Barbara Rzebik-Kowalska

A last interglacial fauna from the Eastern Sahara

Abstract Recent work on the middle Paleolithic at Bir Tarfawi, in the hyperarid Eastern Sahara (

Intraspecific variability and phylogenetic relationships of the Pleistocene shrewSorex runtonensis (Soricidae)

Intraspecific variability of the Pleistocene speciesSorex runtonensis Hinton, 1911 from different Polish and Russian (Caucasus Mts.) localities and its relationships to Recent red-toothed shrews of similar body size and mandibular morphology,S. caecutiens Laxmann, 1788 andS. tundrensis Merriam, 1990, are explained on the grounds of multivariate statistics. The remains ofS. runtonensis from different localities form a single group and differ fromS. caecutiens. They resembleS. tundrensis by the first canonical root related to a mandibular size and proportions. This may indicate thatS. runtonensis andS. tundrensis are closely related but separated components of the species complextundrensis.

Sorex bifidus n. sp. and the rich insectivore mammal fauna (Erinaceomorpha, Soricomorpha, Mammalia) from the Early Pleistocene of Żabia Cave in Poland

Thirteen species of insectivore mammals, among them the new taxon Sorex bifidus n. sp.and twelve others are described from one of the few middle Early Pleistocene localities of Poland, Żabia Cave. They are: Erinaceus sp. (Erinaceidae), Talpa minor and T. europaea (Talpidae), Paenelimnoecus pannonicus, Sorex minutus, S. runtonensis, S. (Drepanosorex) praearaneus, S. (D.) margaritodon, Asoriculus gibberodon, Neomys newtoni, Petenyia hungarica and Beremendoia fissidens (Soricidae). Measurements, systematic positions, palaeoecological requirements and illustrations are given. The four species of Sorex indicate a humide sylvan paleoenvironment. The abundance of moles is also connected with relatively humid conditions and more or less open areas with soft soils. On the other hand, S. runtonensis is probably an indicator of arid and relatively open biotope and the hedgehog, Erinaceus sp., of forest, shrubs and open areas. Neomys newtoni is connected with open water bodies. This shows a mosaic landscape – forest, open habitat patches and water bodies in the vicinity of the studied cave. The impoverishment of the shrew fauna of Europe during the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene caused by the extinction of the Pliocene taxa and the appearance of more numerous species of the genus Sorex are presented.

Erinaceomorpha and Soricomorpha (Mammalia) from the Late Pleistocene and Holocene of Krucza Skała Rock Shelter and Komarowa Cave (Poland)

Abstract. 12 species of the insectivores, eight in Krucza Ska3a Rock Shelter and 10 in Komarowa Cave, were found in the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene layers of these localities. They are: Erinaceus sp., Desmana moschata, Talpa cf. minor, Talpa europaea, Sorex minutus, Sorex runtonensis, Sorex araneus, Sorex sp., Neomys sp., Neomys cf. fodiens, Crocidura zorzii, and Crocidura leucodon. Their descriptions, measurements, systematic position and illustrations are given. Two of them, Desmana moschata and Crocidura zorzii are new for the Polish Pleistocene fauna.

Repeated evolution of camouflage in speciose desert rodents

There are two main factors explaining variation among species and the evolution of characters along phylogeny: adaptive change, including phenotypic and genetic responses to selective pressures, and phylogenetic inertia, or the resemblance between species due to shared phylogenetic history. Phenotype-habitat colour match, a classic Darwinian example of the evolution of camouflage (crypsis), offers the opportunity to test the importance of historical versus ecological mechanisms in shaping phenotypes among phylogenetically closely related taxa. To assess it, we investigated fur (phenotypic data) and habitat (remote sensing data) colourations, along with phylogenetic information, in the species-rich Gerbillus genus. Overall, we found a strong phenotype-habitat match, once the phylogenetic signal is taken into account. We found that camouflage has been acquired and lost repeatedly in the course of the evolutionary history of Gerbillus. Our results suggest that fur colouration and its covariation with habitat is a relatively labile character in mammals, potentially responding quickly to selection. Relatively unconstrained and substantial genetic basis, as well as structural and functional independence from other fitness traits of mammalian colouration might be responsible for that observation.

Paleoecology of the Miocene fossil mammal fauna from Bełchatów (Poland)

Miocene fauna of land mammals is known from numerous fossil localities in western Europe but its remains are rare in the north-eastern part of this continent. The open brown coal mine at Bełchatów in central Poland revealed numerous remains of small and large mammals representing three Miocene biozones from MN4 to MN8/9. They indicate the presence of relatively stable subtropical conditions during all the time of the Miocene deposition in the Bełchatów basin with only slight cooling before the end of the sedimentation.

Remains of Small Vertebrates from Bir Tarfawi and Their Paleoecological Significance

The fossil remains of amphibians and reptiles (excluding turtles) described below were collected at Bir Tarfawi by Professor K. Kowalski in 1986; they come from a peaty soil (Area N) on the northwestern side of the lake of Grey Phase 2 near the archaeological site of BT-14 (Fig. 3.5). The collection is very small, containing about 85 crocodilian teeth and 19 isolated bones or bone fragments of at least eight other amphibian and reptilian taxa. Most of the fossils have been identified to the familial level only, mainly because of the limited comparative materials available; however, the size of the collection and the lack of important diagnostic elements would make more precise identification impossible anyway.

New data on Soricomorpha (Lipotyphla, Mammalia) from the Pliocene and Pleistocene of Transbaikalia and Irkutsk Region (Russia)

Remains of five genera and 14 species (Talpidae and Soricidae) have been found in the Pliocene and Pleistocene sediments of ten localities in Western Transbaikalia and Irkutsk Region. Besides fossil (Petenyia sp., Sorex palaeosibiriensis) and Recent taxa (Asioscalops altaica, Crocidura sp., Neomys fodiens, Sorex minutissimus, S. minutus, S. roboratus, S. cf. isodon and S. cf. daphaenodon) known today from the Asiatic continent, two new fossil Sorex species (S. erbajevae and S. baikalensis) have been described. Thus, the number of fossil Sorex species cited so far from Asia (16) increased to 21.

New data on Eulipotyphla (Insectivora, Mammalia) from the Late Miocene to the Middle Pleistocene of Ukraine

Remains of Erinaceidae, Talpidae and Soricidae (Eulipotyphla, Mammalia) from eight localities are described: three (Popovo 3, MN11, Verkhnya Krynitsa 2, MN11/ MN12 and Lobkove, MN12) from the Late Miocene, two (Verkhnya Krynitsa 1, early MN16 and Popovo 2, late MN16) from the Pliocene, one (Popovo 1, MN16/MN17) from the Pliocene/Pleistocene boundary, one (Popovo 0, MN17) from the Early Pleistocene and one (Medzhybozh, Q3) from the early Middle Pleistocene. Short geological characteristics as well as local and stratigraphic positions were described. The list of insectivore species includes: Schizogalerix sp., cf. Mygalinia hungarica, Ruemkelia sp., Desmana sp., cf. Desmana sp., Miosorex grivensis, cf. Miosorex sp., Crusafontina cf. kormosi, cf. Asoriculus sp., Neomysorex alpinoides, Neomys newtoni, Petenyia dubia, Petenyia hungarica, cf. Beremendia minor, Beremendia fissidens, Zelceina sp. Both the abundance of insectivore remains and their taxonomic diversity vary among localities. The most numerous and diverse assemblage (10 taxa of three families) is that of the Late Miocene Verkhnya Krynitsa 2. The remaining seven localities yielded one to three species. The remains are described, measured and illustrated, and their systematic positions and distributions are discussed. Barbara Rzebik-Kowalska. Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sławkowska 17, 31-016 Kraków, Poland rzebik@isez.pan.krakow.pl Leonid I. Rekovets. University of Environmental and Life Sciences of Wrocław, Chełmoński 38c, 51-630 Wrocław, Poland and National Museum of Natural History, B.Khmelnicki 15, 01030 Kiev, Ukraine leonid.rekovets@up.wroc.pl

Review of the Pliocene and Pleistocene Talpidae (Soricomorpha, Mammalia) of Poland

Remains of Talpidae (Soricomorpha, Mammalia) from nine Pliocene and Early Pleistocene localities [Podlesice (MN14), Węże 1 (MN15) and 2 (MN15/MN16), Rębielice Królewskie 1A and 2 (MN16), Kielniki 3B, and Zamkowa Dolna Cave A (MN17), Kadzielnia 1 (MN17 or MN17/Q1) and Zamkowa Dolna Cave C (Q2)] located in Poland are reviewed. One new genus Skoczenia n. gen. and one new species Quyania europaea n. sp. are described. The list of Talpidae species from the Pliocene and Early Pleistocene of Poland now includes Condylura kowalskii, C. izaballae, Parascalops fossilis, ?Scalopoides sp., ?Neurotrichus polonicus, ?N. skoczeni, Quyania europaea n. sp., and Skoczenia copernici n. gen. Where necessary, previously described specimens were reevaluated and redescribed, and new illustrations were added. The systematic position, distribution, and number of species in each of the localities are discussed. Barbara Rzebik-Kowalska. Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sławkowska 17, 31-016 Kraków, Poland, rzebik@isez.pan.krakow.pl