Browsing by Subject "Mesowear"

The Miocene epoch (c. 23-5 million years ago) was a noteworthy geological time period in which significant changes took place both in the climate regimes as well as in vegetation characteristics, bringing about novel adaptations in many herbivorous lineages. These adaptations constituted morphological, dietary, and ecological factors in a relatively short period of evolutionary time. Among these herbivores were the proboscideans, the living and extinct elephants, which were among the most dominant and largest herbivores at the time. Despite that proboscideans were diverse and large group of hundreds of species, yet the understanding of dietary and ecological patterns of majority of Miocene sympatric species is still limited. The aim of this study was to analyse the molar surfaces of Miocene proboscideans (e.g. Deinotherium and Gomphotherium) from Eurasia to provide a reconstruction of the feeding preferences of the study species based on observed dental wear. The dental wear indicates the abrasiveness of the diet, thus allowing broad categorization to either browser (<10% grass in the diet), mixed-feeder (10-90% grass in the diet) or grazer (>90% grass in the diet). Secondly, this study aimed for providing estimation of the environmental characteristic and vegetation patterns of the study localities by comparing to the previous studies and to hypsodonty value (proxy of general openness and aridity of the environment). Proboscidean dietary signals from the key localities of Maragheh (Iran) and Pannonian basin (Austria) were compared with the paleobotanical studies. Thus, the general estimation of spatial and temporal variation of the environment characteristics in the study localities were based on these parameters. The materials of fossilized molars were analysed by mesowear angle method, in which the measured angles show the diet abrasiveness due the nutritional targets’ differences. The results allowed the reconstruction of the feeding preferences which suggested that majority of Miocene proboscideans were browsers and browse-dominated mixed feeders or pure mixed-feeders. Instead, Choerolophodon pentelici was found grass-dominant mixed-feeder. The wide spectrum of feeding preferences allowed diet flexibility according available vegetation and also these sympatric species to co-exist by niche partitioning. Thus, demonstrating clearly the connection between diets and environments thought the diet. As a conclusion, in the diet of the paleocommunities of proboscideans had, on average, more grass-dominant components in open and dry environment likely due the presence of grass-dominant vegetation. Instead, in the wet conditions the closed-canopy forest environments enhanced browsing. Further, the results indicated shift in feeding preferences of proboscideans prior to Miocene climate and environment changes. These results are in line with the findings of the previous studies of modern elephants’ diet- environment relationships. The further studies would provide insight to the relative amounts of the grass in the diet of Miocene proboscideans.