[EN] A palaeornithological assemblage from the early Pliocene of Mallorca (Balearic Islands) is documented on 583 fossil bones from Na Burguesa-1 site. Ten different taxa have been identified: two Tytonidae, one small-sized Strigidae, one Phasianidae, one Charadriiform, and at least five Passeriformes. The specimens included in the Tytonidae correspond to a giant Barn Owl, Tyto sp. 1, with size similar to Tyto robusta, and a second Barn Owl, Tyto sp. 2, similar in size to Tyto sanctialbani. The small-sized Strigidae is attributed to Otus sp., although some of the pedal phalanges obtained are included only tentatively in this genus. The presence of these nocturnal raptorial birds combined with the prevalence of small vertebrates (mainly ranging from ca. 8 g to almost 1 kg) with practically unaltered bones suggests that this deposit was originated by the accumulation of prey remains of these owls., [FR] Un assemblage paléo-ornithologique du début du Pliocène de Majorque (îles Baléares) est documenté à partir de 583 os fossiles obtenus dans le gisement de Na Burguesa-1. Dix taxons différents ont été identifiés dans cet assemblage : deux Tytonidae, un Strigidae de petite taille, un Phasianidae, un Charadriiforme et au moins cinq Passeriformes. Les fossiles inclus dans les Tytonidae correspondent à une chouette effraie géante, Tyto sp. 1, de taille similaire à Tyto robusta, et à une deuxième chouette effraie, Tyto sp. 2, de taille similaire à celle de Tyto sanctialbani. Les Strigidae de petite taille sont attribuées à Otus sp., bien que certaines des phalanges pédales obtenues ne soient attribuées à ce genre que de manière provisoire. La présence de ces rapaces nocturnes et celle, prédominante, de restes de petits vertébrés (dont la taille varie entre environ ca. 8 g et presque 1 kg), avec leurs ossements pratiquement inaltérés, permet d’interpréter l’origine du gisement comme une accumulation dérivée de la prédation par ces strigiformes., The breccias from NB-1 were discovered in 2012 by Dr. Damià Vicens and permission to collect the material granted by the land lords (Zaforteza family) and the General Direction of Heritage of the “Consell de Mallorca”. This paper is a contribution funded by the “Agencia Estatal de Investigación” (“Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad”)/”Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional” (FEDER) through Research Project CGL2016-79795-R and by the “Consell de Mallorca” (“Ajuts per a la realització d’intervencions paleontològiques a l’illa de Mallorca per a l’any 2018”).

A new insular species of Paraethomys (Muridae, Rodentia) with medium-sized hypsodont teeth is described from the Zanclean of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, western Mediterranean). The m1 displays the most distinctive traits: Hypsodonty, a high occurrence of an unusual anterior cingulum, a well-developed labial cingulum, high accessory labial cuspids resembling the Apodemus pattern and a funnel between c1 and the hypoconid. Paraethomys balearicus sp. nov. preserves traits close to those present in the earliest populations of Paraethomys meini from the upper Turolian, such as a developed posterior spur on t3 in the M1, a connection between t4 and t8 in the M1, a narrow connection between t6 and t9 in the M1 and the occasional presence of an individualized t9 and a t12 in some M2s. The relationship between the new taxon and its direct mainland ancestor gives additional support to a Messinian origin for the so-called Myotragus fauna, which became isolated after the refilling of the Mediterranean Sea 5.33 Ma ago. The absence of Paraethomys in other known younger Mallorcan sites suggests that its extinction most probably occurred at an indeterminate time during the Pliocene Epoch., This paper is a contribution to the Research Projects CGL2012-38089, CGL2016-79795-R and CGL2016-80000-P founded by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad)/Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) and SCR-901 founded by the Generalitat de Catalunya. One author (ETR) benefited from a predoctoral fellowship (BES-2013-062867) from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad.

A new insular giant species of Apocricetus (M1 length > 4.22 mm, upper teeth row length > 10.90 mm) is described from dental, mandibular and cranial material recovered at the Na Burguesa-1 site (Mallorca, Balearic Islands, western Mediterranean), a Zanclean palaeokarst deposit chronologically close to the refilling of the Mediterranean after the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Apocricetus darderi sp. nov. shows a close relationship with the mainland species A. alberti (MN13), an Iberian taxon, from which it differs in size, the presence of labial and lingual anterolophids in m1, triple anterolophulids frequently developed, a reduced anterosinusid in m2 and m3 and, occasionally, the presence of an ectomesolophid in m3. Apocricetus darderi sp. nov. becomes the first endemic Balearic mammal that can be confidently assigned as having a direct mainland relative, providing the first solid palaeontological evidence of a Messinian origin for the Plio-Pleistocene fauna of Mallorca. Tragomys macpheei from the Caló den Rafelino site (Early Pliocene, probably late MN14 or early MN15) displays a peculiar selenodont teeth pattern and a high degree of hypsodonty, and is considered to be either a direct descendant of Apocricetus darderi sp. nov. or a sister taxon derived from a common ancestor. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:0EBF0B6E-2922-4A14-A6C3-8FC8D751647F., This paper is a contribution funded by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad)/Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) to the Research Projects [CGL2012-38089], [CGL2016-79795-R] and [CGL2016-80000-P]; funded by the Generalitat de Catalunya [SCR-901]. One of authors (ETR) benefited from a Predoctoral fellowship of the Spanish Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad [BES-2013-062867] during the course of this study.

The dormice (Gliridae) are a family of rodents represented by relatively few extant species, though the family was much more species-rich during the Early Miocene. Intergeneric phylogenetic relationships among glirids in some cases remain unresolved, despite extensive molecular and morphological analyses. Uncertainty is greatest with respect to the relationships among fossil taxa and how extinct lineages are related to modern species. The fossil genus Hypnomys from the Balearic Islands (western Mediterranean Sea) includes the Late Pleistocene–Holocene species Hypnomys morpheus, which has variously been considered a close relative or subgenus of the extant Eliomys. In the present study, we sequenced ancient mitochondrial DNA from H. morpheus, which suggests a sister relationship with the extant members of Eliomys. In addition, the pairwise sequence variation between Hypnomys and Eliomys is higher than that observed between congeneric glirid species (e.g., many Graphiurus spp.), which allows us to reject the hypothesis that Hypnomys is a subgenus of Eliomys. Our molecular dating analyses suggest that Hypnomys and Eliomys diverged 13.67 million years ago (95% highest posterior density [HPD] = 7.39–20.07). The relatively early split between these genera together with the molar morphology of early representatives of Hypnomys points to a Middle-Late Miocene origin from a continental glirid with a complex molar pattern, such as Vasseuromys or a closely related genus., This research was supported by a Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship within the 7th European Community Framework Programme (project MEDITADNA, PIOF‐GA‐2011‐300854, FP7‐PEOPLE), and it is included in the Research Project CGL2016‐79795, [“Cambios holocénicos en la biodiversidad animal de las islas de la Macaronesia y de Baleares. II,” CGL2016‐80000‐P (Dirección General de Investigación Científica y Técnica, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad)] and SGR2017‐859 (AGAUR, Gencat).

Myotragus balearicus was the last living representative of an extinct caprine lineage endemic to the Balearic Islands (Western Mediterranean), which became extinct following the arrival of humans around 4300 years ago. The tribal attribution of Myotragus based on morphological analyses has been complicated due to its unusual morphological characteristics, though most studies agree on its inclusion within Caprini (also including modern sheep and goats). Analyses of short fragments of ancient mitochondrial DNA have suggested Ovis (comprising extant sheep) as sister taxon to Myotragus, although other authors have suggested alternative placements within Caprini using the same data. In the present study, we present a complete high-depth mitochondrial genome of M. balearicus, which allowed us to test the previously proposed Ovis/Myotragus clade and revealed a closer relationship between Myotragus and the takin (Budorcas taxicolor). The results of our molecular clock analyses suggested that the split between Myotragus and Budorcas occurred around 7.1 Mya, which is compatible with the arrival of the ancestor of Myotragus to the Balearic Islands during the Messinian Salinity Crisis (5.97–5.33 Mya). We also conducted a preliminary phylogeographic analysis of M. balearicus in Mallorca, which revealed weak spatial and temporal structure within the population during the Holocene., This research was supported by a Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship within the 7th European Community Framework Programme (project MEDITADNA, PIOF-GA-2011-300854, FP7-PEOPLE) (Pere Bover), and Australian Research Council Laureate and Discovery Project funding (Alan Cooper). This work is also integrated within the research project CGL2016–79795-R (Josep A. Alcover). Pere Bover has a research contract from the Fundación Agencia Aragonesa para la Investigación y el Desarrollo (ARAID)., No

[CA] Es presenta la col·lecció osteològica d’ocells actuals que es conserva a l’Institut Mediterrani d’Estudis Avançats (IMEDEA, CSIC- UIB) inclosa a la col·lecció de vertebrats de l’IMEDEA. La col·lecció osteològica d’ocells consta de 2.330 espècimens els registres dels quals estan publicats al GBIF i a Taxo&Map. Els espècimens registrats són esquelets complets, gairebé complets o parcials desarticulats, tots conservats en sec, provinents de diferents fonts: recol·leccions, donacions i intercanvis. La majoria dels exemplars han estat preparats a l’IMEDEA. Els registres que presentem han estat revisats i georeferenciats per publicar-los. Aquesta col·lecció, que està en creixement, conté actualment 411 espècies, principalment del Paleàrtic Occidental, de 83 famílies diferents., [EN] In this article we present the osteological collection of extant birds curated at the Institut Mediterrani d’Estudis Avançats (IMEDEA, CSIC-UIB). This collection is part of the general vertebrate collection of the IMEDEA. It includes 2,330 specimens available via GBIF and Taxo&Map. The collection consists of complete, near complete, and partially disarticulated skeletons, all preserved dry. The specimens are from various sources: collections, donations and exchanges. Most specimens were prepared at IMEDEA. All the records we present here have been reviewed and georeferenced for publication. The collection includes 411 species from 83 families, most of them from the Western Palearctic., [ES] En este artículo se presenta la colección osteológica de aves actuales que se conserva en el Instituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados (IMEDEA, CSIC-UIB), incluida en la colección de vertebrados del IMEDEA. La colección osteológica de aves consta de 2.330 especímenes cuyos registros están publicados en GBIF y Taxo&Map. Los especímenes registrados son esqueletos completos, casi completos o parciales desarticulados, todos conservados en seco, procedentes de diferentes fuentes: recolecciones, donaciones e intercambios. La mayoría de los ejemplares han sido preparados en el IMEDEA. Los registros que presentamos han sido revisados y georreferenciados para su publicación. Esta colección, que está en crecimiento, contiene actualmente 411 especies, principalmente del Paleártico Occidental, de 83 familias diferentes., Aquest treball és una contribució al Projecte CGL2016-79795-R finançat per l’Agència Estatal d’Investigació (Ministeri d’Economia, Indústria i Competitivitat)/Fons Europeu de Desenvolupament Regional (FEDER).

Insular gigantism—evolutionary increases in body size from small-bodied mainland ancestors—is a conceptually significant, but poorly studied, evolutionary phenomenon. Gigantism is widespread on Mediterranean islands, particularly among fossil and extant dormice. These include an extant giant population of Eliomys quercinus on Formentera, the giant Balearic genus †Hypnomys and the exceptionally large †Leithia melitensis of Pleistocene Sicily. We quantified patterns of cranial and mandibular shape and their relationships to head size (allometry) among mainland and insular dormouse populations, asking to what extent the morphology of island giants is explained by allometry. We find that gigantism in dormice is not simply an extrapolation of the allometric trajectory of their mainland relatives. Instead, a large portion of their distinctive cranial and mandibular morphology resulted from the population- or species-specific evolutionary shape changes. Our findings suggest that body size increases in insular giant dormice were accompanied by the evolutionary divergence of feeding adaptations. This complements other evidence of ecological divergence in these taxa, which span predominantly faunivorous to herbivorous diets. Our findings suggest that insular gigantism involves context-dependent phenotypic modifications, underscoring the highly distinctive nature of island faunas., JJH is funded by a PhD studentship from the Hull York Medical School. The European Federation of Experimental Morphology provided additional funding enabling the necessary visits to museum collections throughout Europe. Funding was also provided by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program 2014–2018 under grant agreement 677774 (European Research Council [ERC] Starting Grant: TEMPO) to RBJB. The contribution of ET and JAA is a part of the Research Project CGL2016-79795-R funded by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad)/Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER).

The original bird fauna of most oceanic islands has been affected by recent extinction processes associated with human arrival and its subsequent impacts. In the volcanic Macaronesian archipelagos (Azores, Madeira, Selvagens, Canary Islands and Cape Verde), in the North Atlantic, the Late Quaternary fossil record indicates that there was formerly a higher avian diversity, including a high number of now extinct endemic species. This assemblage of extinct birds includes endemic insular quails (Galliformes: Phasianidae). In this study, we describe three newly discovered extinct species of quails, two of which inhabited the archipelago of Madeira (Coturnix lignorum sp. nov. from Madeira Island and Coturnix alabrevis sp. nov. from Porto Santo Island) and one from Cape Verde (Coturnix centensis sp. nov.). The fossil record also indicates the presence of additional species of extinct endemic quails on other Macaronesian islands. These birds plus the extinct Canary Island quail (Coturnix gomerae) indicate a high former endemic diversity of this genus in Macaronesia, a feature unique among oceanic archipelagos. Anatomical traits show that the new taxa were flightless ground dwellers, making them vulnerable to human interference, with their extinction being linked to human arrival and subsequent habitat alterations and the introduction of invasive species., This research was supported by project CGL2016-79795-R, ‘Cambios holocénicos en la biodiversidad animal de las islas de la Macaronesia y de Baleares. II', funded by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad)/Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Económico y Regional.

In this paper, we refine the colonisation timeframe of pine marten (Martes martes) and Algerian hedgehog (Atelerix algirus) to the Balearic Islands synthesising their occurrence records and providing an accurate chronology through new directly 14C dated archaeological bone samples. The new dates are significantly earlier than previously reported finds; therefore, both cases currently represent the earliest records for the human-mediated translocation of these species in Europe. These new data not only provide further accurate resolution for previous historical translocation hypothesis but also expand the geographical scope throughout the archipelago. The sequence and timing of introduction events are embedded in different historical timeframes. The time of arrival of the pine marten is now established in the early Roman period, a period that supported a huge wave of introduced alien species into the Balearics. For the Algerian hedgehog, the new records further support the hypothesis that the Almohads were responsible for its introduction to these islands. Both examples illustrate how important it is to connect past translocation records to tighter radiometric chronologies through direct dating on bones of the implicated species., This work was funded by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad/Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) as part of the research project: ‘Cambios holocénicos en la biodiversidad animal de las islas de la Macaronesia y de Baleares. II (CGL2016-79795-R)’. AV was funded by the postdoctoral contract Vicenç Mut postdoctoral fellowship (CAIB PD/022/2019). The archaeological excavation carried out in So na Caçana has been financed by the Consell Insular de Menorca.

The Late Quaternary fossil record indicates that formerly in the North Atlantic volcanic Macaronesian archipelagos (Azores, Madeira, Selvagens, Canary Islands, and Cape Verde) there was a higher avian diversity, including numerous now extinct species. Currently, only three gadfly petrels (genus Pterodroma) remain in two archipelagos: the Fea's petrel, Pt. feae, in Cape Verde (islands of Santiago, Fogo, Santo Antão, and São Nicolau); the Zino's petrel of Madeira, Pt. madeira, on the island of Madeira; and the Desertas petrel, Pt. deserta, on the islet of Bugio (Desertas Islands, Madeira Archipelago). Herein we describe the former distribution of the genus in Macaronesia based on the palaeontological record. However, the original specific diversity cannot be accurately established through the biometry of their fossil bones but the fossil record of Pterodroma in Macaronesia indicates: (i) its former presence in all Macaronesian archipelagos; (ii) the extinction of at least 16 island populations (73% of its original distribution on these islands); and (iii) the extinction of, at least, one species from Azores, here named Pterodroma zinorum sp. nov.. Radiocarbon dates indicate than this species was still alive at sometime among 1104 and 1672 CE, documenting its extinction in the last millennium., This paper is a result of the Research Projects CGL2012-38087 and CGL2016-79795R, ‘Cambios holocénicos en la biodiversidad animal de las islas de la Macaronesia y de Baleares I and II’ funded by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad) Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Económico y Regional (Dirección General de Investigación Científica y Técnica, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad). In addition, J.C.R. was funded by a research grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, and the European Regional Development Fund (PID2022-140091NB-I00)., Peer reviewed