28-11-2024
A new study conducted by researchers from NOVA FCT, the Lourinhã Museum, and the University of Coruña (Spain) has reviewed the oldest animal remains from this period found in Portugal and unveiled a new site over half a million years old. While the small vertebrate material from the Morgadinho site (Tavira), discovered in 1984, could not be relocated or reexamined, it was possible to review material from the Algoz site (Silves), which is housed in the Geological Museum of Lisbon.
"The material belongs to two extinct deer species. The first, known as Metacervocerus rhenanus, resembles a modern fallow deer, and the second belongs to the genus Eucladoceros, a deer with very distinctive, bush-like antlers," explains Darío Estraviz-López, the study's lead author, a PhD student in Geology at NOVA FCT, and a researcher at the Lourinhã Museum. "In addition to these deer, remains of a now-extinct hippopotamus species, larger than modern hippos, and fragments of a hare or rabbit were also found at Algoz."
Alongside these findings, the study introduced a new Lower Pleistocene site, Santa Margarida, located in the municipality of Loulé. This site contains remains of small vertebrates, such as mice and shrews. Although small animals, they are often even more crucial than large ones for determining the age of fossil sites. Thanks to these remains, researchers discovered that this site dates back approximately one million years. "We found two rodent species never before identified in Portugal, typical of the Lower Pleistocene, confirming the significant age of this site," adds Darío Estraviz-López.
Numerous Ice Age animal remains (from the Pleistocene period, covering the last two and a half million years) have been discovered in Portugal. However, the vast majority are from the more recent part of this period, within the last 120,000 years. The older part of the Pleistocene, known as the Lower Pleistocene, spans from 2.5 million to 758,000 years ago. This period is well-documented in the eastern Iberian Peninsula, with globally significant sites such as Atapuerca and Orce. However, it remains a mystery in Portugal and the western Iberian Peninsula, with very few known sites from this age.
These discoveries help fill gaps in the knowledge of the Pleistocene in Portugal and will serve as a foundation for future research.
