Biochronological and paleobiogeographic implications of the Dama-like deer sample from the latest Early Pleistocene of Cal Guardiola (NE Iberia)

Abstract

Different species of Dama-like deer usually included in the genus Pseudodama, occurred in the European Plio-Pleistocene. In this paper, the medium-sized cervid sample from the Cal Guardiola Section (NE Iberian Peninsula) is described. It exhibits notable similarities with other records referred to Pseudodama vallonnetensis from various late Early Pleistocene European sites, thus confirming the abundance of this taxon in the faunal associations of this period. Here, we review the spatial and temporal distribution of P. vallonnetensis in Europe and, in a broader framework, also the succession of Dama-like deer species during the entire Pleistocene, analyzing variations in body size and possible relationships between these and palaeoenvironmental conditions.