Josep Antoni Alcover

• PhD
• Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies

The Late Quaternary fossil record indicates that formerly in the North Atlantic volcanic Macaronesian archipelagos (Azores, Madeira, Selvagens, Canary Islands, and Cape Verde) there was a higher avian diversity, including numerous now extinct species. Currently, only three gadfly petrels (genus Pterodroma) remain in two archipelagos: the Fea’s petr...

Le sud-est de la péninsule Ibérique concentre un certain nombre de grottes et d’abris, dans lesquels diverses occupations ont été documentées, qui permettent de reconstituer l´occupation des communautés de chasseurs-cueilleurs à la fin du Paléolithique supérieur. Au cours des dernières décennies, la révision du matériel archéologique et la fouille...

Islands have long been recognized as distinctive evolutionary arenas leading to morphologically divergent species, such as dwarfs and giants. We assessed how body size evolution in island mammals may have exacerbated their vulnerability, as well as how human arrival has contributed to their past and ongoing extinctions, by integrating data on 1231...

Book Review: Historia de la Vida a Mallorca - Apunts de Geologia i Paleontologia, del Doctor Bernat Morey Colomar (Edicions Documenta Balear, 2022, 237 pàgines) -un resum divulgatiu dels estudis científics dels darrers 200 anys sobre la història geològica de Mallorca.

Comparative studies on extinction scenarios are an invaluable contribution to enhance our understanding of their patterns and mechanisms underpinning them. This paper presents new radiocarbon dates based on specimens of five extinct mammal species from Mallorca and Sardinia. The new evidence permits to reanalyse the extinction dynamics on both isla...

In this paper, we refine the colonisation timeframe of pine marten (Martes martes) and Algerian hedgehog (Atelerix algirus) to the Balearic Islands synthesising their occurrence records and providing an accurate chronology through new directly ¹⁴C dated archaeological bone samples. The new dates are significantly earlier than previously reported fi...

Si les grandes îles de la Méditerranée occidentale, la Corse, la Sardaigne, la Sicile, ou encore Malte, sont bien connues, ainsi que les archipels les plus denses, comme les Baléares, ces terres sont loin d'épuiser les figures de l´insularité. La Méditerranée se caractérise en effet par ses innombrables îles mineures et ses îlots : pas moins d´un m...

Pioneering fieldwork identified the existence of three feeding groups in vultures: gulpers, rippers and scrappers. Gulpers engulf soft tissue from carcasses and rippers tear off pieces of tough tissue (skin, tendons, muscle), whereas scrappers peck on small pieces of meat they find on and around carcasses. It has been shown that these feeding prefe...

Cueva de Nerja has provided a diversified assemblage of birds. In this work the avian bones recovered at the Upper Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic levels in the excavations led by F. Jordá Cerdá is analyzed. The identification of 11 orders, including 14 families and 16 taxa, allows to link their variability with the paleoclimatology and pale...

Insular gigantism-evolutionary increases in body size from small-bodied mainland ancestors-is a conceptually significant, but poorly studied, evolutionary phenomenon. Gigantism is widespread on Mediterranean islands, particularly among fossil and extant dormice. These include an extant giant population of Eliomys quercinus on Formentera, the giant...

Viperinae is a subfamily of viperid snakes whose fossil record in the Mediterranean islands is, until now, restricted to 12 palaeontological deposits on seven islands. Revision of the material excavated 30 years ago from the Middle/Late Pleistocene–Holocene deposit of Es Pouàs [Eivissa (= Ibiza), Balearic Islands, western Mediterranean] revealed ab...

Es presenta la col·lecció osteològica d’ocells actuals que es conserva a l’Institut Mediterrani d’Estudis Avançats (IMEDEA, CSIC- UIB) inclosa a la col·lecció de vertebrats de l’IMEDEA. La col·lecció osteològica d’ocells consta de 2.330 espècimens els registres dels quals estan publicats al GBIF i a Taxo&Map. Els espècimens registrats són esquelets...

The original bird fauna of most oceanic islands has been affected by recent extinction processes associated with human arrival and its subsequent impacts. In the volcanic Macaronesian archipelagos (Azores, Madeira, Selvagens, Canary Islands and Cape Verde), in the North Atlantic, the Late Quaternary fossil record indicates that there was formerly a...

The dormice (Gliridae) are a family of rodents represented by relatively few extant species, though the family was much more species‐rich during the Early Miocene. Intergeneric phylogenetic relationships among glirids in some cases remain unresolved, despite extensive molecular and morphological analyses. Uncertainty is greatest with respect to the...

A palaeornithological assemblage from the early Pliocene of Mallorca (Balearic Islands) is documented on 583 fossil bones from Na Burguesa-1 site. Ten different taxa have been identified: two Tytonidae, one small-sized Strigidae, one Phasianidae, one Charadriiform, and at least five Passeriformes. The specimens included in the Tytonidae correspond...

Comprehensive list of the Bibliography on different Natural History topics of the Balearic Islands. Llista exhaustiva de treballs d'història natural sobre les Illes Balears

A new insular species of Paraethomys (Muridae, Rodentia) with medium-sized hypsodont teeth is described from the Zanclean of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, western Mediterranean). The m1 displays the most distinctive traits: hypsodonty, a high occurrence of an unusual anterior cingulum, a well-developed labial cingulum, high accessory labial cuspids r...

Presentation on the history of the discoveries of fossil vertebrates on the Pityusic Islands (Eivissa & Formentera) with a summary of the current state of knowledgement of prehuman vertebrates

Popular book on the fauna living in the Islands before the arrival of humans. llibre de divulgació sobre la fauna que vivia a les Balears abans de l'arribada dels humans

Insular ecosystems are sensitive to alien invasive species. The Balearic Islands have been colonized by a large list of invasive species, in most cases due to human activity. White-toothed shrews have been historically recorded in this archipelago and to date four different species have been found. In this study we focus on the white-toothed pygmy...

Llistat de la Bibliografia Naturalística de les Balears, S-Z

Bone breccia of the early Zanclean site Na Burguesa-1, Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Western Mediterranean. Note the skull of the giant hamster Apocricetus darderi from the insular MN14 (early Zanclean) fauna, closely related to the mainland MN13 (upper Messinian– early Zanclean) genera.

More than 40 yr after the discovery of salt giants buried below the Mediterranean deep basin floor, debate on the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) is still continuing about whether there was a large or only moderate drawdown in base level related to the deposition of deep evaporites during its peak. In this paper, we constrain the magnitude of this...

Continuació del llistat de Bibliografia Naturalística de les Balears

The red-toothed shrews (Soricinae) are the most widespread subfamily of shrews, distributed from northern South America to North America and Eurasia. Within this subfamily, the tribe Nectogalini includes the fossil species Nesiotites hidalgo recorded from the Late Pleistocene to Holocene of the Balearic Islands (Western Mediterranean). Although the...

Llistat Bibliografia Naturalística de les Balears, M-O

El conocimiento sobre las tortugas gigantes fósiles de Europa se ha incrementado considerablemente en los últimos años y ha comportado la descripción del género Titanochelon para incluir a las especies del Neógeno europeo. Sin embargo, la inclusión de la tortuga gigante de las Islas Baleares, “Testudo” gymnesica, en este género se ha llevado a cabo...

A new insular giant species of Apocricetus (M1 length > 4.22 mm, upper teeth row length > 10.90 mm) is described from dental, mandibular and cranial material recovered at the Na Burguesa-1 site (Mallorca, Balearic Islands, western Mediterranean), a Zanclean palaeokarst deposit chronologically close to the refilling of the Mediterranean after the Me...

Entre o final dos anos setenta e meados da década de 1990, um de nós (H. Pieper), em colaboração com o Museu de História Natural do Funchal e com Frank Zino, iniciou a exploração paleontológica da Madeira e, entre 2001 e 2003, dos Açores. Recentemente retomou-se a referida exploração e como resultado do trabalho desenvolvido obteve-se um grande núm...

Extinctions have altered island ecosystems throughout the late Quaternary. Here, we review the main historic drivers of extinctions on islands, patterns in extinction chronologies between islands, and the potential for restoring ecosystems through reintroducing extirpated species. While some extinctions have been caused by climatic and environmenta...

A new species of extinct bullfinch, Pyrrhula crassa n. sp., is described from bones found in Furna do Calcinhas, a small cave situated at Caldeira, a volcano located in the southeastern portion of the Graciosa Island (Azores archipelago, North Atlantic Ocean). It is the first extinct passerine bird to be described from this archipelago. Both skull...

A new anuran assemblage from the early Zanclean of Mallorca (Balearic Islands) is described using a set of 47 fossil bones obtained at the deposit of Na Burguesa-1, Mallorca. The assemblage includes four different anuran taxa: Alytes (Baleaphryne) aff. muletensis, Discoglossus sp., an indeterminate Bufonidae, and an indeterminate Ranidae. The recor...

The conquest of the Eastern Balearic Islands by the Romans produced a profound transformation of the native communities and of their economic system. Whereas several aspects of the local economy at that period are well known, the changes experienced in the patterns of production and consumption of livestock still remain to be deciphered. By studyin...

The significance of coastal areas to human survival and expansion on the planet is undeniable. Their ecological diversity and their use as communication routes are some of their most distinctive qualities. However, the evidence of exploitation of these resources has had an uneven preservation, which is limited to certain regions and more recent eve...

Myotragus balearicus (Artiodactyla, Caprinae) is an extinct caprine endemic of the Eastern Balearic Islands or Gymnesics (i.e., Mallorca, Menorca and surrounding islets, Western Mediterranean Sea). In spite of its small size, c. 50 cm height at the shoulder, it was the largest mammal inhabiting these islands until the human arrival, and it had pecu...

The archaeological record concerning the distribution and timing of fallow deer translocation across the Mediterranean has been growing in the last years. This knowledge has provided important insights into the movement, trade patterns and ideology of past societies. Unfortunately, the dispersal of fallow deer to the western part of the Mediterrane...

Cave sediments occasionally incorporate the remains of vertebrates than can fossilize, becoming important sources for the knowledge of past faunas. The fossil breccia can even survive the caves where originated and provide information about faunas dated to million years ago. The discovery of Na Burguesa-1 site in Mallorca (Balearic Islands) has pro...

The chronology of the extinction of the Balearic fossil bovid Myotragus balearicus in Mallorca and Menorca has been under discussion since its discovery in 1909, and especially in the last decades, thanks to the radiocarbon dates that have been obtained from several deposits of the island of Mallorca. Here, we present new radiocarbon dates of M. ba...

Among the different anthropogenic processes that affected the current distribution of the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis), the timing of the human-mediated translocations is rarely known. Here we present data derived from an archaeological specimen of E. orbicularis obtained at the Roman site of Pollentia (Mallorca, Balearic Islands) using...

In a recent paper, we described five new species of rails from the Macaronesian islands (Alcover et al., 2015). We proposed the name of Rallus minutus to designate the São Jorge rail. One day after its publication, Fred Ruhe (via e-mail) pointed out to us that the name was preoccupied, making Rallus minutus Alcover, Pieper, Pereira & Rando 2015 a p...

Five new species of recently extinct rails from two Macaronesian archipelagoes (Madeira and Azores) are described. All the species are smaller in size than their presumed ancestor, the European rail Rallus aquaticus. Two species inhabited the Madeira archipelago: (1) Rallus lowei n. sp., the stouter of the species described herein, was a flightless...

Until very recently, most ancient DNA studies have focused on samples found in Northern regions since cold environments preserve DNA integrity. However, new advances in the recovery of DNA from fossil samples, enrichment of libraries with particular endogenous genes, generation of million of DNA reads from Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) platforms...

We provide the first direct radiocarbon evidence of the introduction of two species of the genus Martes on two Western Mediterranean islands. The dated bones point to a Roman introduction of the Pine Marten (Martes martes) to Mallorca. The introduction of the Stone Marten (Martes foina) into Eivissa has been previous to eigth century AD. These resu...

Two different insular faunal episodes can be identified in the Miocene to Holocene fossil record of the Balearic Islands. A first episode (the so-called Gymnesicolagus faunal assemblage) has been related to the Langhian-Serravalian regression (middle Miocene) and is represented in several Mallorcan and Menorcan sites. A second episode, started with...

Research on the diet of barn owls on some of the lesser Pityusic Islands (Formentera, s’Espalmador and s’Espartar) reveals a previously undescribed opportunistic trophic behaviour based on regular foraging in patches of territory separated by relatively broad sea channels. Individually, small islets with reduced human influence do not usually provi...

Stomatal density of plants may vary depending on environmental factors, such as CO2 concentration. Under the current atmospheric conditions, it is expected that leaves have different stomatal density than they had hundreds or thousands of years ago, due to the rise in CO2 in the atmosphere. Coprolites of the extinct Myotragus balearicus from Cova E...

The Cova des Pas de Vallgornera is the longest cave of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Western Mediterranean) and one of the 30 longest caves in the world. The exploration of one of the galleries allowed the discovery of a fossiliferous deposit of vertebrate remains in a remarkable preservation state. The fossil faunal complex found in this gallery is...

The data set presented in this paper includes the fossil fauna collected in the cave named Cova des Pas de Vallgornera (CPV), located on the southern coast of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain). It holds 1481 catalogued items, 97.5% identified at species level. Mammalia, Aves, Reptilia, and Amphibia are represented in the Database. The fauna collec...

Owing to the catastrophic extinction events that occurred following the Holocene arrival of alien species, extant oceanic island biotas are a mixture of recently incorporated alien fauna and remnants of the original fauna. Knowledge of the Late Quaternary pristine island faunas and a reliable chronology of the earliest presence of alien species on...

Here we describe a new genus and species of Lacertidae, Maioricalacerta rafelinensis, gen. et sp. nov, a largesized lizard with amblyodont teeth from the early Pliocene (Zanclean) of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, western Mediterranean Sea). The presence of amblyodont teeth separates Maioricalacerta from recent species of Lacertidae. Maioricalacerta d...

The vertebrate fossil record from the Balearic Islands (western Mediterranean) has improved considerably over the past decade, especially in Mallorca and Menorca. In Menorca, the Pliocene terrestrial fauna was updated by the discovery and description of the large-sized leporid Nuralagus, several reptiles and an amphibian. In Mallorca, paleontologic...

Heinrich Event 3 (H3) is well documented in the North Atlantic Ocean as a cooling event that occurred ca. 31 000 years ago. Deep-sea cores around the Iberian Peninsula coastline have been analysed to characterize the H3 event, but there are no data on the terrestrial response to this event. Here we present for the first time an analysis of terrestr...

Heinrich Event 3 (H3) is well documented in the North Atlantic Ocean as a cooling event that occurred ca. 31 000 years ago. Deep-sea cores around the Iberian Peninsula coastline have been analysed to characterize the H3 event, but there are no data on the terrestrial response to this event. Here we present for the first time an analysis of terrestr...

Analysis of pellets of European Shags Phalacrocorax aristotelis desmarestii collected at a non-breeding roost site in southern Mallorca identified 36 species of fish prey, belonging to 27 genera and to 16 families. This diversity is higher than in the diet of P. a. aristotelis in the Atlantic, and higher than in the previous literature for P. a. de...

Predators are an essential component of past and present ecosystems and trophic networks. In addition, their role as bone bio-accumulators may at least partly determine the richness of fossil sites. Prior to human arrival, terrestrial mammals were absent from the Pityusic Archipelago (Eivissa and Formentera islands, Western Mediterranean Sea), a fe...

We emphasize the importance of adopting a restrictive reading of the validity and reliability of the faunal record with respect to past animal introductions. As a case study, we analyze the earliest evidence for dogs in the early prehistory of the Balearic Islands. This research is based on direct AMS 14C dates from selected dog bones obtained in a...

In mammals that grow up more slowly and live longer, replacement teeth tend to appear earlier in sequence than in fast growing mammals. This trend, known as 'Schultz's Rule', is a useful tool for inferring life histories of fossil taxa. Deviations from this rule, however, suggest that in addition to the pace of life history, ecological factors may...

In mammals that grow up more slowly and live longer, replacement teeth tend to appear earlier in sequence than in fast growing mammals. This trend, known as 'Schultz's Rule', is a useful tool for inferring life histories of fossil taxa. Deviations from this rule, however, suggest that in addition to the pace of life history, ecological factors may...

The extinct São Miguel Scops Owl Otus frutuosoi n. sp. is described from fossil bones found in Gruta de Água de Pau, a volcanic tube in São Miguel Island (Azores Archipelago, North Atlantic Ocean). It is the first extinct bird described from the Azores and, after the Madeiran Scops Owl (O. mauli Rando, Pieper, Alcover & Olson 2012a), the second ext...

articles offert par leurs auteurs à la bibliothèque de l'I.P.H

The comment by Furió and Pons-Monjo is an attempt to invalidate the new species Nesiotites rafelinensis recently described by Rofes et al. and to place it in synonymy with N. ponsi or a closely related form (N. aff. ponsi and/or N. cf. ponsi). Through detailed argumentation, the Caló den Rafelino use of proportions instead of lengths, the re-analys...

The Lava mouse (Malpaisomys insularis), and the Canarian shrew (Crocidura canariensis) are endemic of the Eastern Canary Islands and islets. The former is extinct while Canarian shrew survives in the two main islands and two islets. In order to provide insights regarding causes and processes contributing to the extinction of these endemic mammals:...

Insular ecosystems have been subjected to severe hardship during the last millennia. Large numbers of insular bird species have undergone local disappearances and full extinctions, and a high number of insular birds are currently categorised as endangered species. In most of these cases, extinction—or endangerment—is in direct relation to the arriv...

We present radiocarbon evidence for the presence of the weasel (Mustela nivalis) on Mallorca prior to the Roman colonization of the Balearics. Bone collagen from a single specimen recovered at Cova del Ninot, Mallorca rendered two radiocarbon ages, independently obtained at two laboratories (2σ interval: 386–206 cal BC). These dates indicate that t...

The lava mouse, Malpaisomys insularis, was endemic to the Eastern Canary islands and became extinct at the beginning of the 14(th) century when the Europeans reached the archipelago. Studies to determine Malpaisomys' phylogenetic affinities, based on morphological characters, remained inconclusive because morphological changes experienced by this i...

RAxML tree depicting the relationships of Malpaisomys within Muridae based on the analysis of the cytb gene. Numbers above the branches reflect supports obtained from the analysis of the dataset following the two different reconstructions (BP RAxML/PP MrBayes.) The symbol “–” indicates that phylogenetic relationships are not supported by one of the...

RAxML tree depicting the relationships of Malpaisomys within Muridae based on the analysis of the IRBP gene. Numbers above the branches reflect support obtained from the analysis of the dataset following the two different reconstructions (BP RAxML/PP MrBayes.) The symbol “–” indicates that phylogenetic relationships are not supported by one of the...

Age estimates (Ma) using BEAST and Multidivtime softwares and omitting one of the three calibration points in turn. HPD for Highest Posterior Density, CI for Credibility Interval, NA for Not Available. (DOC)

RAxML tree depicting the relationships of Malpaisomys within Muridae based on the analysis of the combined cytb and IRBP genes without the sites missing for Malpaisomys. Numbers above the branches reflect support obtained from the analysis of the dataset following the two different reconstructions (BP RAxML/PP MrBayes.) The symbol “–” indicates tha...

Sequence dataset extracted from GenBank and used in this study. The tribal arrangement follows Lecompte's nomenclature [10]. (DOC)

Ancient DNA degradation for CH559 sample. (DOC)

The extinct Madeiran Scops Owl Otus mauli n. sp. is described from fossil bones found in Quaternary sites on Madeira Island (Madeira Archipelago, North Atlantic Ocean). It is the first extinct bird to be described from this archipelago and the first extinct species of Strigiformes known from anywhere in Macaronesia. The forelimb bones of the new ta...

This paper describes a new species of shrew from a fossiliferous bone breccia near to Caló den Rafelino (Mallorca, Spain). The site is stratigraphically and palaeontologically dated to the earliest Early Pliocene (MN13-14). Nesiotites rafelinensis sp. nov. (Mammalia, Soricidae) is arguably the earliest representative of the Nesiotites known to date...

This paper describes a new species of shrew from a fossiliferous bone breccia near to Caló den Rafelino (Mallorca, Spain). The site is stratigraphically and palaeontologically dated to the earliest Early Pliocene (MN13-14). Nesiotites rafelinensis sp. nov. (Mammalia, Soricidae) is arguably the earliest representative of the Nesiotites known to date...

Malpaisomys insularis is a mouse-like rodent endemic to the eastern Canary Islands. It became extinct during the fourteenth century. It was a remarkable species living under hyperarid conditions. A dental microwear analysis was performed in order to determine its former diet. The elevated number of fine scratches found in Malpaisomys molars suggest...

Athene vallgornerensis nov.sp. (Aves: Strigiformes: Strigidae) from the Early Pleistocene of the island of Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Western Mediterranean) is described. The material came from a fossil assemblage obtained in a collapsed gallery from Cova des Pas de Vallgornera (Llucmajor, south of Mallorca), the longest karstic system currently k...

A short summary of Scientific Travelers into the Balearic Islands during XIX century: from François Aragó to Dorothea Bate (1808-1909). De François Aragó a Dorothea Bate: un segle de viatgers científics a les Balears (1808 - 1909)

Dating a catastrophe: 14C, chronology and causes of the vertebrate extinctions in the Canary Islands. During the history of life on earth, there occurred six periods characterized by a high loss of the flora and fauna on our planet. In short periods of time, speaking on a geological scale, many species became extinct. The most recent of these perio...

Se describe el sorícido más antiguo de las Islas Baleares (Plioceno inicial), que resulta ser también el más antiguo representante del género Nesiotites conocido hasta la fecha. Fue hallado en una brecha fosilífera cercana al Caló d’en Rafelino (Mallorca). La nueva especie combina caracteres dentales primitivos con un gran tamaño relativo, y forma...

Postcranial indexes used in this paper (obtained from [33] and [60]). (DOC)