000163297 001__ 163297
000163297 005__ 20251024172259.0
000163297 0247_ $$2doi$$a10.1002/spp2.70036
000163297 0248_ $$2sideral$$a145718
000163297 037__ $$aART-2025-145718
000163297 041__ $$aeng
000163297 100__ $$aStrani, Flavia$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza
000163297 245__ $$aFeeding strategies of the Pleistocene insular dwarf elephants Palaeoloxodon falconeri and Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis from Sicily (Italy)
000163297 260__ $$c2025
000163297 5060_ $$aAccess copy available to the general public$$fUnrestricted
000163297 5203_ $$aThe fossil record of the Mediterranean islands attests to several cases of insular dwarfism. The extinct large‐sized straight‐tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus underwent this process at least twice during the Pleistocene, resulting in the evolution of Palaeoloxodon falconeri (early Middle Pleistocene) and Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis (late Middle Pleistocene or Late Pleistocene) in Sicily, a rare case of two insular taxa evolving from the same ancestral species independently on the same island. We investigate diet‐related dental wear patterns of P. falconeri and P. mnaidriensis from Sicily to test niche occupation hypotheses, comparing more spatially restricted (P. falconeri) to more widely distributed, mainland‐like (P. mnaidriensis) insular contexts. Although P. falconeri did not compete with other herbivorous mammals and could have exploited the most nutritious and palatable resources as a browser, dental meso‐ and microwear patterns suggest a high degree of dietary abrasion. Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis, which coexisted with other large herbivores and carnivores, also bears dental meso‐ and microwear patterns indicative of a high intake of abrasive items. A scenario of insular woodiness (i.e. increased woodiness in insular plants), combined with intense exploitation of the limited vegetation due to the absence of predatory pressure, may explain the abrasive dental wear patterns of P. falconeri. The high degree of abrasion observed in the P. mnaidriensis patterns may reflect an adaptation to a grazing diet associated with the expansion of open grasslands during the Late Pleistocene. This indicates that the dwarf elephants of Sicily developed similar dietary adaptations, albeit in response to different ecological conditions.
000163297 536__ $$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/DGA/E33-23R$$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/HORIZON EUROPE/101102131/EU/Palaeogenetics and palaeoecology of the Southern European red deer, the greatest survivor of the Late Quaternary Extinction event/AGENDEER
000163297 540__ $$9info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccess$$aAll rights reserved$$uhttp://www.europeana.eu/rights/rr-f/
000163297 655_4 $$ainfo:eu-repo/semantics/article$$vinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion
000163297 700__ $$aRebuffi, Simone
000163297 700__ $$aGialanella, Manuela
000163297 700__ $$aDeMiguel, Daniel
000163297 700__ $$aCastelli, Stefano
000163297 700__ $$aFornasiero, Mariagabriella
000163297 700__ $$aArtioli, Gilberto
000163297 700__ $$aDal Sasso, Gregorio
000163297 700__ $$aMazzoli, Claudio
000163297 700__ $$aFusco, Giuseppe
000163297 700__ $$aBreda, Marzia
000163297 7102_ $$12000$$2655$$aUniversidad de Zaragoza$$bDpto. Ciencias de la Tierra$$cÁrea Paleontología
000163297 773__ $$g11, 5 (2025), e70036 [15 pp.]$$pPap. Palaeontol.$$tPapers in Palaeontology$$x2056-2799
000163297 8564_ $$s313960$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/163297/files/texto_completo.pdf$$yPostprint$$zinfo:eu-repo/date/embargoEnd/2026-09-22
000163297 8564_ $$s1628270$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/163297/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon$$xicon$$yPostprint$$zinfo:eu-repo/date/embargoEnd/2026-09-22
000163297 909CO $$ooai:zaguan.unizar.es:163297$$particulos$$pdriver
000163297 951__ $$a2025-10-24-16:56:41
000163297 980__ $$aARTICLE