Abstract
Aves are represented by abundant fossil remains in Quaternary sites. Birds are well adapted to the environment they inhabit, so they make very good paleoenvironmental indicators for Quaternary sites. Here we analyse the avian remains from the Late Pleistocene (probably MIS3) site of Aguilón P-7 (AGP-7). The Pleistocene sediments fill up a shallow cave, which is located in the Zaragozan part of the Iberian Range, 55 km south of the city of Zaragoza. We have for the first time provided a taxonomic and taphonomic study of the avian assemblage of AGP-7, as well as a preliminary paleoenvironmental analysis based on these data. Nine avian taxa have been identified: Galliformes indet., Lagopus sp., Aquila chrysaetos, Gyps fulvus, Passeridae indet., Anthus sp., Prunella modularis,Sturnus cf. unicolor and Corvus monedula. The taphonomic analysis did not provide conclusive information. However, it suggests an accumulation of uneaten food remains by diurnal birds of prey. The identified taxa currently inhabit the Iberian Peninsula, populating woodland environments with rocky areas. They are found in areas with an oceanic climate, in contrast to the Mediterranean climate that now prevails in Aguilón.
Acknowledgements
Arturo Hernandez discovered AGP-7, and the CEA undertook the topography of the cave. We would like to thank the excavation and sieving-screening team (Juan Rofes, Raquel Rabal-Garcés, Diana Ramón and Jorge Ruiz). We would also like to thank the staff of the CIAMA for their help during the taxonomic analysis. Thanks to Rupert Glasgow for revising the English grammar.
Thanks to the three anonymous reviewers; their corrections, suggestions and comments really improved this work.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.