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The discovery of small, very well-defined and perfectly preserved tooth marks on the humerus of a mole, Talpa cf. europaea (TE9, Sima del Elefante, Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos), is extraordinary. To date, no micromammal fossil is known with puncture prints produced by a bite with a clear or delimited morphology that would permit its detailed study. The exceptional character of the finding may raise questions and suspicions about alteration and taphonomic agents. However, we have evidence that both the marks in the mole humerus are due to the action of biting and that this bite corresponds to the dentition of Beremendia fissidens. After all, not only large predators bite, as this article intends to demonstrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discovery of small, very well-defined and perfectly preserved toothmarks on a humerus of a moleTalpacf.europaeafrom level TE9 of Sima del Elefante (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos) with a chronology of the Early Pleistocene is extraordinary. In a previous paper, this bite was compared with current small carnivores such asMustela nivalismolars and with fossil remains ofMustela palermineaand the soricid (Eulipotyphla and Mammalia)Beremendia fissidenswith the purpose of identifying the predator. It was hypothesised thatBeremendia fissidenscould be the bite maker. However, it was not possible to rule out other predators due to the shortage ofBeremendia fissidensremains. Recently, new fossil remains of this insectivore have been found in Sima del Elefante levels, allowing the upper dentition to be measured. These new data suggest that effectivelyBeremendia fissidensmay have had the capacity to bite prey larger than itself, even though it did not possess morphological characteristics specialised for the consumption of small mammals. The addition of small vertebrates (like talpids) to complement a diet based on insects could have been a way of responding to the needs of the high metabolic rate characteristic ofBeremendia fissidens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Iberian Peninsula is a key region for unraveling human settlement histories of Eurasia during the period spanning the decline of Neandertals and the emergence of anatomically modern humans (AMH). There is no evidence of human occupation in central Iberia after the disappearance of Neandertals ~42,000 years ago until approximately 26,000 years ago, rendering the region "nobody's land" during the Aurignacian period. The Abrigo de la Malia provides irrefutable evidence of human settlements dating back to 36,200 to 31,760 calibrated years before the present (cal B.P.) This site also records additional levels of occupation around 32,420 to 26,260 cal B.P., suggesting repeated settlement of this territory. Our multiproxy examination identifies a change in climate trending toward colder and more arid conditions. However, this climatic deterioration does not appear to have affected AMH subsistence strategies or their capacity to inhabit this region. These findings reveal the ability of AMH groups to colonize regions hitherto considered uninhabitable, reopening the debate on early Upper Paleolithic population dynamics of southwestern Europe.

Rodents are a very useful tool in reconstructing the environment of the past, especially owing to their rapid response to climate change, their small home range, and their restricted habitat requirements. They are a highly diverse group of mammals, which have high reproduction rates and as a result can evolve rapidly. The abundance of their microfossil remains in archaeological and paleontological sites permits robust statistical analyses to reconstruct the past climate and environment. Recently, a number of studies have affirmed the need to deepen the climatic characterization of the European Quaternary, the Middle Pleistocene being an important stage for ascertaining how our hominin ancestors lived. The aim of this study is to characterize the climatic conditions in which hominins lived in southwestern Mediterranean Europe during the Middle Pleistocene. To reconstruct these climatic conditions, we apply the bioclimatic model to rodent assemblages from Middle Pleistocene sites with human remains (Caune de l'Arago, Sima de los Huesos, Aroeira cave, Visogliano, Trinchera Galeria, and Mollet cave). Based on the percentage distribution of the species in different climate types and applying multiple linear regressions, we estimated the mean annual temperature, the mean temperature of the coldest month, and the mean temperature of the warmest month. We compared these estimates with data collected over the last 30 years from nearby meteorological stations to obtain the differences with current climate and observe the fluctuations. The climatic conditions obtained from the results of this study show that, while in Iberia mild climatic condition prevailed, in southern France and northeastern Italy harsher weather conditions were indicated., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The author declares that there is no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

We have developed a protocol for reconstructing 3D models of the skulls of extinct species of small mammals. For the first time, the reconstruction uses fragments of fossils from a mixture of different specimens and from related extant species. We use free software and commercial computers to make the process reproducible and usable for the scientific community. We present a semi-quantitative protocol to face the problem of making 3D reconstructions of fossil species that are incomplete in the fossil record and/or represented by a mixture of different individuals, as usually occurs with small vertebrates. Therefore this approach is useful when no complete skull is available. The protocol combines the use of microCT scan technology with a subsequent computer treatment using different software tools for 3D reconstruction from microCT and 3D design and printing (e.g. Fiji, SPIERS, Meshlab, Meshmixer) in a defined order. This kind of free and relatively simple software, plus the detailed description, makes this protocol practicable for researchers who do not necessarily have great deal of experience in working with 3D. As an example, we have performed virtual reconstructions of the skulls of two species of insectivore small mammals (Eulipotyphla): Beremendia fissidens and Dolinasorex glyphodon. The resulting skulls, plus models of the extant shrews Blarina brevicauda, Neomys fodiens, Crocidura russula and Sorex coronatus, make it possible to compare characteristics that can only be observed by means of microCT 3D reconstructions, and given the characteristics of the material, using this protocol. Among the characters we can compare are the position of the mandibles, the spatial relations among all the teeth, the shape of the snout and, in general, all parameters related with the anatomy of the rostrum. Moreover, these reconstructions can be used in different types of context: for anatomical purposes, especially to see internal features or characteristics at whole-skull scale, for bioengineering, animation, or other techniques that need a digital model., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

The red-toothed shrews (Soricinae) are the most widespread subfamily of shrews, distributed from northern South America to North America and Eurasia. Within this subfamily, the tribe Nectogalini includes the fossil species Nesiotites hidalgo recorded from the Late Pleistocene to Holocene of the Balearic Islands (Western Mediterranean). Although there is a consensus about the close relationship between the extinct red-toothed shrew genera Nesiotites and Asoriculus based on morphology, molecular data are necessary to further evaluate the phylogenetic relationships of the Balearic fossils. We obtained a near complete mitochondrial genome of N. hidalgo, allowing the first molecular phylogenetic analysis of this species. Analyses based on 15,167 bp of the mitochondrial genome placed N. hidalgo as close relative to the extant Himalayan shrew (Soriculus nigrescens), and a combined analysis using molecular and morphological data confirm that N. hidalgo and Asoriculus gibberodon are sister-taxa with S. nigrescens as the immediate outgroup. Molecular clock and divergence estimates suggest that the split between N. hidalgo and its closest living relative occurred around 6.44 Ma, which is in agreement with the previously proposed colonisation of the Balearic Islands from mainland Europe by nectogaline shrews during the Messinian Salinity Crisis (5.97-5.33 My ago). Our results highlight that it is possible to retrieve genetic data from extinct small mammals from marginal environments for DNA preservation. Additional finds from the fossil record of Soricinae from the Eurasian Late Miocene/Early Pliocene are needed to shed further light on the still confusing taxonomy and paleobiogeography of this clade., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction and Objectives: Although the Iberian Peninsula is a key area for understanding the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition and the demise of the Neandertals, valuable evidence for these debates remains scarce and problematic in its interior regions. Sparse data supporting a late Neandertal persistence in the Iberian interior have been recently refuted and hence new evidence is needed to build new models on the timing and causes of Neandertal disappearance in inland Iberia and the whole peninsula. In this study we provide new evidence from Los Casares, a cave located in the highlands of the Spanish Meseta, where a Neandertal-associated Middle Paleolithic site was discovered and first excavated in the 1960's. Our main objective is twofold: (1) provide an updated geoarcheological, paleoenvironmental and chronological framework for this site, and (2) discuss obtained results in the context of the time and nature of the last Neandertal presence in Iberia., Methods: We conducted new fieldwork in an interior chamber of Los Casares cave named 'Seno A'. Our methods included micromorphology, sedimentology, radiocarbon dating, Uranium/Thorium dating, palinology, microfaunal analysis, anthracology, phytolith analysis, archeozoology and lithic technology. Here we present results on site formation processes, paleoenvironment and the chronological setting of the Neandertal occupation at Los Casares cave-Seno A., Results and Discussion: The sediment sequence reveals a mostly in situ archeological deposit containing evidence of both Neandertal activity and carnivore action in level c, dated to 44,899-42,175 calendar years ago. This occupation occurred during a warm and humid interval of Marine Isotopic Stage 3, probably correlating with Greenland Interstadial 11, representing one of the latest occurrences of Neandertals in the Iberian interior. However, overlying layer b records a deterioration of local environments, thus providing a plausible explanation for the abandonment of the site, and perhaps for the total disappearance of Neandertals of the highlands of inland Iberia during subsequent Greenland Stadials 11 or 10, or even Heinrich Stadial 4. Since layer b provided very few signs of human activity and no reliable chronometric results, and given the scarce chronostratigrapic evidence recorded so far for this period in interior Iberia, this can only be taken as a working hypothesis to be tested with future research. Meanwhile, 42,000 calendar years ago remains the most plausible date for the abandonment of interior Iberia by Neandertals, possibly due to climate deterioration. Currently, a later survival of this human species in Iberia is limited to the southern coasts.

Current knowledge of the evolution of the postcranial skeleton in the genus Homo is hampered by a geographically and chronologically scattered fossil record. Here we present a complete characterization of the postcranium of the middle Pleistocene paleodeme from the Sima de los Huesos (SH) and its paleobiological implications. The SH hominins show the following: (i) wide bodies, a plesiomorphic character in the genus Homo inherited from their early hominin ancestors; (ii) statures that can be found in modern human middle-latitude populations that first appeared 1.6-1.5 Mya; and (iii) large femoral heads in some individuals, a trait that first appeared during the middle Pleistocene in Africa and Europe. The intrapopulational size variation in SH shows that the level of dimorphism was similar to modern humans (MH), but the SH hominins were less encephalized than Neandertals. SH shares many postcranial anatomical features with Neandertals. Although most of these features appear to be either plesiomorphic retentions or are of uncertain phylogenetic polarity, a few represent Neandertal apomorphies. Nevertheless, the full suite of Neandertal-derived features is not yet present in the SH population. The postcranial evidence is consistent with the hypothesis based on the cranial morphology that the SH hominins are a sister group to the later Neandertals. Comparison of the SH postcranial skeleton to other hominins suggests that the evolution of the postcranium occurred in a mosaic mode, both at a general and at a detailed level.