Gruta da Furninha (Pleistocene of Portugal)

Where: Portugal (39.4° N, 9.4° W: paleocoordinates 39.4° N, 9.4° W)

• coordinate estimated from map

• outcrop-level geographic resolution

When: Late/Upper Pleistocene (0.1 - 0.0 Ma)

• The sedimentary infilling of the cave was excavated in the late 19th century by Delgado, J. F. N., who defined two main stratigraphic units: a Holocene unit and a Pleistocene unit. Later, Breuil, H. and Zbyszewski, G. identified at the base of the lower unit (at 6 m asl) a marine stratigraphic level, which they ascribed to the Riss-Wurm interglacial. In the ca. 8 m-thick lower unit “Areias Quaternárias” (Quaternary Sands), with 7 main "níveis ossíferos" (bone rich levels) I to VII, were recognized, several separated by a travertine and nine of them rich in well-preserved faunal bones. Contains artifacts encompassing a sequence between the Middle and Upper Paleolithic, with assemblages pointing to the Acheulian, Mousterian, Gravettian, Solutrean and Magdalenian, most of them—especially the Mousterian industries—in association with abundant and diverse faunal remains. Another age, resulting from Uranium-series dating of a bone collected from the 3th stratigraphic level (8.5-9 m asl), is 80,880 + 42, 420 – 31, 260 years, but cannot be used as a reliable chronological marker due to the large standard deviation.

• group of beds-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: cave; siliciclastic sediments

Size class: macrofossils

Collected by J.F.N. Delgado in 1880

• Repository: Geological Museum of LNEG (Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia) in Lisbon.

Primary reference: S. D. Figueiredo, P. P. Cunha, F. Sousa, T. Pereira, and A. Rosa. 2017. Pleistocene birds of Gruta da Furninha (Peniche-Portugal): a paleontological and paleoenvironmental aproach. Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering A 6:502-509 [M. Clapham/M. Clapham]more details

Purpose of describing collection: general faunal/floral analysis

PaleoDB collection 197768: authorized by Matthew Clapham, entered by Matthew Clapham on 25.11.2018, edited by Mark Uhen

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

unclassified
  -
Chondrichthyes
 Carcharhiniformes - Scyliorhinidae
Galeus sp.1 Schaeffer 1760 cat shark
Amphibia
 Salientia -
? Anura indet.1 Fischer von Waldheim 1813 frog
 Caudata -
? Caudata indet.1 Scopoli 1777 salamander
Mammalia
 Rodentia - Cricetidae
Arvicola sp.1 Lacépède 1799 vole
 Lagomorpha - Leporidae
Oryctolagus sp.1 Lilljeborg 1874 rabbit
 Theriamorpha - Erinaceidae
Erinaceus europaeus1 Linnaeus 1758 hedgehog
 Chiroptera - Rhinolophidae
Rhinolophus ferrumequinum1 Schreber 1774 greater horseshoe bat
 Perissodactyla - Rhinocerotidae
"Dicerorhinus hemitoechus" = Stephanorhinus hemitoechus1
"Dicerorhinus hemitoechus" = Stephanorhinus hemitoechus1 Falconer 1868 rhinoceros
 Perissodactyla - Equidae
Equus caballus1 Linnaeus 1758 horse
 Artiodactyla - Suidae
Sus scrofa1 Linnaeus 1758 wild boar
 Cetacea - Delphinidae
Delphinus sp.1 Linnaeus 1758 common dolphin
 Artiodactyla - Cervidae
Cervus elaphus1 Linnaeus 1758 red deer
? Dama sp.1 Frisch 1775 fallow deer
 Artiodactyla - Bovidae
Bos primigenius1 Bojanus 1827 ox
 Carnivora - Felidae
Panthera pardus1 Linnaeus 1758 leopard
Felis silvestris1 Schreber 1777 wildcat
"Lynx pardina" = Lynx pardinus1 Temminck 1827 Iberian lynx
 Carnivora - Mustelidae
Martes sp.1 Frisch 1775 marten
Meles meles1 Linnaeus 1758 European badger
 Carnivora - Ursidae
Ursus arctos1 Linnaeus 1758 brown bear
 Carnivora - Canidae
Canis lupus1 Linnaeus 1758 gray wolf
Vulpes vulpes1 Linnaeus 1758 red fox
 Proboscidea - Elephantidae
"Palaeoloxodon sp." = Elephas1
"Palaeoloxodon sp." = Elephas1 Linnaeus 1758 elephant
Reptilia
 Squamata -
Serpentes indet.1 Linnaeus 1758 snake
Aves
 Charadriiformes - Alcoidae
Pinguinus impennis Linnaeus 1758 Great auk
 Charadriiformes - Laridae
Larus sp. Linnaeus 1758 gull
 Charadriiformes - Scolopacidae
Gallinago sp. Brisson 1760 snipe
Numenius phaeopus Linnaeus 1758 whimbrel
 Falconiformes - Falconidae
Falco tinnunculus Linnaeus 1758 Common kestrel
 Accipitriformes - Accipitridae
Aquila sp. Linnaeus 1758 eagle
Aquila chrysaetos Linnaeus 1758 golden eagle
Gyps fulvus Hablizl 1783 Eurasian griffon
 Passeriformes - Turdidae
Turdus sp. Linnaeus 1758 true thrush
Turdus iliacus Linnaeus 1758 redwing
Turdus philomelos Brehm 1831 song thrush
Turdus merula Linnaeus 1758 common blackbird
Turdus pilaris Linnaeus 1758 fieldfare
 Passeriformes - Corvidae
Pica pica Linnaeus 1758 Eurasian magpie
Pyrrhocorax graculus Linnaeus 1766 yellow-billed chough
Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax Linnaeus 1758 red-billed chough
Corvus frugilegus Linnaeus 1758 rook
Corvus corone Linnaeus 1758 carrion crow
Corvus monedula Linnaeus 1758 Eurasian jackdaw
 Columbiformes - Columbidae
Columba livia Gmelin 1789 rock pigeon
 Cuculiformes - Cuculidae
Cuculus canorus Linnaeus 1758 common cuckoo
 Strigiformes - Strigidae
Bubo bubo Linnaeus 1758 Eurasian eagle-owl
Asio flammeus Pontoppidan 1763 short-eared owl
 Strigiformes - Tytonidae
Tyto alba Scopoli 1769 barn owl
 Anseriformes - Anatidae
Melanitta nigra Linnaeus 1758 common scoter
Somateria sp. Leach 1819 eider
Somateria mollissima Linnaeus 1758 common eider
Anas sp. Linnaeus 1758 dabbling duck
Anas crecca Linnaeus 1758 Eurasian teal
Tadorna ferruginea Pallas 1764 Ruddy shelduck
Tadorna tadorna Linnaeus 1758 Common shelduck
Cygnus olor Gmelin 1789 mute swan
 Procellariiformes - Procellariidae
Puffinus puffinus Brunnich 1764 Manx shearwater
 Suliformes - Phalacrocoracidae
Phalacrocorax aristotelis Linnaeus 1761 European shag
 Phoenicopteriformes - Phoenicopteridae
Phoenicopterus roseus2 Pallas 1811 greater flamingo
 Galliformes - Phasianidae
Coturnix coturnix Linnaeus 1758 common quail
Alectoris rufa Linnaeus 1758 red-legged partridge