Taphonomy of small mammals and paleoenvironment of the QS-2/3 unit from the Quibas site (Early Pleistocene, southern Iberian Peninsula)

The site of Quibas (Early Pleistocene, Murcia, Spain) represents the only European continuous succession preserving a record of continental vertebrates from pre-Jaramillo to post-Jaramillo age. The Quibas sequence immediately postdates the oldest known hominin records in the Early Pleistocene of Europe, represented at Barranco León and Fuente Nueva 3 (southern Spain), and Sima del Elefante (northern Spain). This study presents new evidence on the taphonomic processes that facilitated the accumulation of small vertebrates at the unit QS-2/3 of the Quibas-Sima section. We analysed alterations caused by predators (digestion and chewing), root marks, mineral precipitation, bone breakage, abrasion, corrosion, and the count of long bones. The results indicate that the accumulation of small mammals occurred in situ, primarily due to the activity of nocturnal birds of prey such as Strix aluco. The hydrodynamic influence is minimal. The paleoecological analysis supports the development of a forest-mosaic environment with a significant presence of open spaces in the surroundings of the Quibas site at the onset of the Jaramillo subchron.