Djebel Irhoud, Ennouchi collection, 1960s (Pleistocene of Morocco)

Also known as Jebel Irhoud

Where: Morocco (31.9° N, 8.9° W: paleocoordinates 31.9° N, 8.9° W)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

When: Middle Pleistocene (0.8 - 0.1 Ma)

• Late Middle Pleistocene, Mousterian.

Environment/lithology:

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils

Preservation: anthropogenic

Collection methods: There have been several collections at this site, and each has resulted in a different faunal assemblage. This paper records the fauna from the excavations by Ennouchi in the 1960s.

Primary reference: F. Amani and D. Geraads. 1993. The Mousterian site of Jebel Irhoud, Morocco: new data on the fauna and biochronology, and description of a new human fossil. Comptes Rendus de l'Academie des Sciences, Paris Serie II 316:847-852 [A. Turner/H. O'Regan/S. Bruning]more details

Purpose of describing collection: biostratigraphic analysis

PaleoDB collection 42866: authorized by Alan Turner, entered by Hannah O'Regan on 06.08.2004

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Mammalia
 Rodentia - Hystricidae
Hystrix cristata Linnaeus 1758 crested porcupine
cranial fragment with teeth.
 Rodentia - Muridae
Mus spretus house mouse
several mandibles.
Paraethomys ras mouse
mandibles and maxillae.
Gerbillus campestris gerbil
mandibles and maxillae.
Gerbillus grandis gerbil
1 mandible.; originally entered as "Gerbillus grandus"
Meriones shawi jird
mandibles and maxillae.
Lemniscomys barbarus striped grass mouse
several series of teeth.
 Lagomorpha - Leporidae
Lepus sp. Linnaeus 1758 hare
postcrania.
 Primates - Hominidae
Homo sapiens Linnaeus 1758 human
 Theriamorpha - Erinaceidae
Erinaceus sp. Linnaeus 1758 hedgehog
1 mandible fragment with M2.
 Theriamorpha - Soricidae
Crocidura cf. tarfayaensis white-toothed shrew
mandibles and maxillae.
Crocidura russula Herrmann 1780 Greater white-toothed shrew
mandibles and maxillae.
 Perissodactyla - Rhinocerotidae
Rhinocerotinae indet. Gray 1821 rhinoceros
1 tibia fragment, 1 eroded astragalus, juvenile.
 Perissodactyla - Equidae
Equus cf. mauritanicus horse
teeth, bones and metapodia.
 Artiodactyla - Bovidae
? Gazella rufina Thomas 1894 gazelle
Gazella tingitana Arambourg 1957 gazelle
? Gazella cuvieri Ogilby 1841 Cuvier's gazelle
Gazella atlantica Bourguignat 1870 gazelle
the most common gazelle
Caprini indet. Gray 1821 antelope
teeth, the size of Capra lervia.
Oryx cf. gazella Linnaeus 1758 gemsbok
teeth and horncore fragments.
? Rabaticeras arambourgi Ennouchi 1953 antelope
teeth.
? Damaliscus sp. Sclater and Thomas 1894 antelope
1 horncore base and some teeth.
Connochaetes taurinus Burchell 1823 blue wildebeest
teeth and postcrania. Probably C. taurinus prognu
Taurotragus cf. oryx Pallas 1766 common eland
1 horncore fragment.
Bos cf. primigenius Bojanus 1827 ox
maxillary and mandible fragments, 1 horncore and postcrania.
 Carnivora - Felidae
Panthera leo Linnaeus 1758 lion
1 calcaneum.
Panthera pardus Linnaeus 1758 leopard
jaw fragments.
 Carnivora - Hyaenidae
Hyaena hyaena Linnaeus 1758 striped hyaena
coprolites and jaw fragments.
 Carnivora - Canidae
Canis sp. n. sp. Linnaeus 1758 canine
mandibles and maxillae.
Canis aureus Linnaeus 1758 golden jackal
mandibles and maxillae.
Vulpes vulpes Linnaeus 1758 red fox
Vulpes vulpes atlantica. 1 mandible.
Reptilia
 Testudines - Testudinidae
Testudo graeca Linnaeus 1758 common tortoise
carapace fragments.
Aves
 Struthioniformes - Struthionidae
Struthio sp. Linnaeus 1758 ostrich
tibiae fragments, eggshell fragments.