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| Palmqvist, P.; Mart¡nez-Navarro, B.; Arribas, A. | |
| Prey selection by terrestrial carnivores in a lower Pleistocene paleocommunity | |
| 1996 Paleobiology (22): 514-534 | |
We report quantitative paleoecologic data on the large mammal assemblage preserved in lower Pleistocene deposits at Venta Micena (Orce, Granada, southeastern Spain). Taphonomic studies show that bones were collected mainly by hyaenids, which transported and deposited them near shallow dens. Differential fragmentation of major long bones was produced by hyaenas as a function of their density and marrow content. Strong selection of prey by carnivoreswhich preferentially killed juveniles, females, and individuals with diminished locomotor capabilities among ungulate prey species of larger body sizeis indicated by (1) the abundance of remains of juvenile ungulates in relation to the average weight of adult individuals in each species, (2) attritional mortality profiles for ungulate species deduced from crown height measurements, (3) the presence of many metapodials with different osteopathologies in their epiphyses, such as arthrosis, and (4) a biased intersexual ratio of large bovids. Comparison of the frequencies with which modern African carnivores kill and scavenge ungulates from various size classes with the abundance of these size categories in the assemblage suggests that the Venta Micena hyaena (_Pachycrocuta brevirostris_) was a bone-cracking scavenger that fed largely on carcasses of ungulates preyed upon and partially consumed by fresh meat-eating carnivores such us saber-toothed felids (_Homotherium latidens_ and _Megantereon whitei_) and wild dogs (_Canis falconeri_). |
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