Bone histology of the Late Pleistocene Prolagus sardus (Lagomorpha: Mammalia) provides further insights into life-history strategy of insular giant small mammals

Abstract

Fossils provide an excellent opportunity to study and understand the evolution of insular environments free of human-made perturbations. Here, we evaluated the life-history traits and strategy of the extinct insular giant Prolagus sardus (Mammalia: Lagomorpha) by examining microscopically its fossilized bone tissues (osteohistology, skeletochronology, and quantitative geometry). For this task, a complete ontogenetic series of femora retrieved from the Late Pleistocene Grotta della Medusa (NW Sardinia, Italy) were analysed. Our results reveal that: (i) P. sardus' pups were weaned at large size; (ii) the species' maturation was delayed in its life cycle; and (iii) P. sardus lived longer than expected for its size. Hence, the giant P. sardus should have a slow pace of life triggered by the low levels of extrinsic mortality of the insular habitat. On the other hand, bone tissue differences between P. sardus and Ochotona were found in the vascularization, slow-growing bone presence, and cortical and medullary growth trajectories. The results obtained in this study concur with the eco-evolutionary responses described to date in extinct insular lagomorphs, as well as provide new empirical evidence about the phenomenon known as 'insular gigantism' as a pattern of evolution of small-sized mammals in genuine insular ecosystems.