New vertebrate tracksites from the Last Interglacial dune deposits of coastal Murcia (southeastern Spain): ecological corridors for elephants in Iberia?

Abstract

Analysis of new vertebrate tracksites from the Last Interglacial (Marine Isotope Stage 5e) dune deposits along the southeastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula, specifically in Murcia, Spain, enabled to identify the likely presence of a medium-sized mustelid, wolf, large artiodactyls, an equid and the straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus. These eolianite successions offer valuable ichnological evidence beyond the traditional body fossil record, illuminating the presence and behaviors of several Pleistocene mammals in coastal dune and beach environments. Detailed fieldwork, geological mapping, digital photogrammetry, paleoenvironmental reconstruction and morphometric analyses provided ichnotaxonomic and behavioral ecology data from vertebrate tracks preserved in the oolitic dune systems at alblanque (Cartagena) and Torre de Cope (Aguilas). The mammalian ichnoassemblages reflect the proximity of a Last Interglacial mixed forest ecosystem on the coast of southeastern Iberia, with forest-adapted species thriving near coastal dunes stabilized by shrub vegetation. The presence of the track-inferred producers highlights a mosaic of habitats influenced by climate shifts toward more oceanic conditions during MIS 5. The straight-tusked elephant tracks suggest an episodic presence in the coast, possibly related to seasonal congregation or transit. Obtained evidence has been compared with other Pleistocene sites with straight-tusked elephants in Iberian Peninsula, pointing to the use of beaches and dune systems as travel corridors for this species during interglacials, likely associated to main Neanderthal site distribution.