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The Fossil Record of Continental Elephants and Mammoths (Mammalia: Proboscidea: Elephantidae) in Greece

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Fossil Vertebrates of Greece Vol. 1

Abstract

The proboscidean family Elephantidae has an extensive fossil record in Greece that spans geochronologically from the latest Pliocene to the Late Pleistocene. Five continental species are recognised, four of which are classified in the genus Mammuthus and one in Palaeoloxodon. Palaeoloxodon antiquus is the most common species in terms of number of localities and abundance of fossil specimens. It is present in faunas of Middle and Late Pleistocene age. Mammuthus has a wider biostratigraphic span that covers the whole temporal range of the family in Greece. It is commonly represented by the species Mammuthus meridionalis, which occurs frequently in Lower Pleistocene deposits. Scarce mammoth samples with more primitive morphology are referred to Mammuthus ex gr. rumanus. Remains of the Middle and Late Pleistocene mammoth species, Mammuthus trogontherii and Mammuthus cf. primigenius, respectively, are also infrequent finds, consistent with their cold climatic adaptations that did not favour their expansion to southern regions of Europe. Noteworthy specimens of the Greek fossil record are four skeletons of Palaeoloxodon antiquus (in Amýntaio, Perdíkkas, Grevená, and Marathousa 1) and one of Mammuthus trogontherii (in Loussiká). The new elephantid species or subspecies erected in the past on samples from Greek localities are considered herein as unavailable or invalid.

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Acknowledgments

S. Roussiakis and G. Lyras (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), G. Konidaris (Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen), and E. Tsoukala (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) are thanked for providing access to fossil samples and for useful discussions on species distributions. L. Bellucci helped with hard-to-find Italian literature. G. Konidaris and R. Rabinovich reviewed the original manuscript, making significant comments and remarks, which essentially improved the content of this chapter.

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  1. Ephorate of Palaeoanthropology–Speleology, Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports, Athens, Greece

    Athanassios Athanassiou

  2. Museum of Paleontology and Geology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Athanassios Athanassiou

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  1. Athanassios Athanassiou
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Correspondence to Athanassios Athanassiou .

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  1. Museo Paleontólogico Egidio Feruglio, CONICET, Trelew, Argentina

    Evangelos Vlachos

Appendix

Appendix

List of Greek localities with known occurrences of fossil elephants and mammoths (including some highly tentative ones), arranged in approximate geochronological order. The cited ages are in most cases broadly estimated, based on associated faunas (if any) and the current biostratigraphic framework. The taxonomic identification follows the present revision. Locality numbers refer to the collection numbers of the PaleoBiology Database (PBDB)

LocalitiesPBDB No

Age (biozone or chronometric dating)

Taxon

Angítis204391

Late Pleistocene (34–28 ka)

Mammuthus cf. primigenius1

aPeniós Valley204397

Late Pleistocene (45–30 ka)

Palaeoloxodon antiquus2

Kalamákia Cave184245

Late Pleistocene (100–40 ka)

Palaeoloxodon antiquus3

Phílippi204747

Late Pleistocene

Mammuthus cf. primigenius4

Tsákoni204402

Late Pleistocene

cf. Palaeoloxodon antiquus5

Peniós estuary

Late Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus6

Póros (Kephallenía)204403

early Late Pleistocene (104 ka)

Palaeoloxodon antiquus7

bÍssoma204546

late Middle (–Late?) Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus8, *

Íssoma KYT

late Middle (–Late?) Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus*

Symbolí204807

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus9

Xeriás182679

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus10

Ravin de l’éléphant204549

Middle–Late Pleistocene

cf. Palaeoloxodon antiquus4,11,*

Philótas

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus*

Pétres

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus10,12

Amýntaio204550

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus13

Sotíras182678

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus10

Néa Kómi204754

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus14,*

Perdíkkas204753

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus10,15

Pentávryssos

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Elephantidae indet.16, *

Ptolemaís204552

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus17

Allatíni

Middle–Late Pleistocene

?Palaeoloxodon sp.18

Trílophos204743

Middle–Late Pleistocene

?Palaeoloxodon sp.18

Epanomí204744

Middle–Late Pleistocene

?Palaeoloxodon sp.18

Petrálona Cave183123

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Elephantidae indet.*

Kalonéri182677

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus10

cTsotýli

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus19

Siátista

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus20

Terpsithéa182680

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus10

Mesorráchi

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Elephantidae indet.21

Chálki

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus22

Néa Léfki182681

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus10

Límni (Euboea)

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus20

Trichonía

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus20

Patras204554

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus23

Nissí204555

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus24,*

Canal of Corinth204553

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus23

Roupáki204556

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus25

Símiza

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus*

Kálymnos34770

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus26

Apídima Cave C32082

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Elephantidae indet.27

Cape Cheládi, Kýthera204298

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus28

Alivéri

Middle–Late Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus*

Ambélia (Grevená)204557

late Middle Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus29

Phílippi204749

Middle Pleistocene

Mammuthus trogontherii4

Sotíras182678

Middle Pleistocene

Mammuthus trogontherii4,18

Lágoura (Néo Kostarázi)204558

Middle Pleistocene

Elephantidae indet.30

Tsotýli204751

Middle Pleistocene

Mammuthus cf. trogontherii4

Megálo Monastíri204560

Middle Pleistocene

Elephantidae indet.31

Megalópolis Basin (undefined sites)182721

Middle Pleistocene

Elephantidae indet.32

Marathoúsa 1187637

Middle Pleistocene (0.48–0.42 Ma)

Palaeoloxodon antiquus33

Kyparíssia 1194472

Middle Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus34

Kyparíssia 3194474

Middle Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus34

Kyparíssia 4194475

Middle Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus34

dKalývia Karyón

Middle Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus35

eLéfktro

Middle Pleistocene

Palaeoloxodon antiquus36

Leontári

Middle Pleistocene?

Elephantidae indet.37

Loussiká204561

early Middle Pleistocene

Mammuthus trogontherii38

Polýlakkos

early Middle Pleistocene?

Mammuthus trogontherii18

Apollonía34784

latest Early Pleistocene (MNQ19)

Mammuthus meridionalis39

Kalamotó-1200083

latest Early Pleistocene (MNQ19)

Mammuthus meridionalis40

Kalamotó-2200084

latest Early Pleistocene (MNQ19)

Mammuthus meridionalis40

Platanochóri-1204658

latest Early Pleistocene (MNQ19)

Elephantidae indet.41

Kapetánios34781

Early Pleistocene (MNQ19)

Mammuthus meridionalis42

Libákos34764

Early Pleistocene (MNQ19)

Mammuthus meridionalis42

Halykés34782

Early Pleistocene (MNQ19)

Elephantidae indet.43

Tsiótra Vrýssi

Early Pleistocene (MNQ18–19)

Mammuthus meridionalis44

Gerakaroú34617

Early Pleistocene (MNQ18)

Mammuthus meridionalis45

Polýlakkos34763

Early Pleistocene (MNQ18?)

Mammuthus cf. meridionalis43

Sésklo34614

Early Pleistocene (MNQ17)

Mammuthus meridionalis44

Vaterá-DS183344

Early Pleistocene (MNQ17)

Mammuthus cf. meridionalis46

Vaterá-U183346

Early Pleistocene (MNQ17)

Mammuthus cf. meridionalis46

Symbolí204808

Early Pleistocene

Mammuthus meridionalis9,*

Phílippi204750

Early Pleistocene

Mammuthus meridionalis4

Epanomí204660

Early Pleistocene

Mammuthus cf. meridionalis47

fKípi204933

Early Pleistocene

Mammuthus cf. meridionalis48

Peponiá

Early Pleistocene

Mammuthus meridionalis49

Tsotýli

Early Pleistocene

Mammuthus meridionalis18

Trapezítsa

Early Pleistocene

Elephantidae indet.*

Q-Profil34812

Early Pleistocene

Mammuthus cf. meridionalis43

Ioánnina204740

Early Pleistocene

Mammuthus meridionalis50

Giáltra204804

Early Pleistocene

Mammuthus meridionalis51

Reghínio204661

Early Pleistocene

Mammuthus cf. meridionalis52

Zéli

Early Pleistocene?

Mammuthus sp.*

Lefkóchoma204741

Early Pleistocene

Elephantidae indet.53

Vlachiótis204742

Early Pleistocene

Mammuthus meridionalis54

Antimáchia207130

Early Pleistocene

Mammuthus meridionalis55

Kardámaena204662

Early Pleistocene

Mammuthus meridionalis56

Almyrí

Early Pleistocene

Mammuthus meridionalis56

Límni (Vromonéra)204934

Pleistocene

Elephantidae indet.57

Tsotýli204400

late Pliocene

Mammuthus ex gr. rumanus4,58,*

Kardiá204752

late Pliocene

Mammuthus ex gr. rumanus4,*

  1. GPTS Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale, ELMA European Land Mammal Age, MNQ Mammal Neogene–Quaternary Zone
  2. aAlso mentioned as ‘Lárissa’ in old publications (e.g., Georgalas 1929; Paraskevaidis 1956)
  3. bAlso appears in the literature under the names ‘Hágios Ioánnis tis Vathiás Choúnis’ (e.g., Bürchner 1903; Melentis 1961) and ‘Grána tou Skoufou’ (Theodorou 2014)
  4. cAccording to the sketchy map provided by Melentis (1966b), this locality is rather in the area of Kalonéri or Polýlakkos, than Tsotýli
  5. dAlso appears in the literature as ‘Musaklá’ (Bürchner 1903; Melentis 1961)
  6. eReported as ‘Biláli’ in the original publication
  7. fThis locality name is recorded here for the first time, as in the original publication it was referred to vaguely as ‘Neápolis area’
  8. *This study
  9. 1Koufos (1981), 2Boessneck in Milójčić et al. (1965), Athanassiou (2001, 2011), 3Harvati et al. (2013), 4Koulidou (2013), 5Athanassiou (2004), 6Paraskevaidis (1977), 7Theodorou et al. (2018), Athanassiou et al. (2019), 8Melentis (1961, 1963), Theodorou (2014), 9Melentis (1966a), 10Tsoukala et al. (2011), 11de Bonis et al. (1973), 12Velitzelos and Schneider (1973), 13Kevrekidis and Mol (2016), 14Mitzopoulos (1967), 15Poulianos (1986), 16Stratigopoulos (2008), 17Astre (1966), 18Marinos (1964), 19Melentis (1966b), 20Georgalas (1929), 21reported anonymously in the local newspaper ‘Mikrá’, number 305, June 6, (1907), 22Schneider (1968), 23Depéret (1913), 24Agiadi and Theodorou (2005), 25Athanassiou (2000), 26Masseti (2006), 27Tsoukala (1999), 28Kuss (1967), Athanassiou et al. (2019), 29Tsoukala and Lister (1998), 30Harvati et al. (2008), 31Runnels and van Andel (1993), 32Sickenberg (1976), 33Konidaris et al. (2018), 34Athanassiou (2018), 35Melentis (1961, 1963), 36Melentis (1965), 37Mitzopoulos et al. (1862), 38Athanassiou (2012), 39Konidaris et al. (2020), 40Tsoukala and Chatzopoulou (2005), 41Konidaris et al. (2015), 42Steensma (1988), 43Athanassiou (1998), 44Konidaris et al. (2016), 45Athanassiou and Kostopoulos (2001), 46de Vos et al. (2002), 47Athanassiou and Kostopoulos (2010), 48Athanassiou (2006b), 49Hilber (1894), 50Melentis (1960), 51Psarianos and Thenius (1954), 52Athanassiou (2006a), 53Symeonidis (1970), 54Symeonidis and Theodorou (1986), 55Forsyth Major (1887), Airaghi (1928), Desio (1931), 56Desio (1931), Charrier and Giglio (1969), 57Paraskevaidis (1956), 58Kostopoulos and Koulidou (2015)

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Athanassiou, A. (2022). The Fossil Record of Continental Elephants and Mammoths (Mammalia: Proboscidea: Elephantidae) in Greece. In: Vlachos, E. (eds) Fossil Vertebrates of Greece Vol. 1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68398-6_13

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