Research Paper

Palaeobiological study of the Holocene micromammal assemblage from Cueva del Hueso (Castrillón, Asturias, NW Spain)

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ANTONIO CERNADAS-GARRIDO
Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Oviedo, C/ Jesús Arias de Velasco s/n., E-33005 Oviedo, Spain; O264560@uniovi.es
Corresponding author

ADRIÁN ÁLVAREZ-VENA
Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Oviedo, C/ Jesús Arias de Velasco s/n., E-33005 Oviedo, Spain; adrian@picos-europa.com

DIEGO J. ÁLVAREZ-LAO
Facultad de Geología, Geofísica y Minas, Ciudad Universitaria (Área Ingenierías), Av. Independencia con calle Paucarpata s/n, 04004, Arequipa (Peru); alvarezdiego@uniovi.es

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ABSTRACT

Cueva del Hueso is located in Castrillón, Asturias. In this work, we carried out a taxonomic, palaeoecological and biochronological study of the micromammals that inhabited the cave environment during the genesis of its most recent level, Level 0. The recovered assemblage presents considerable diversity, yielding a minimum of 286 individuals belonging to 16 taxa. This species association indicates that the landscape would be dominated by open areas and forested patches, with cooler climatic conditions than the current. The presence of Rattus sp. and Mus musculus, along with the climatic inferences, have allowed estimating a relative chronology for Level 0 between 450 AD and 1850 AD.

Key words: palaeoclimate, palaeoenvironment, Mus musculus, Rattus sp., Meghalayan

How to cite: Cernadas-Garrido, A., Álvarez-Vena, A., & Álvarez-Lao, D. J. 2023. Palaeobiological study of the Holocene micromammal assemblage from the Cueva del Hueso (Castrillón, Asturias, NW Spain). Spanish Journal of Palaeontology, 38, 235-254.

Received 27 September 2022, Accepted 2 Januray 2023, Published online 6 February 2023

https://doi.org/10.7203/sjp.25962

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