PREY SELECTION BY TERRESTRIAL CARNIVORES IN A LOWER PLEISTOCENE PALEOCOMMUNITY

We report quantitative paleoecologic data on the large mammal assembla ge preserved in lower Pleistocene deposits at Venta Micena (Orce, Gran ada, southeastern Spain). Taphonomic studies show that bones were coll ected mainly by hyaenids, which transported and deposited them near sh allow dens. Differential fragmentation of major long bones was produce d by hyaenas as a function of their density and marrow content. Strong selection of prey by carnivores-which preferentially killed juveniles , females, and individuals with diminished locomotor capabilities amon g ungulate prey species of larger body size-is indicated by (1) the ab undance of remains of juvenile ungulates in relation to the average we ight of adult individuals in each species, (2) attritional mortality p rofiles for ungulate species deduced from crown height measurements, ( 3) the presence of many metapodials with different osteopathologies in their epiphyses, such as arthrosis, and (4) a biased intersexual rati o of large bovids, Comparison of the frequencies with which modern Afr ican carnivores kill and scavenge ungulates from various size classes with the abundance of these size categories in the assemblage suggests that the Venta Micena hyaena (Pachycrocuta brevirostris) was a bone-c racking scavenger that fed largely on carcasses of ungulates preyed up on and partially consumed by fresh meat-eating carnivores such us sabe r-toothed felids (Homotherium latidens and Megantereon whitei) and wil d dogs (Canis falconeri).