New old news on the “Lobo cerval” (Lynx lynx?) in NE Spain

There is growing evidence that two Lynx species were present in Spain until recent times: the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) in Mediterranean areas and the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) in the Atlantic and Alpine ones. The recent presence of the Eurasian lynx is mainly deduced from stories and news about...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Galemys, Spanish Journal of Mammalogy
Main Authors: Jiménez, Juan, Clavero, Miguel, Reig-Ferrer, Abilio
Other Authors: Universidad de Alicante. Departamento de Psicología de la Salud, Zoología de Vertebrados
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Sociedad Española para la Conservación y Estudio de los Mamíferos (SECEM) 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10045/84707
https://doi.org/10.7325/Galemys.2018.A3
Description
Summary:There is growing evidence that two Lynx species were present in Spain until recent times: the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) in Mediterranean areas and the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) in the Atlantic and Alpine ones. The recent presence of the Eurasian lynx is mainly deduced from stories and news about fierce animals known as “lobos cervales” or “tigres”, these being dangerous beasts for livestock, a condition that is difficult to associate with the Iberian lynx. In this work, we provide new records of lynx in NE Iberian Peninsula that blur the geographic boundaries between both species. The contact between the Iberian and Eurasian lynxes could explain the signs of hybridization detected between them. Hay evidencias crecientes de que en España habitaron hasta hace relativamente poco dos especies de linces, el ibérico (Lynx pardinus) en ambientes mediterráneos y el boreal (Lynx lynx) en los atlánticos y alpinos. La presencia del lince boreal en épocas recientes se deduce fundamentalmente de relatos y noticias sobre fieras denominadas “lobos cervales”, “tigres”, bestias peligrosas para el ganado, condición ésta no asociada a los linces ibéricos. En este trabajo se recopilan nuevas noticias sobre presencia de linces en el cuadrante noreste de la península Ibérica que desdibujan los límites geográficos entre ambas especies. El contacto entre el lince ibérico y boreal podría justificar los indicios de hibridación detectados entre ambas especies.