Extinction of endemic vertebrates on islands: The case of the giant rat Canariomys bravoi (Mammalia, Rodentia) on Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain)

Abstract

Fossil bone collagen 14C dating and δ13C and δ15N isotopic measurements of the rodent Canariomys bravoi from Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain) were used to test two different hypotheses about the causes of extinctions of endemic vertebrates on islands, climate versus humans. For the Tenerife giant rat, we show that it survived the climatic change that occurred between the Middle and Late Holocene, but not the settlement of humans on the island. To cite this article: H. Bocherens et al., C. R. Palevol 5 (2006). © 2006 Académie des sciences.