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New data on the origin of Nesiotites (Soricidae, Mammalia) in Menorca (Balearic Islands, Spain)

Guillem PONS-MONJO, Salvador MOYÀ-SOLÀ & Marc FURIÓ

en Comptes Rendus Palevol 11 (5) - Pages 393-401

Published on 31 August 2012

The presence of the shrew Nesiotites in Menorca is not yet adequately explained. Some authors consider that its ancestor arrived during the Messinian Salinity Crisis, as happened in Mallorca. Other authors consider that fossil populations in Menorca are the result of a later migration from Mallorca. In this work, several biometrical and morphological characters of abundant fossil populations from both islands have been studied. The results indicate that Early Pleistocene populations in Mallorca and Menorca are rather indistinguishable. Therefore, an early post-Messinian (Pliocene) isolation of Nesiotites in both islands is quite unlikely.


Keywords:

Shrew, Mallorca, Biogeography, Endemism, Insular evolution, Asoriculus

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