engleski

Comparative metric analysis of Late Pleistocene Microtus ex gr. arvalis/agrestis (Arvicolidae, Rodentia, Mammalia) teeth from some Croatian localities

The micromammal faunas from three Croatian Late Pleistocene localities: Vindija Cave (NW Croatia), Marlera I (southern Istria) and Mujina Cave near Trogir (central Dalmatia), have been recently examined. Among these, 252 first lower molars (M1) of Microtus ex gr. arvalis/agrestis have been selected and metrically analysed. The studied material from Vindija Cave has been divided into two groups (E+F and G), while the teeth from Marlera I, which are of uncertain stratigraphic assignment, have been analysed as a single sample. The low total number of teeth recovered from Mujina Cave could not be analysed separately for each stratigraphic unit. Tooth length, ACC length and A/L values of M1 have been compared with the data obtained from fossil (Divje babe I), subfossil (Viktorjev spodmol) and modern samples of the same group of species from Slovenia, as well as with the data obtained from Microtus arvalis and M. agrestis from the Late Glacial site Große Badlhöhle in Styria, Austria. The teeth from Marlera I exceed those from Mujina Cave and Vindija Cave in overall length as well as in the length of anteroconid complex. Comparisons of the mean length values show that the teeth from Vindija Cave are the smallest of all the samples analysed here. The A/L index does not differ significantly among the different samples. Microtus arvalis and M. agrestis do not live today in the surroundings of Marlera I and Mujina Cave, while they are included in the modern fauna that dwells near Vindija Cave.

arvicolids; metrical analyses; Late Pleistocene; Vindija Cave; Marlera I; Mujina Cave; Croatia

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