Morphological and morphometric variations in Middle and Late Pleistocene Microtus arvalis and Microtus agrestis populations: chronological insight, evolutionary trends and palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental inferences

• Main Author: LUZI, ELISA
• Other Authors: Luzi, Elisa, ARZARELLO, Marta
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Università degli studi di Ferrara 2018
• Subjects: Microtus arvali; Microtus agresti; dental morphology; evolutionary trend; chronology; Settore L-ANT/01 - Preistoria e Protostoria; Microtus arvalis
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11392/2488309

For this PhD thesis, Middle and Late Pleistocene populations of M. arvalis and M. agrestis coming from 13 sites of the Iberian Peninsula,14 sites of the Italian Peninsula, nine of the Carpathian Basin, three of Croatia and two of Belgium were analysed from a morphological and morphometric point of view, in order to underlie similarities and differences among them, possible common patterns of evolution and the influence of climatic and environmental conditions on their variations. Comparing samples from different chronologies and different geographic provenance, it was possible to refine the chronological attributions of palaeontological and archaeological sites of the Mediterranean region and to identify divergent lineages, early signs of speciation, immigration events and displacement of populations. Furthermore, we propose the use of a new index, Lagr/Larv, to quantify the variations in size of M. agrestis and M. arvalis in relation to each other. This index proved to be an excellent indicator of the general humidity level and allow to detect oscillations and variations in the environmental conditions in the surroundings of a given sites. Para esta tesis doctoral, las poblaciones de M. arvalis y M. agrestis del Pleistoceno Medio y Superior procedentes de 13 yacimientos de la Península Ibérica, 14 de la Península Italiana, nueve de la Cuenca de los Cárpatos, tres de Croacia y dos de Bélgica han sido analizadas desde una perspectiva morfológica y desde un punto de vista morfométrico. Este estudio se ha llevado a cabo con la finalidad de destacar las similitudes y diferencias entre las diferentes poblaciones de ambas especies, posibles patrones comunes de evolución y la influencia de las condiciones climáticas y ambientales en sus variaciones poblacionales. Comparando material de diferentes cronologías y diferente procedencia geográfica, ha sido posible refinar las atribuciones cronológicas de los yacimientos paleontológicos y arqueológicos de la región mediterránea e identificar linajes divergentes, muestras ...