Loading...
| Name: | Description: | Size: | Format: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.69 MB | Adobe PDF |
Authors
Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
The excavation of the Furninha cave, located on the coast of the Peniche Peninsula (Central Portugal), was directed by Nery Delgado in 1879/1880, and provided the largest European assemblage of Hyaena prisca/Hyaena hyaena prisca. This is only comparable to the collection from the cave of Lunel-Viel, in the French Midi, from which the taxon was de.fined in 1828 by Marcel de Serres and collaborators. Delgado (1884) considered the existence of two distinct species: Hyaena vulgaris ( H. hyaena), the striped hyena, a species presently living in North and East Africa, as well as West and South Asia; and the extinct Hyaena prisca, which is of larger size. Albert Gaudry, who was consulted by Delgado, suggested the presence of a single species, known from Late Middle Pleistocene sites, which would anatomically differ only in size and robustness fro,n the current striped hyena. This sarne collection was later studied by Edouard Harlé, who followed Gaudry s opinion, which has generally been accepted in the course of the 20th century. However, more recent studies carried out by the author, as well as J-P Brugal and collaborators (2012) ha·ve revealed that, besides its larger size and robustness, there are also morphometric differences between the current striped hyena and the Furninha hyena. These differences are supported by statistical tests, including PCA (principal component analysis). Although only one species appears to be present at Furninha, the difference in size observed by Nery Delgado, possibly due to geographic variation, suggests some morphological and size difference between H. prisca and the current striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena).
Description
Keywords
Furninha Hyaena prisca Nery Delgado Albert Gaudry Edouard Harlé
Citation
Publisher
Oxbow Books