Cueva Victoria (Pleistocene of Spain)

Where: Murcia, Spain (37.6° N, 0.9° W: paleocoordinates 37.7° N, 1.0° W)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

When: Early/Lower Pleistocene (2.6 - 0.8 Ma)

• Dated using micro- and macro- fauna to the Lower Pleistocene (Palmqvist et al), but Carbonell & Rodriguez suggest (Fig. 8) 0.8Ma (ISO 22).

Environment/lithology: cave

• 'During the Plio-Pleistocene, the vertical karst, of Messinian origin, gave rise to cave openings to the exterior, which became filled with bone-bearing breccia.'

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils

Preservation: bone collector

Primary reference: E. Carbonell, J. Estevez, S. Moya-Sola, J. Pons-Moya, J. Agusti and J. F. Villalta. 1981. Cueva Victoria (Murcia, Espana): Lugar de ocupacion humana mas antiguo de la Peninsula Iberica. Endins, Ciutat de Mallorca 8:47-57 [A. Turner/H. O'Regan/H. O'Regan]more details

Purpose of describing collection: archaeological analysis

PaleoDB collection 34911: authorized by Alan Turner, entered by Hannah O'Regan on 15.10.2003, edited by Bethany Allen

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Mammalia
 Rodentia - Gliridae
Eliomys quercinus Linnaeus 1766 garden doormouse
Eliomys quercinus ssp.
 Rodentia - Muridae
Apodemus mystacinus Danford and Alston 1877 Eastern broad-toothed field mouse
Castillomys crusafonti2 Michaux 1969 mouse
 Rodentia - Cricetidae
 Lagomorpha - Leporidae
 Lagomorpha - Ochotonidae
 Primates - Cercopithecidae
Theropithecus oswaldi1 Andrews 1916 gelada
 Primates - Hominidae
Homo sp.3 Linnaeus 1758 human
1 second phalange
 Theriamorpha - Erinaceidae
Erinaceus sp. Linnaeus 1758 hedgehog
 Theriamorpha - Soricidae
Crocidura sp. Wagler 1832 white-toothed shrew
 Chiroptera - Rhinolophidae
Rhinolophus euryale Blasius 1853 horseshoe bat
 Chiroptera - Vespertilionidae
Myotis sp. Kaup 1829 vesper bat
Miniopterus sp. Bonaparte 1837 bend-winged bat
 Perissodactyla - Rhinocerotidae
Stephanorhinus etruscus1 Falconer 1868 rhinoceros
 Perissodactyla - Equidae
Equus sp., "Equus stenonis" = Allohippus stenonis
Equus sp. Linnaeus 1758 horse
"Equus stenonis" = Allohippus stenonis Cocchi 1867 horse
 Artiodactyla - Cervidae
"Megaceros (Megaceros) savini" = Megaloceros, "Cervus" elaphoides
"Megaceros (Megaceros) savini" = Megaloceros Irish elk
 Artiodactyla - Bovidae
Caprini indet. Gray 1821 antelope
cf. Capra sp.1 Linnaeus 1758 goat
Bovini indet. Gray 1821 antelope
cf. Hemitragus sp. Hodgson 1841 antelope
 Placentalia -
Carnivora indet. Bowdich 1821 carnivoran
 Carnivora - Felidae
Megantereon cultridens1 Cuvier 1824 cat
Homotherium latidens2 Owen 1846 scimitar toothed cat
? Acinonyx sp. Brookes 1828 cheetah
Panthera gombaszoegensis Kretzoi 1938 cat
 Carnivora - Hyaenidae
Pachycrocuta brevirostris Gervais 1850 brown hyaena
 Carnivora - Canidae
"Canis (Xenocyon) lycaonoides" = Xenocyon lycaonoides1, Canis etruscus, Vulpes sp.
"Canis (Xenocyon) lycaonoides" = Xenocyon lycaonoides1 Kretzoi 1938 canine
Canis etruscus Forsyth Major 1877 canine
Vulpes sp. Frisch 1775 fox
 Proboscidea - Elephantidae
Mammuthus meridionalis Nesti 1825 mammoth