Coudoulous I (Faunal Unit III)
Basic information
Sample name: Coudoulous I (Faunal Unit III)

Reference: P. Fernandez, M. Jeannet, J. Jaubert, and J.-P. Brugal. 2021. Paleoecological first results on the Middle Pleistocene sequence of Coudoulous I (Quercy, Lot, France). Alpine and Mediterranean Quaternary 34(1):89-107 [ER 3857]
Geography
Country: France


Coordinate: 44° 28' 20" N, 1° 39' 50" E
Coordinate basis: stated in text

Time interval: Middle Pleistocene

Max Ma: 0.229

Min Ma: 0.1613

Age basis: other

Geography comments: "in the Quercy area... at the junction of the river LOt and its tributary, the Célé"
the entire faunal sequence is bracketed by an ESR/U-series date of 161.3 +/- 14 kyr at the top and two U/Th dates of 229 + 78 - 42 and 202 + 78 - 39 kyr at the base

Environment
Lithology: claystone

Taphonomic context: cave,human accumulation,pitfall trap

Archaeology: stone tools

Habitat comments: a pitfall trap with fossils from "clays, sands, angular limestone rocks"
there is a "very rich archaeological level" immediately above the fossiliferous sequence that dates to the "Early Middle Paleolithic" and there are "scarce and dispersed artefacts of the same age" in the fossiliferous levels
the site "was used for marginal scavenging by Lower Paleolithic hominid groups and as a kill-butchery site during the EMP", so it is at least partially a human accumulation
from stratigraphic units 6a, 7a, 7a', and 7b
there is apparently no sandstone in this interval, so the fossils are presumably from clays

Methods
Life forms: bats,carnivores,rodents,ungulates,other small mammals,lizards,snakes,frogs,salamanders

Sampling methods: quarry,screenwash

Sample size: 3673 specimens

Years: 1994 - 2003

Sampling comments: there was a "rescue excavation" in 1978 - 1980, but the main excavation was between 1994 and 2003
the high abundance of micromammals is taken to mean that screening was used

Metadata
Sample number: 4224

Contributor: John Alroy

Enterer: John Alroy

Created: 2023-04-14 17:42:54

Modified: 2023-04-14 07:49:18

Abundance distribution
73 species
16 singletons
total count 3673
geometric series index: 111.7
Fisher's α: 12.911
geometric series k: 0.9090
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.8835
Shannon's H: 2.7809
Good's u: 0.9956
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
Register
Microtus arvalis959
Microtus agrestis284
Stenocranius gregalis234
"Microtus gregalis"
Alexandromys oeconomus3936.5 g
"Microtus oeconomus"
Microtus brecciensis77
Microtus multiplex54
Microtus gerbii39
"Microtus pyrenaicus"
Microtus subterraneus51
Myodes glareolus82
"Clethrionomys glareolus"
Lemmus lemmus1
Pliomys lenki26
Arvicola amphibius4
"Arvicola terrestris"
Arvicola cantiana33
Allocricetus bursae146
Apodemus sylvaticus599
Apodemus flavicollis6
Apodemus uralensis47
Eliomys quercinus202
Muscardinus avellanarius8
Erinaceus davidi2
Talpa europaea10
Talpa minor1
Sorex araneus7
Sorex minutus8
Sorex minutissimus6
Crocidura russula5
Oryctolagus cuniculus82.5 kg browser-grazer
Lepus europaeus33.4 kg herbivore
Lepus timidus2
Ochotona pusilla9
Myotis myotis125.7 g
Myotis capaccinii110.0 g
Pipistrellus pipistrellus14.4 g insectivore
Barbastella barbastellus28.0 g insectivore
Plecotus auritus17.6 g
Salamandra salamandra2
Bombina variegata1
Bufo bufo2
Bufo calamita7
Bufo viridis3
Hyla arborea1
Rana dalmatina6
Rana temporaria3
Lacerta viridis4
Podarcis cf. muralis2
Anguis fragilis7
Coronella austriaca2
Coronella girondica1
Malpolon monspessulanus1
Natrix maura2
Natrix natrix1
Vipera berus3
Cervus elaphus88104 kg
Dama dama462 kg
Capreolus capreolus1722 kg browser
Bison priscus51
compared to subspecies mediator
Equus cf. mosbachensis30
Hemitragus cedrensis48
Palaeoloxodon antiquus3
Stephanorhinus cf. hemitoechus7
Rupicapra sp.1
Sus scrofa154 kg herbivore
Canis lupus lupus21443 kg carnivore
Cuon alpinus514 kg carnivore
Vulpes vulpes95.3 kg carnivore-insectivore
Felis silvestris14.5 kg carnivore
Lynx lynx716 kg carnivore
Panthera spelaea56
Ursus arctos56156 kg frugivore-carnivore
Panthera pardus133 kg carnivore
Mustela nivalis6077.5 g carnivore
Mustela putorius1681 g carnivore
Meles meles711 kg invertivore-herbivore