Quaternary biogeography of the Mustelidae family on the Mediterranean islands
Abstract Five taxa of the Mustelidae family now occur on the Mediterranean islands: the pine marten, Martes martes L., 1758, distributed on some of the Balearic and Tyrrhenian islands, the stone marten, M. foina Erxleben, 1777, which occurs on many islands of the basin, the badger, Meles meles Briss...
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| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
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Associazione Teriologica Italiana
1995
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.4404/hystrix-7.1-2-4048 https://doaj.org/article/a8cd0d2a1a044b6da2f30c287247a0fe |
| Summary: | Abstract Five taxa of the Mustelidae family now occur on the Mediterranean islands: the pine marten, Martes martes L., 1758, distributed on some of the Balearic and Tyrrhenian islands, the stone marten, M. foina Erxleben, 1777, which occurs on many islands of the basin, the badger, Meles meles Brisson, 1762, that has been only reported from some Greek islands, the weasel, Musteln nivalis L., 1766, common to many of the islands, and the otter, Lutra lutra L., 1758, recorded from the Greek islands. During Late Pleistocene times, only few carnivores seem to have occurred, however, on these islands and none is referable to the species that are present today. Paleontological evidence attests only to the occurrence of endemic elements, most of which were related to the Lutrinae subfamily. Apart from L. lutra , the absence during Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene of the continental species present today suggests that these carnivores are allochthonous. They were imported by man, for various purposes, probably since prehistorical and/or early historical times. Riassunto Biogeografia quaternaria della famiglia Mustelidae nelle isole del Mediterraneo - La distribuzione attuale dei rappresentanti della famiglia Mustelidae nelle isole mediterranee interessa esclusivamente cinque specie: la martora, Martes martes L., 1758, presente su alcune isole baleariche e tirreniche, la faina, M. foina Erxleben, 1777, diffusa in varie isole del Mediterraneo, il tasso, Meles meles Brisson, 1762, che viene solo segnalato per alcune isole greche, la donnola, Mustela nivalis L., 1766, che interessa molte isole del bacino e la lontra, Lutra lutra L., 1758, nota solamente per alcune isole greche. Nel corso del Pleistocene altre forme di mustelidi hanno comunque interessato queste isole e nessuna di esse può essere riferita tassonomicamente a quelle oggi presenti. Il Quaternario delle isole mediterranee è infatti esclusivamente caratterizzato dalla presenza di mustelidi endemici, appartenenti per la maggior parte alla sottofamiglia Lutrinae. ... |
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