Bone modifications by the giant hyaena Pachycrocuta brevirostris on large-sized ungulate carcasses from the Lower Pleistocene site of Tsiotra Vryssi (Mygdonia Basin, Greece)

ABSTRACT

The Early Pleistocene mammal communities of Europe are characterised by a great diversity of large carnivorans. Among them, the largest ever hyaenid, Pachycrocuta brevirostris, a fierce predator with great bone-cracking adaptations that has left its taphonomic signature on several fossiliferous sites. Here, we perform a rigorous taphonomic analysis focusing on bone surface modifications and damage patterns on large-sized ungulate bones from the site Tsiotra Vryssi (1.78 to ~1.5 Ma; Mygdonia Basin, Greece), aiming to identify the main biotic agent responsible for the modifications. Results reveal significant carnivore ravaging of the assemblage, and selective consumption of bones/bone portions related to nutrient value. Comparisons with modifications on similar-sized ungulate carcasses produced by extant and extinct predators, and similarities with Pachycrocuta-modified assemblages, indicate that Pachycrocuta was the principal agent of modification. Overall, this study not only provides taphonomic evidence for the interpretation of Tsiotra Vryssi, but also offers insights into the palaeobiology, and particularly carcass consumption behaviour of the giant hyaena. Hence, it advances our knowledge on carnivoran guild dynamics and prey–predator relationships during this epoch and has important implications for the investigations of the subsistence behaviour of the meat-eating hominins, who entered Eurasia at ~1.8 Ma, roughly synchronously with Pachycrocuta.

KEYWORDS:

• Taphonomy
• tooth marks
• ungulates
• late Villafranchian
• Pachycrocuta

Acknowledgments

Excavation at TSR was supported by the ERC Consolidator Grant ERC-CoG-724703 (‘CROSSROADS’) and the ERC Starting Grant ERC-StG-283503 (‘PaGE’), both awarded to K. Harvati. Research by A. Katsagoni at the University of Tübingen was supported by the Erasmus+ exchange programme. G. Konidaris is supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG HA 5258). We greatly thank the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions that improved the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).