Dept. of Quaternary Palaeontology, Senckenberg Research Institutes and Natural History Museums, Am Jakobskirchhof 4, 99423 Weimar, Germany.
J Hum Evol. 2011 Apr;60(4):464-80. doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2010.03.015. Epub 2010 Jun 11.
Preliminary results of the investigation of the microfauna at the Acheulo-Yabrudian Middle Pleistocene site of Qesem Cave, Israel, are presented. Thus far the assemblage includes ca. 10,000 bone and tooth fragments, of which 50% could be identified to the generic and some hundreds to the species level. Based on the current material, the fauna includes the following squamate reptiles: Laudakia sp., Chamaeleo sp., Gekkonidae indet., Lacertidae indet., Scincidae indet., Pseudopus sp., Varanus sp., Colubroidea indet. (at least three species) and micromammals: Suncus etruscus, Crocidura cf. leucodon, Crocidurinae indet. (large form), Chiroptera indet., Sciurus cf. anomalus, Cricetulus cf. migratorius, Microtus guentheri, Nannospalax ehrenbergi, Dipodillus cf. dasyurus, Meriones cf. tristrami, Gerbillidae indet., Mus cf. musculus, Apodemus cf. flavicollis. These results suggest that the fauna includes only taxa that occur recently in the territory of Israel. The ecological preferences of the nearest living relatives of the recorded taxa allow us to infer a paleoenvironment with a mosaic of open and woodland habitats. However, comparing the lower with the upper levels of the microfauna-bearing profile, a slight shift towards more wooded conditions might be detectable. Biostratigraphical inferences from the recorded micromammal taxa cover a rather wide age range, whereas the radiometric (U-series and preliminary TL) dating enable a provisionally estimated date for the microfauna-bearing levels at 360-300 ka. Detailed morphometric comparisons with material from other sites in the region are necessary and may yet provide further insights.
初步结果的调查微小动物在阿舍利-亚布罗迪安中更新世中期遗址的 Qesem 洞穴，以色列，提出了。到目前为止，组合包括 ca. 10,000 骨骼和牙齿碎片，其中 50%可以确定到通用和几百到种水平。基于当前的材料，动物群包括以下蜥蜴： Laudakia sp.，Chamaeleo sp.，壁虎科 indet.，蜥蜴科 indet.，石龙子科 indet.，Pseudopus sp.，Varanus sp.，Colubroidea indet.（至少三个物种）和小型哺乳动物： Suncus etruscus，Crocidura cf. leucodon，Crocidurinae indet.（大型），蝙蝠科 indet.，Sciurus cf. anomalus，Cricetulus cf. migratorius，Microtus guentheri，Nannospalax ehrenbergi，Dipodillus cf. dasyurus，Meriones cf. tristrami，Gerbillidae indet.，Mus cf. musculus，Apodemus cf. flavicollis。这些结果表明，动物群只包括最近在以色列领土上出现的分类单元。记录的分类单元的最近生存亲属的生态偏好允许我们推断出一个具有开放和林地栖息地镶嵌的古环境。然而，与微小动物带剖面的上下层相比，可能会检测到向更林地条件的轻微转变。从记录的小型哺乳动物分类单元推断出的生物地层学涵盖了相当广泛的年龄范围，而放射性（U 系列和初步 TL）测年使得微动物带层的暂估日期为 360-300ka。与该地区其他地点的材料进行详细的形态比较是必要的，并且可能会提供进一步的见解。
