A lynx natural brain endocast from ingarano (Southern Italy; late pleistocene): Taphonomic, morphometric and phylogenetic approaches

TY - JOUR

T1 - A lynx natural brain endocast from ingarano (Southern Italy; late pleistocene)

T2 - Taphonomic, morphometric and phylogenetic approaches

AU - Iurino, Dawid A.

AU - Profico, Antonio

AU - Cherin, Marco

AU - Veneziano, Alessio

AU - Costeur, Loïc

AU - Sardella, Raffaele

PY - 2015/1/1

Y1 - 2015/1/1

N2 - A natural brain endocast from the Late Pleistocene site of Ingarano (Apulia, Southern Italy) has been investigated in detail using CT scanning, image processing techniques and Geometric Morphometrics to obtain information about the taxonomy and taphonomy of the specimen. Based on its characteristically felid shape, we compared several measurements of the endocast with those of the brains of living Felidae, with a special emphasis on Panthera pardus, Lynx lynx and Felis silvestris earlier reported from the same locality. The applied combination of techniques revealed that this specimen is morphometrically closest to the brains of lynxes, and so can be reported as the first natural endocranial cast of Late Pleistocene Lynx sp. In addition, CT scanning of the Ingarano endocast allowed us to reconstruct the early stages of its taphonomy (i.e., the process of infilling of the braincase with the sediment).

AB - A natural brain endocast from the Late Pleistocene site of Ingarano (Apulia, Southern Italy) has been investigated in detail using CT scanning, image processing techniques and Geometric Morphometrics to obtain information about the taxonomy and taphonomy of the specimen. Based on its characteristically felid shape, we compared several measurements of the endocast with those of the brains of living Felidae, with a special emphasis on Panthera pardus, Lynx lynx and Felis silvestris earlier reported from the same locality. The applied combination of techniques revealed that this specimen is morphometrically closest to the brains of lynxes, and so can be reported as the first natural endocranial cast of Late Pleistocene Lynx sp. In addition, CT scanning of the Ingarano endocast allowed us to reconstruct the early stages of its taphonomy (i.e., the process of infilling of the braincase with the sediment).

KW - Carnivora

KW - Felidae

KW - Geometric morphometrics

KW - Lynx

KW - Natural brain endocast

KW - Paleontology

KW - Phylogenetic signal

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84955130559&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.4404/hystrix-26.2-11465

DO - 10.4404/hystrix-26.2-11465

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84955130559

SN - 0394-1914

VL - 26

SP - 110

EP - 117

JO - Hystrix

JF - Hystrix

IS - 2

ER -