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Archeological sites usually provide important information about the past distribution of small vertebrate fauna, and by extension about past terrestrial environments and climate in which human activities took place. In this context, Belgium has an interesting location in northwestern Europe between the fully studied zooarcheological records of Germany and England. We present here the revision of the late Pleistocene (Marine Isotope Stages 3 and 2) collection of the "Caverne Marie-Jeanne" (Hastière-Lavaux, Namur), studied by Jean-Claude Rage in the 1970s and the revision of the whole "indeterminate" small vertebrate materials from the "Caverne Marie-Jeanne" stored in the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) Quaternary collections in search of more herpetofaunal remains. It is now by far the largest late Pleistocene collection at RBINS with more than 20,500 recognized bones of amphibians and reptiles and covering the last 60,000 years. The faunal list comprises two urodeles (Lissotriton gr. L. vulgaris and Salamandra salamandra), four anurans (Bufo gr. B. bufo-spinosus , Epidalea calamita , Rana temporaria and Rana cf. R. arvalis), three lizards (Lacerta cf. L. agilis , Zootoca vivipara and Anguis gr. A. fragilis), and three snakes (Natrix gr. N. natrix , Coronella austriaca , and Vipera berus). This study represents the first fossil record in Belgium for L. gr. L. vulgaris , R. arvalis , Z. vivipara , N. gr. N. natrix and C. austriaca. As a whole, this assemblage suggests a patchy humid landscape under colder and dryer climatic conditions in comparison with present ones. This study also underlines the necessity of a primary separation in larger taxonomical categories by the specialist itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amphibians are considered excellent indicators of ecological and climatic changes with a remarkable phenotypic plasticity. The study of such adaptative capacities is central to understanding the climate and environmental changes that occurred during the Early-Middle Pleistocene Transition, at around 1.2 Ma, when the persistence of subtropical ecosystems in Europe came to an end, and several reptile and tree taxa were extirpated. The SE Spain sites in the Guadix-Baza Basin offer an exceptional opportunity for studying this change, in addition to the significant findings made in this area in the field of human evolution. We have analysed the body size of the most well-represented amphibian species in the sites, the Iberian waterfrog, Pelophylax perezi. In order to reconstruct past body sizes from fossil samples, a regression model from current osteological collections has been generated. Also, diversity of the herpetofauna community was studied at different levels as richness or species number. Finally, to study the relationships between body size, richness, climate and productivity, OLS regression models and Pearson correlations were applied. Also for this purpose, a productivity indicator was designed based on the addition of the two most productive ecosystems from previous habitat reconstruction. Amphibian body size appears to be negatively associated with primary productivity, reaching minimum values during the interglacial stages, when species richness increased. In contrast, during glacial periods characterised by greater aridity and fewer resources, amphibian body size increased while species richness decreased. Main explanations proposed to justify this pattern are the "water-availability hypothesis" and a trade-off between somatic growth and reproductive opportunities for females. The study of herpetofaunal diversity shows a clear correlation to regional plant diversity and primary productivity. The results of this work indicate that species richness and amphibian body size are valuable proxies that can complement current environmental and climate reconstruction methods. • Somatic growth and reproduction: the trade-off which determines amphibian body size. • Amphibian body size decreases towards more productive ecosystems. • Primary productivity determines species richness. • Frog body size is defined as a new indicator of Pleistocene ecosystem conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Late Pliocene fossil locality of Las Higueruelas (central Spain) has been known for many decades; however, in this paper, we describe the fauna of small-sized vertebrates (fish, amphibians, squamate reptiles, and rodents) for the first time based on pre-existing collections in the Museo Provincial de Ciudad Real. In addition to updating the taxonomical nomenclature of previously-published faunal lists, we also report the new occurrences of four fish taxa, a lizard (Lacertidae indet.), and several snakes (Malpolon gr. monspessulanus-mlynarskii , cf. Zamenis scalaris , and a large-sized indetermined viperid, probably from the Oriental vipers group or genus Daboia). The only rodent is identified as Stephanomys minor. Overall this assemblage indicates the predominance of open, dry environments and shrubby vegetation close to more grassy and riparian woodland under warm (15.1 ± 1.8 °C) and semi-arid (556 ± 40 mm) conditions. There was 4-month period of summer aridity similar to a modern Mediterranean climate. Most of the aquatic taxa (Pleurodeles , Pelophylax , and Natrix) were able to tolerate brackish environments, and the amphibians suggest the presence of deep and stable water bodies, with a long hydroperiod and aquatic vegetation, necessary for reproduction. Las Higueruelas is confirmed as being assigned to subchron 2An.1r (3.116–3.032 Ma) like the Camp dels Ninots Konservat-Lagerstätten (Girona, Spain). Palaeoclimate reconstruction for both localities is consistent with the later stages of the mid-Piacenzian Warm Period. Palaeontological comparison between the two sites may support either a small difference in age, or most probably, varied climate zonations within the Iberian Peninsula, with a north-eastern area allowing a local survival of Early Pliocene taxa that are absent from Las Higueruelas. [Display omitted] • The small vertebrates from Las Higueruelas (Spain) are described for the first time. • Fish, herpetofauna, and rodent represent up to 18 different taxa. • Stephanomys minor and palaeomagnetism constrain to the cron 2An.1r (3.03–3.11 Ma). • Predominance of open environments under temperate and dry climate conditions. • Central Spain does not seem to allow local survival of early Pliocene taxa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]