diet of Myotragus balearicus Bate 1909 (Artiodactyla: Caprinae), an extinct bovid from the Balearic Islands: evidence from coprolites

Myotragus balearicus Bate 1909 is an artiodactyl Caprinae endemic to the Balearic Islands which became extinct more than 4000 years ago. Coprolites produced by this species have been collected from the excavation of Holocene cave sediments in Cova Estreta (Serra de Tramuntana, Mallorca). The pollen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBiological journal of the Linnean Society Vol. 66; no. 1; pp. 57 - 74
Main Authors ALCOVER, JOSEP ANTONI, PEREZ-OBIOL, RAMON, YLL, ERRIKARTA-IMANOL, BOVER, PERE
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 1999
Subjects
alkaloids
Artiodactyla
Buxus
Buxus balearica
cave sediments
diet
fossil ruminants
Holocene
pollen
sediments
Balearic Islands
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Summary:Myotragus balearicus Bate 1909 is an artiodactyl Caprinae endemic to the Balearic Islands which became extinct more than 4000 years ago. Coprolites produced by this species have been collected from the excavation of Holocene cave sediments in Cova Estreta (Serra de Tramuntana, Mallorca). The pollen content of several samples of coprolites has been studied in order to determine the diet of Myotragus. Myotragus balearicus from Cova Estreta was a browser, and consumed huge amounts of box, Buxus balearica, a plant known for its high content of steroidal alkaloids. The coprolites are very fine textured, probably due to the result of a very efficient digestive process.
Bibliography:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8312.1999.tb01917.x
ArticleID:BIJ57
ark:/67375/WNG-215HPKNJ-V
istex:A47BFA0D84F40C9178ECB50E1F3585D96B575E2E
ISSN:0024-4066
1095-8312
DOI:10.1111/j.1095-8312.1999.tb01917.x