The oldest European marmots: Metrical study of the Marmota fossils from the Early and Middle Pleistocene of Sierra de Atapuerca sites (Burgos, Spain)

Identifier:  imarina:9287408

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/imarina9287408

Authors:  Estraviz-López D; Cuenca-Bescós G; Blain HA; López-García JM; Núñez-Lahuerta C; Galán J

Abstract:
The oldest European remains of marmots (Genus Marmota) are 0.8 my old and come from the site of Gran Dolina, Atapuerca. Dental measurements from the specimens recovered at Gran Dolina are compared with other Early Pleistocene fossil marmots from Croatia; as well as a set of Middle and Late Pleistocene marmots from France and Italy and Middle Pleistocene fossils from other sites at Sierra de Atapuerca. These fossils are also compared with four species of modern marmots, including? an extensive sample of Marmota marmota. Plotting the length of each dental piece of Gran Dolina versus its width, less than 25% of the Early Pleistocene specimens fall into the variability of Marmota marmota, meanwhile the Middle Pleistocene fossils fall within (or extremely close) to its variability. These Early Pleistocene marmots cannot be metrically assigned to the extant alpine marmot.