The species was identified as Lissonema sicki, a parasite infrequently reported in South American owls. Since its first introduction to Mallorca, it has dramatically increased in prevalence in hospitalized birds, being highly prevalent in the Eurasian scops owl (41%), in the long-eared owl (11%) and in the barn owl (4%). The introduction pathway of this parasite to Europe remains unknown. This discovery underscores the expanding range and impact of L. sicki, emphasizing the importance of ongoing surveillance and research to comprehend and manage the implications of its emergence in new territories.

El artículo se enmarca en las líneas de investigación actual sobre la mujer en la economía marítima preindustrial. Se trata de un estudio de caso centrado en las capitanas y las patronas durante el auge del corso en Mallorca entre 1635–80. En él se destaca la labor de las mujeres de mar como procuradoras de sus maridos mientras permanecían ausentes, especialmente cuando la situación les exigió demostrar iniciativa e ir más allá de lo estipulado en la procura. Asimismo, se constata un mayor protagonismo en cuatro áreas de la empresa corsaria, mientras ésta se rigió por un modelo de corte familiar.

A new insular species of Paraethomys (Muridae, Rodentia) with medium-sized hypsodont teeth is described from the Zanclean of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, western Mediterranean). The m1 displays the most distinctive traits: hypsodonty, a high occurrence of an unusual anterior cingulum, a well-developed labial cingulum, high accessory labial cuspids resembling the Apodemus pattern and a funnel between c1 and the hypoconid. Paraethomys balearicus sp. nov. preserves traits close to those present in the earliest populations of Paraethomys meini from the upper Turolian, such as a developed posterior spur on t3 in the M1, a connection between t4 and t8 in the M1, a narrow connection between t6 and t9 in the M1 and the occasional presence of an individualized t9 and a t12 in some M2s. The relationship between the new taxon and its direct mainland ancestor gives additional support to a Messinian origin for the so-called Myotragus fauna, which became isolated after the refilling of the Mediterranean Sea 5.33 Ma ago. The absence of Paraethomys in other known younger Mallorcan sites suggests that its extinction most probably occurred at an indeterminate time during the Pliocene Epoch.

Myotragus palomboi n.sp. (Artiodactyla, Caprinae) is described from the Early Pliocene of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, western Mediterranean). This species is the earliest representative of the Myotragus lineage known to date in the Balearic Islands. A metatarsal, and several teeth and postcranial remains were found in a karstic deposit located on the east coast of the island, near Caló den Rafelino (Manacor), together with remains of Hypolagus, two rodent species, an insectivore and several reptiles. The metatarsal and phalanges of the new bovid are short and robust and display a combination of characters only observed in Myotragus. The presence of a larger p2, a metatarsal robustness index lower than in M. pepgonellae (the earliest known species to date), together with the morphology of the incisors, all suggest that M. palomboi should be considered as the ancestor of M. pepgonellae. Short metapodials and the reduction of p2 displayed by M. palomboi could be linked to a first stage of evolution in insular conditions. The arrival of this bovid to the island of Mallorca probably took place during the Mediterranean Messinian Salinity Crisis (Late Miocene, 5.6–5.32 Ma ago). Although the relationship of the new taxon to other fossil caprines cannot be definitively established, it could be phylogenetically close to the Late Miocene European species Aragoral mudejar and Norbertia hellenica.

The communal tombs (‘dolmens’) constructed through Europe and the Mediterranean region in the late Neolithic nearly always had an entrance to permit the introduction of further bodies, and hence an orientation. Extensive fieldwork shows that the builders always felt constrained to observe a custom of orientation, and in most of Western Europe the custom may well have been to face the rising Sun at some time of year, or the Sun after it had risen. But at Fontvieille near Arles the local custom was quite different, with tombs facing sunset or the Sun when descending. In southwest France and neighbouring parts of Cataluña the two customs are in conflict.

This paper proposes a detailed measurement of the agricultural development of the island of Majorca from the late sixteenth century to the midnineteenth century, with an emphasis on the products which made up the bulk of the island's agricultural production. The authors have organized most of the existing databases in the island's archives and have also incorporated quantitative and qualitative material from their own research and that of other colleagues. Due to their quality and regularity, the data are among the richest known for pre-industrial Europe. These sources lead to some conclusions which link with recent debates in European economic history concerning the calculation of economic growth in economies for periods before statistics were kept. The text presents a methodological analysis covering almost 80 per cent of agricultural production of the island of Majorca and leaves conclusions to be supplemented by further studies of the manufacturing and service sectors.