Article · 2019
Pleistocene insular Proboscidea of the Eastern Mediterranean: A review and update
A. Athanassiou, A. A. E. van der Geer and G. A. Lyras
Quaternary Science Reviews
An article reviewing the Pleistocene elephants of Eastern Mediterranean islands, Cyprus among them, with updated island records, species identifications and explanations of body-size reduction.
Athanassiou, van der Geer and Lyras review the Pleistocene elephants of the islands of the Eastern Mediterranean, revising earlier identifications and names and describing specimens relocated in museum collections or excavated recently. Measurements follow Maglio's method and body-mass estimates Christiansen's equations; island area and isolation are estimated from bathymetry and maps, with the palaeo-island geography assessed against a 100 m fall in sea level.
Their revisions assign the Kephallenía and Kýthera elephants to mainland Palaeoloxodon antiquus, identify the Kálymnos material as a large continental form, and regard the Astypálaia elephant as endemic, though its affinities are unknown. They retain a single Late Pleistocene Palaeoloxodon species for Crete, where Mammuthus creticus belongs to the Early–early Middle Pleistocene fauna and Palaeoloxodon creutzburgi to the late Middle–Late Pleistocene fauna (pp. 310–315).
The Cyprus section sets the two Palaeoloxodon species against the island's impoverished mammal fauna, distinguishes the late Middle Pleistocene colonisation from the latest Pleistocene record of P. cypriotes, and notes that the ancestry of P. cypriotes remains uncertain (pp. 316–317).
From the island records the authors argue that area, isolation, competition and time in isolation together shaped elephant body size. Island area correlates with size, competition and other conditions modify the pattern, and each island carried no more than one proboscidean species at a time (pp. 317–319).
What it records
- Two elephant species are recognised on Cyprus, both assigned to Palaeoloxodon.p. 316
- Athanassiou and colleagues propose that a late Middle Pleistocene migration from the Cilician coast led to the evolution of Palaeoloxodon xylophagou on Cyprus.p. 316
- Latest Pleistocene Palaeoloxodon cypriotes had about 2% of the body mass of mainland Palaeoloxodon antiquus.p. 316
- Athanassiou and colleagues consider the two Cypriot elephant species most likely to be chronospecies.p. 317
- Athanassiou and colleagues propose that isolation of less than about 6–10 km did not produce dwarf proboscideans, probably because they remained in genetic contact with mainland populations.p. 318
Where to read
- Cypriot elephant species and proposed colonisation historypp. 316–317
- Island isolation, area and proboscidean body-size variationpp. 317–319
Contents
- 1. Introduction306
- 2. Island biogeography of elephants307
- 3. Materials and methods308
- 3.1. Fossil materials308
- 3.2. Estimation of island area and isolation308
- 4. The endemic elephants of the Eastern Mediterranean308
- 4.1. Kephallenía309
- 4.2. Kýthera310
- 4.2.1. Description311
- 4.2.2. Remarks311
- 4.3. Western Cyclades311
- 4.4. Eastern Cyclades312
- 4.5. Kálymnos312
- 4.6. Astypálaia313
- 4.6.1. Description313
- 4.6.2. Remarks313
- 4.7. Tilos313
- 4.8. Rhodes313
- 4.9. Crete314
- 4.9.1. Cape Maléka314
- 4.9.2. Palaeoloxodon localities314
- 4.10. Kasos316
- 4.11. Cyprus316
- 5. Discussion317
- 5.1. Remarks on Palaeogeography317
- 5.2. Species-area relationship317
- 5.3. Isolation and body size variation317
- 5.4. Island size and body size variation318
- 6. Conclusions319
Objects published here
3- Partially preserved elephant maxilla, Póros, Kephallenía Island, AMPG-900, Fig. 2 (p. 310)
- Upper right third molar (M3) of Mammuthus creticus, Cape Maléka, W. Crete, AMPG-901, Fig. 5 (p. 314)
- Part of a tusk (I2), Astypalaia, Fig. 4 (p. 313)
People, places and institutions
Places
- Kephalleníaisland elephant sample reassessed
- Kýtheraisland elephant sample reassessed
- Kýthnosisland with an anecdotal tusk find
- Sériphosisland with reported dwarf elephant remains
- Milosisland with reported dwarf elephant remains
- Naxosisland with Palaeoloxodon lomolinoi
- Delosisland with an upper third molar find
- Parosisland with a reported dwarf elephant
- Kálymnosisland with large continental elephant remains
- Astypálaiaisland with an endemic elephant find
- Tilosisland with Palaeoloxodon tiliensis
- Rhodesisland with dwarf elephant remains
- Creteisland with two successive elephant faunas
- Cape Malékatype locality of Mammuthus creticus
- Kasos-Kárpathos-Saríapalaeo-island with a dwarf elephant find
- PórosKephallenía locality of maxilla AMPG-900
Also named: Sygkairo.
Extent pp. 306–321, figs 1–9; bibliography pp. 319–321
Cyprus Before HumansAnimalsLandscape and ClimateChronology and Dating