Tesis doctoral de Joan Madurell Malapeira
The villafranchian is a mammal age, a biochronological unit, based on large mammals spanning the interval from the late pliocene to most of the early pleistocene. During this large time interval several great changes at a global scale occurred, such as the first glacial process in the northern hemisphere and the beginning of the glacial ages. These environmental and climatic changes are probably the forcing factors for mammal dispersal events and evolutionary changes. During the villafranchian two major faunal renewals and dispersal events succeeded, the first one coinciding with the onset of the 41 kyr glacial cycles at 2.6 ma and the second one at the end of this biochron coinciding with the middle pleistocene revolution and the onset of 100kyr glacial cycles. the first dispersal of the genus homo in europe occurs as well during the villafranchian. these human populations were first recorded at the biozone of allophaiomys ruffoi in western europe (ca. 1.6,1.4 ma) probably taking advantage from these changing climatic conditions and for the landscapes which became open at the beginning of the interglacials. These firsts europeans find a different environment at their arrival and different competitors, the villafranchian carnivores. The villafranchian carnivore guild is mostly composed by powerful sabretoothed cats, the giant hyena pachycrocuta as well as the old world jaguar and puma among others. The paleobiology of most of these carnivores and the competition relationships for the food resources with these firsts hominids are up to now partially unknown. Here we report the major climatic and faunal changes occurred during the villafranchian, including a brief report on the current knowledge of the taxonomy and paleobiology of these carnivore species.
Datos académicos de la tesis doctoral «The villafranchian carnivores from the north-eastern iberian peninsula and the early-middle pleistocene transition«
- Título de la tesis: The villafranchian carnivores from the north-eastern iberian peninsula and the early-middle pleistocene transition
- Autor: Joan Madurell Malapeira
- Universidad: Autónoma de barcelona
- Fecha de lectura de la tesis: 21/12/2010
Dirección y tribunal
- Director de la tesis
- Salvador Moya Sola
- Tribunal
- Presidente del tribunal: lorenzo Rook
- oriol Oms llobet (vocal)
- (vocal)
- (vocal)