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Article

Open Access

Pleistocene Birds of Gruta da Furninha (Peniche-Portugal): A Paleontological and Paleoenvironmental Aproach

Author(s)

Silvério Domingues Figueiredo^{1, 2, 3}, Pedro Proença Cunha ⁴, Fernanda Sousa², Telmo Pereira⁵ and Américo Rosa²

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DOI:10.17265/2162-5298/2017.10.003

Affiliation(s)

1. Polytechnic Institute of Tomar, Quinta do Contador, Estrada da Serra 2300-313, Tomar, Portugal
2. Portuguese Center of Geo-History and Prehistory, Largo de São Caetano, Golega 2150-265, Portugal
3. Geosciences Center—Univ. of Coimbra, Rua Sílvio Lima, Univ. Coimbra, Coimbra 3030-790, Portugal
4. MARE—Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Department of Earth Sciences, Coimbra University, Rua Sílvio Lima, Coimbra 3030-790, Portugal
5. ICArEHB—Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour Human and Social Sciencies Faculty, University of Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal

ABSTRACT

The cave-site of Gruta da Furninha is a coastal karstic cavity. In the late 19th century, excavation of the sedimentary infill of the cave allowed the identification of two lithostratigraphic units: a Holocene one dominated by sands, containing human bones and a Neolithic industry; and a Late Pleistocene one, containing a diverse set of fossils set and Paleolithic artifacts. This study mainly focuses on taphonomic and palaeoenvironmental data concerning the Pleistocene bird bones that were collected from six layers (at 11 m and 6.7 m asl). A main result of this study was the discovery of a left humerus fragment, with osteological features of the Alcidae family; from comparison with upper arms of distinct species of this family, it was concluded that this fossil belongs to Penguin impennis. The Pleistocene birds of the Furninha cave were also compared with the avifauna that currently occurs in the region of Peniche peninsula and a climate and environmental interpretation of the Pleistocene fossiliferous set is provided.

KEYWORDS

Birds, Pleistocene, marine caves, Portugal.

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References

Pleistocene Birds of Gruta da Furninha (Peniche-Portugal): A Paleontological and Paleoenvironmental Aproach

Silvério Domingues Figueiredo1, 2, 3, Pedro Proença Cunha 4, Fernanda Sousa2, Telmo Pereira5 and Américo Rosa2

Silvério Domingues Figueiredo^{1, 2, 3}, Pedro Proença Cunha ⁴, Fernanda Sousa², Telmo Pereira⁵ and Américo Rosa²