Giant hyenas, saber-toothed cats and giraffes roamed ancient European site 1.8 million years agoNovember 14th, 2007 - 8:14 am ICT by admin
The dig’s co-director, Dr Alfonso Arribas, said the specimens were the remains of carcasses scavenged by giant hyenas (Pachycrocuta brevirostris). The fossils are currently being exhibited at the Archaeological Museum of Cartagena in Spain.
The Fonelas P-1 site is regarded as extremely important, because it dates to a time - the boundary between the Pliocene and Pleistocene Epochs - when early humans are thought to have first left Africa to colonise Europe and Asia.
So far, Dr Arribas and Guiomar Garrido, from Spain’s Geological and Mining Institute, have identified 24 species of large mammal, eight species of small mammal, two reptile species and one species of bird.
The brown hyena (Hyaena brunnea) is found today only in the deserts of southern Africa. The discovery of its remains at Fonelas marks the first time the species has been found outside that region.
At Fonelas, African species like H. brunnea mixed with Asian animals such as Canis etruscus - the ancestor of today’s wolf - and a giraffe resembling a modern okapi.
The assemblage includes the oldest goat ever found and the earliest badger discovered in Europe.
The discoveries were presented at the Climate and Humans conference in Murcia, Spain.
At a different archaeological site in the same region, Arribas and colleagues have excavated stone tools made by primitive humans.
They are currently awaiting the results of magnetostratigraphy dating to determine the age of the site. (ANI)
- World's oldest known human ancestor was 'threatened by sabre tooth cats' - Jan 04, 2011
- One third of 'extinct' animals back from the dead - Sep 29, 2010
- Scientists excited about mammoth discovery in Iowa - Jun 07, 2012
- Workers discover 1.4mn-year-old fossil cache in California - Sep 22, 2010
- Protein from 600,000-year-old mammoth sheds light on ancient fossils - Mar 31, 2011
- Dolphins, marine mammals hunted for human consumption - Jan 25, 2012
- Did Ice Age giants' ancestors originate in Tibet? - Sep 05, 2011
- 100,000-yr-old fossilized teeth of cavemen found in Central China - Nov 27, 2010
- How sloths evolved their unique neck skeleton - Oct 19, 2010
- Fossils of giant bird discovered on 'hobbit' island of Flores - Dec 08, 2010
- Hundreds of fossils found outside Argentina's capital - Apr 20, 2012
- Dinosaur-bird 'missing link' could be egg - Jul 13, 2012
- Discovery of bones unravel Ice Age ecosystem - Nov 07, 2010
- Early human ancestors' 'brain food' - crocs, fish and hippos! - Jun 10, 2010
- Largest-ever fossil spider from Jurassic era found - Apr 21, 2011
Tags: africa, african species, arribas, bbc, brown hyena, early humans, europe, fossils, giant, giraffes, hyaena brunnea, hyena den, hyenas, mammal, murcia spain, okapi, pliocene, primitive humans, reptile species, saber toothed cats