Fig 6 - uploaded by Roman Croitor
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Reconstruction of an antlered male of Praemegaceros (Orthogonoceros) pliotarandoides. The reconstruction of antlers is based on the specimen from Aliakmon (Greece) published and figured by Melentis (1967).
Source publication
The article presents a description of an antlered skull of the large-sized deer Praemegaceros (Orthogonoceros) pliotarandoides (De Alessandri, 1903) stored in the Regional Museum of Krasnodar. The paleobiology of this species, and a hypothesized model of evolution and speciation within the genera Eucladoceros and Praemegaceros are also discussed. T...
Citations
... eurygonos, and Praemegaceros sp. Palmqvist et al., 2003;Croitor, 2005;Croitor, 2011). The only species in the Fântâna lui Mitilan assemblage that might be considered to be forestadapted, is Praemegaceros obscurus, though it is known to be ecologically flexible, being found in deposits from 'Ubeidiya, Israel to the Forest Bed Formation in England (Kaiser and Croiter, 2004;Croitor, 2005Croitor, , 2006b). ...
The Early Pleistocene is recognized as a time of major global climatic and environmental change, including increasing aridity, significant spread of grasslands, and substantial faunal turnovers and dispersals. Importantly, this is the first time hominins are found in Eurasia. Reconstructing the types of environments that existed during this time is imperative for understanding mammalian, including hominin, dispersal patterns relative to climatic change. One proposed dispersal corridor across Europe is the Danube River. Here we characterize the 2.2 to ~1.1 million years ago (Ma) paleoenvironments surrounding one of the tributaries to the Danube, the Olteţ River, in southern Romania using a multiproxy approach, including taxonomic uniformitarianism, dental mesowear, dental microwear, enamel stable isotope (carbon and oxygen), and coprolite/palynology analyses, and compare our results to other penecontemporaneous Eurasian sites. Older sites from this region, Grăunceanu and La Pietriş, both dating to 2.2–1.9 Ma, are reconstructed as being primarily open, though with some nearby woodlands and significant water resources. Fântâna lui Mitilan, which is younger (1.8–1.1 Ma), is reconstructed as slightly more closed, though still relatively open in nature. These results are similar to reconstructions for other Early Pleistocene Eurasian sites, including ones with and without hominins, suggesting that hominins were likely not inhibited from dispersing across Eurasia due to environmental constraints at this time.
... Still later, the smaller E. tetraceros appeared, which had again simple, non-bifurcating tines. A large deer from Ceyssaguet with antlers with tines that do not or nearly not bifurcate was assigned to E. ctenoides (Croitor and Bonifay, 2001). For various reasons, it seems more likely, that this material belongs E. tetraceros or E. giulii. ...
An extraordinary sequence of fossiliferous levels at the locality of Gran Dolina in the Atapuerca Hills (Burgos, Spain) records the Early–Middle Pleistocene transition. These levels are well dated by a variety of methods, including palaeomagnetism, which locates Lower–Middle Pleistocene boundary at the top of level TD7. Level TD6 is the type site of the species Homo antecessor and yielded over 90% of the European Early Pleistocene human record, while other levels have an archaeological record. The present paper deals with the earliest Middle Pleistocene ungulates of TD8, but we plan to describe the faunas, or at least the ungulates, of levels TD4 to TD8 in the context of the faunal changes that took place around the Early–Middle Pleistocene transition.
... C. arnensis, and Xenocyon) (e.g. Palombo et al., 2008, 2009; Croitor and Brugal, 2010; Sotnikova and Rook, 2010; Brugal and Boudadi-Maligne, 2011), giving sometimes origin to endemic species (e.g. Canis accitanus), but their appearance was apparently asynchronous across the studied region. ...
This research aims to deconstruct time and mode of dispersal of large mammals in SW Europe during the post-Olduvai Early Pleistocene, focusing on asynchronous versus diachronous appearance bioevents in the Iberian Peninsula, France and Italy. The geography of the region and its rich Quaternary fossil record is particularly suitable for studying the role (if any) of geographical/ecological barriers in either preventing some taxa to enlarge their range or causing their delayed appearances in some territories. The database consists of taxonomically revised lists of large mammalian species from selected faunal assemblages (LFAs) ranging from about 1.6 to 0.7 Ma. Results obtained show that a few diachronous appearances permit following the displacement/enlargement of species range limits across the studied region. Conversely it is a changing issue understanding which among several factors (e.g. the different impact of global climate changes in different geographic settings, differences in species resilience to habitat disturbance variability in competition and predation patterns within local faunal complexes, and heterogeneity of the fossil record) might have caused asynchronous appearances. The complex interplay of niche differentiation and biotic interactions in each region may be among the factors causing asynchronicity, though the influence of the heterogeneous consistency of the fossil record in space and time (e.g. number and richness of LFAs included in each FC), and taphonomical biases affecting the chronological reliability of local first/last appearances, cannot be discounted especially as regard to rare species.
... The present authors adhere to this opinion. Some researchers believe Praemegaceros are descendants of Eucladoceros ( Azzaroli and Mazza, 1992;Croitor and Kostopoulos, 2004;Croitor, 2006Croitor, , 2011). Antlers from Psekups, Krasnodar and Mariupol were attributed to P. (Orthogonoceros) pliotarandoides, and specimens from Semibalki and Taman peninsula to P. (Praemegaceros) obscurus ( Croitor, 2005Croitor, , 2011). ...
... Some researchers believe Praemegaceros are descendants of Eucladoceros ( Azzaroli and Mazza, 1992;Croitor and Kostopoulos, 2004;Croitor, 2006Croitor, , 2011). Antlers from Psekups, Krasnodar and Mariupol were attributed to P. (Orthogonoceros) pliotarandoides, and specimens from Semibalki and Taman peninsula to P. (Praemegaceros) obscurus ( Croitor, 2005Croitor, , 2011). However, deer of genera Eucladoceros and Praemegaceros have a series of significant differences. ...
a b s t r a c t The most numerous forms of large deer Eucladoceros and Arvernoceros from Villafranchian localities of Sea of Azov Region and adjacent territories are described. Their characteristics of evolutionary changes in a structure of their antlers are marked. The partial revision of late representatives of genus Eucladoceros with allocation of some subspecies was carried out.
The rich Quaternary fossil record from the Cantabrian region (NW Iberia) is virtually restricted to the Late Pleistocene, with Middle Pleistocene findings very rare. This work presents the study of two Middle Pleistocene palaeontological sites in the Cantabrian region: Llantrales quarry and Mestas de Con mine, both discovered and first described in the 1950s but never studied in detail thereafter. The material was here re-analysed and re-evaluated. Taxonomic attributions have been changed in most cases and, consequently, chronological assignments of the fossils have also been changed. This first detailed study of the assemblage from Llantrales quarry revealed the occurrence of the large-sized deer Praemegaceros solilhacus, which has never been reported previously in North Iberia. Cervus cf. elaphus and Stephanorhinus cf. hundsheimensis were also identified. The age of these fossils was originally regarded as Pontian (late Miocene), but new palaeontological results indicate a much younger age, most likely from around 0.8 to 0.5 Ma. A taxonomic re-evaluation of the fossils from Mestas de Con provided different results with respect to the 1950s works. The faunal association is composed of a large-sized deer (probably corresponding to Praemegaceros), Cervus elaphus, Capreolus cf. capreolus, Bison sp. (small sized), Equus sp. (large sized), Stephanorhinus hemitoechus, Ursus sp. and Homotherim latidens. This faunal association was evaluated within a western European context and proves to be highly analogous to other contemporary assemblages there. The chronology was initially regarded as late Villafranchian (in a broader sense). New results, documenting the co-occurrence of Stephanorhinus hemitoechus and Homotherium latidens, indicate a more precise and younger age, most likely between 0.6 and 0.4 Ma. These two fossil assemblages provide new and relevant information on the Middle Pleistocene faunas from a geographical region where this information, compared with other western European areas, is rare and poorly known.
