The origin and extinction of the large endemic Pleistocene mammals of Cyprus

Abstract

All fossil terrestrial mammal sites on the island of Cyprus are dated from the Late Pleistocene period and consist almost exclusively of the remains of two terrestrial mammals, pygmy hippopotamus (Phanourios minutus) and pygmy elephant (Elephas cypriotes). Two theories exist on the arrival of these species on Cyprus. The fisrt is that they arrived by a land bridge. This took place during the Pliocene about five to six million year sago when the Mediterranean sea was sealed at both ends due to tectonic monements and its water evaporated creating a land bridge. However, there are no fossils dating from the Pliocene. The second theory is that they arrived under circumstances described by the Island Sweepstakes model. The latter theory refers to case in which animals may venture far from the coast, reach an isolated island from which they cannot return and are forced to settle there. We reject the possibility that the Late Pleistocene mammals of Cyprus arrived by a land bridge, because during the Pleistocene such a bridge never existed. The cause of extinction of the earlier cypriot endemic large mammals remain unclear. the discovert at teh site of Akrotiri Aetokremnos of the above pygmy mammal species together with man-made artefacts has been interpreted by some researchers as proof of a human role in the extinction of these mammals. Others rejected thsi view. We review the facts about this discovery and believe humans did play a role in the final extinction of these species.