Vegetation reconstruction on the basis of pollen in Late Pleistocene hyena coprolites from San Teodoro Cave (Sicily, Italy)

• Published in: Palaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology, 2006-07, Vol.237 (1), p.32-39
• Main Authors: Yll, R., Carrión, J.S., Marra, A.C., Bonfiglio, L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alnus; Artemisia; Chenopodiaceae; Coprolites; Crocuta crocuta; Ephedra; Hyena; Late Pleistocene; Palynology; Pistacia; Quercus; Sicily
• ISSN: 0031-0182; 1872-616X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2005.11.027

Vegetation reconstruction based on pollen from coprolites of extinct spotted hyena ( Crocuta crocuta spelaea, Goldfuss 1832) recovered from excavations carried out in 1998 at San Teodoro Cave (Sicily, Italy) supports previous indications of pre-Late Glacial conditions. Eight of the twelve coprolites analysed contained well-preserved pollen grains. There is a general similarity between the pollen contents from the coprolites but they show variability. They suggest a main vegetation type dominated by steppic taxa (Poaceae, Artemisia, Ephedra, Chenopodiaceae and Asteraceae) but also including arboreal taxa ( Pinus and Cupressaceae). Low percentages of pollen of mesophilous woody taxa ( Quercus, Betula, Abies, Alnus, Pistacia, among others) are noticeable, suggesting the existence of nearby refugia for temperate and Mediterranean vegetation. A reconstruction of the landscape, using the coprolite pollen record and other pollen records from Sicily and south Italy, shows the predominance, during the pre-Late Glacial, of a wooded steppe biome, with elements representing a variety of local environmental conditions.