Middle Pleistocene (Early Toringian) Carnivore Remains from Northern Israel

Authors:
  • ETEitan Tchernov
    Eitan Tchernov
  • ETEvangelia Tsoukala
    Evangelia Tsoukala
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Abstract
Seventy well-preserved fossil remains from deposits of an eroded karstic cave in the Upper Galilee of northern Israel includeUrsus deningeri(Ursidae),Canis lupuscf.mosbachensis(Canidae),Crocuta crocuta cf. praespelaea(Hyaenidae),Panthera leocf.spelaea(Felidae), andDamasp. (Cervidae). This assemblage probably dates to the Early Toringian (MQ2, Middle Pleistocene).Ursus deningeriandPanthera leo cf. spelaeahave never before been recorded south of the Taurus–Zagros mountain chain. We correlate the carnivore faunule with some Near Eastern and southern Levantine sites and assume that only a severe cold phase could have shifted these species over the Taurus–Zagros mountain chain this far to the south. Due to the relative scarcity of Middle Pleistocene assemblages, especially carnivores, in the southern Levant, the biogeographic connection between the southern Levant and the Near East is still not well known. This faunule elucidates Pleistocene biotic exchanges between Europe and the Levant during this period.

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