Xafis Alexandros, Saarinen Juha, Bastl Katharina, Nagel Doris, Grímsson Friðgeir
Department of Palaeontology, Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Paleobiodivers Paleoenviron. 2020;100(2):457-477. doi: 10.1007/s12549-020-00435-2. Epub 2020 Jun 11.
Recent excavations at the Gračanica coal mine (Bugojno Basin, Bosnia-Herzegovina) have unearthed numerous skeletal parts of fossil vertebrates, including a noteworthy collection of mammalian remains. Previous palaeoecological investigations of the Dinarides Lake System were established using stratigraphical, palaeofloral, and malacological data. However, large mammal remains have so far not been used to reconstruct the terrestrial palaeoenvironment of this important fossil ecosystem. Here, the palaeodietary preferences of large mammals were investigated, using a multiproxy approach by employing dental microwear and dental mesowear analysis, in order to provide new perspectives on the terrestrial palaeoecology of the Dinarides Lake System. The dental microwear of all available adult mammalian teeth was analysed. Dental mesowear analysis was employed for ungulate and proboscidean taxa, using mesowear scores and mesowear angles, respectively. The analysis reveals the presence of browsing, "dirty browsing", and mixed-feeding herbivorous taxa, with seasonal fruit, or even grass intake. Additionally, the analysis of the carnivores suggests the presence of hyaena- and cheetah-like hypercarnivores, as well as generalists. The palaeodietary traits of the fossil mammals suggest a closed canopy-like environment, which is supported by the fossil plant assemblage. Palaeopalynological data confirm the omnipresence of fleshy fruit-bearing plants, herbaceous taxa, as well as grasses, which justifies the seasonal fruit browsing, the common "dirty browsing", and the occasional grazing behaviour visualized for some of the fossil mammals from Gračanica.
最近在格拉查尼察煤矿（波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那布戈伊诺盆地）的发掘出土了大量化石脊椎动物的骨骼部分，包括一批引人注目的哺乳动物遗骸。此前对迪纳拉山脉湖泊系统的古生态研究是利用地层学、古植物学和软体动物学数据开展的。然而，迄今为止，大型哺乳动物遗骸尚未被用于重建这个重要化石生态系统的陆地古环境。在此，通过采用牙齿微磨损和牙齿中磨损分析的多指标方法，对大型哺乳动物的古饮食偏好进行了研究，以便为迪纳拉山脉湖泊系统的陆地古生态提供新的视角。分析了所有可用的成年哺乳动物牙齿的微磨损情况。对有蹄类动物和长鼻类动物类群分别使用中磨损分数和中磨损角度进行了牙齿中磨损分析。分析结果显示存在食叶、“脏食叶”和混合取食的食草类群，它们会季节性地摄入果实，甚至还有草。此外，对食肉动物的分析表明存在类似鬣狗和猎豹的超级食肉动物以及广食性动物。化石哺乳动物的古饮食特征表明当时存在类似封闭树冠的环境，这得到了化石植物组合的支持。古孢粉学数据证实了肉质结果植物、草本类群以及草的普遍存在，这解释了部分来自格拉查尼察的化石哺乳动物所呈现出的季节性果实取食、常见的“脏食叶”和偶尔的放牧行为。
