Fossil bats from the Late Pleistocene site of the Aguilon P7 Cave (Zaragoza, Spain)

作者：Galan Julia^*; Cuenca Bescos Gloria; Lopez Garcia Juan Manuel; Sauque Victor; Nunez Lahuerta Carmen

来源：Comptes Rendus Palevol, 2016, 15(5): 501-514.

DOI：10.1016/j.crpv.2014.12.0031631

• Chiroptera
• Taxonomy
• Taphonomy
• Palaeoenvironment
• Late Pleistocene

Bats (Chiroptera, Mammalia) are a valuable and independent source of palaeoenvironmental information in Quaternary sites because bat assemblages are not necessarily produced by the same processes as those of other small mammals. Here, we report a small collection of bats (MNI 15) from a cave infill of the Aguilon P7 (AGP-7) site (Zaragoza, Spain) dated Late Pleistocene (MIS 3). This is one of the rare localities south of the Ebro River (right bank) with Neanderthal tracks; therefore, the palaeoenvironmental data provided here may help us to understand Neanderthal history. Nine bat taxa were identified, viz. Rhinolophus ferumequinum, R. hipposideros, Myotis gr. myotis/blythii, M. cf. bechsteinii, M. emarginatus, M. daubentonii, Plecotus gr. auritus/austriacus, Hipsugo savii vel. Pipistrellus kuhlii/nathusii, and Miniopterus schreibersii. The presence of a high number of yearlings of the former four species suggests the presence of breeding colonies. The surprisingly high diversity of the sample indicates a variegated vegetation cover and relatively high humidity for the MIS 3 stage in the region.

• 出版日期2016-6