Does a relationship exist between palaeopathologies and insularity ? A case study of some bones of prolagus sardus (Wagner, 1829) from Sardinia (Italy)
Daniel Zoboli
First
;Marco Zedda
Second
;Gian Luigi Pillola
Last
2018-01-01
Abstract
This research describes pathological bones of Prolagus sardus (Lagomorpha, Ochotonidae) from four Middle-Late Pleistocene to Early Holocene sites of Sardinia (Italy), and presents a short inventory of the main Sardinian localities recording the species, with the intent to infer the viability of the Sardinian ochotonid populations during the Middle-Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene. The macroscopical analysis evidences that the pathologies were mostly of a traumatic origin, rather than due to other pathological conditions, which have been only observed in a few individuals inhabiting the Tavolara islet. The significance of the occurrence of palaeopathological signatures in bones of insular, mammals and their usefulness in detecting the life-style, behaviour and niche occupancy of endemic mammalian species, and reconstructing some aspects of population dynamics in the peculiar island environments, are briefly discussed.File | Size | Format | |
---|---|---|---|
AMQ 31(1) Zoboli et al 75-86.pdf open access
Description: Articolo principale
Type: versione editoriale
Size 9.45 MB
Format Adobe PDF
|
9.45 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.