Pleistocene and holocene small vertebrates of El Harhoura 2 cave (Rabat–Témara, Morocco): an annotated preliminary taxonomic list
Résumé
Small vertebrates found in archaeological context can provide important information on the evolution of biodiversity and paleoenvironments of a precise geographical region and sometimes on a large interval of time. However, very few studies are specifically dedicated to small fossil vertebrates in north Africa, especially for the end of the Quaternary period. The Late Pleistocene to Middle Holocene succession of El Harhoura 2 cave, situated in the region of Te´mara (Morocco), has revealed an exceptional richness of small vertebrates’ remains, as well as in bones abundance than in species diversity (rodents, shrews, hedgehogs, amphibians, chelonians and squamates). We present here an annotated preliminary taxonomic list of this
material.