Feeding ecology and paleoenvironment of the early Pleistocene Gerakarou herbivore mammal community (Mygdonia basin, Greece) as inferred by DMTA analysis

International audienceThe Early Pleistocene is well-represented in the fossil record of Southeast Europe, especially Greece. Several questions remain unanswered, notably regarding the regional paleoenvironmental succession, which impacted the local faunal composition and dynamics during that time period. The fairly rich Early Pleistocene fossil site of Gerakarou-1 (2–1.8 Ma), situated in northern Greece (Mygdonia Basin), can provide important insight into the environmental conditions of that time and area, especially since it is roughly contemporaneous with the first appearance of Homo in Dmanisi, Georgia (1.85–1.77 Ma). Dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) of fossil ungulates from Gerakarou-1 allowed us to infer their dietary preferences and thus decipher the vegetal resources and environmental conditions. The sample includes 89 individuals belonging to one equid, two cervid, four bovid, andone suid taxon. Analyses were done using five scale-sensitive fractal analysis parameters and five surface texture analysis parameters. We used as a comparative baseline 194 specimens belonging to seven extant ruminant species of known dietary categories, ranging from grazers to browsers. Mixed feeders were found to have been dominant at Gerakarou-1. However, there were distinct dietary differences between the Cervidae analyzed. With an intermediate complexity value (about 1.5) and a high mean anisotropy (5.8 × 10 -3), Croizetoceros ramosus gerakarensis was the most distinct grazer, while the values of Eucladoceros tegulensis reveal more browsing habits. This implies the presence of mosaic environments at Gerakarou-1 in which herbaceous, bush and tree vegetal layers were available as food resources and habitats for ungulates