A Review on the Latest Early Pleistocene Carnivoran Guild from the Vallparadís Section (NE Iberia)
Joan Madurell-Malapeira,
Maria Prat-Vericat,
Saverio Bartolini-Lucenti,
Andrea Faggi,
Darío Fidalgo,
Adrian Marciszak,
Lorenzo Rook
Affiliations
Joan Madurell-Malapeira
Earth Science Department, University of Florence, 50121 Florence, Italy
Maria Prat-Vericat
Catalan Institute of Paleontology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, c/Columnes s/n, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
Saverio Bartolini-Lucenti
Earth Science Department, University of Florence, 50121 Florence, Italy
Andrea Faggi
Earth Science Department, University of Florence, 50121 Florence, Italy
Darío Fidalgo
Department of Palaeobiology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), 28006 Madrid, Spain
Adrian Marciszak
Department of Palaeozoology, University of Wrocław, Sienkiewicza 21, 50-335 Wrocław, Poland
Lorenzo Rook
Earth Science Department, University of Florence, 50121 Florence, Italy
The Vallparadís Section encompasses various geological layers that span a significant chronological range, extending from the latest Early Pleistocene to the early Middle Pleistocene, covering a timeframe from approximately 1.2 to 0.6 Ma. This period holds particular importance, as it coincides with a significant climatic transition known as the Early–Middle Pleistocene Transition, a pivotal phase in Quaternary climatic history. This transition, marked by the shift from a 41,000-year obliquity-driven climatic cycle to a 100,000-year precession-forced cyclicity, had profound effects on the Calabrian carnivorous mammal communities. Notably, the once diverse carnivore guild began to decline across Europe during this period, with their last documented occurrences coinciding with those found within the Vallparadís Section (e.g., Megantereon or Xenocyon). Concurrently, this period witnessed the initial dispersals of African carnivorans into the European landscape (e.g., steppe lions), marking a significant shift in the composition and dynamics of the region’s carnivorous fauna.
