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Boxgrove Site, England

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Boxgrove Site, England CRANIUM, 17, 2 - 2000 New herpetologicalrecords from the Middle Pleistocene Boxgrove Hominid Site, England J.+Alan Holman Summary Additionalherpetological materialfrom the Middle Pleistocene Boxgrove hominidsite, West Sussex, England, has provided the first records from the site of two salamanders (crested newt, Triturus cristatus, and palmate newt, and Rana and Triturus helveticus), two anurans (common parsley frog, Pelodytes punctatus, water frog ( [ridibunda] sp.), well additional records of the nine one snake (smooth snake, Coronella austriaca) ; as as previously reported of herpetological species by Holman(1999). The total Boxgrove herpetofauna now consists three salamanders, seven of Pleistocene in Isles. anurans, two lizards, and two snakes, forming one the largest herpetofaunas the British from but Pelobates All 14 herpetological species Boxgrove are presently living, three species: spadefoot, fuscus; that do common parsley frog, Pelodytes punctatus;and moor frog, Rana arvalis are continental species not presently the indicates climate that is similar the in the occur in Britain. As a whole, herpetofauna a to present one Boxgrove The the of shallow wet a area. herpetological species indicate presence a pond; a or damp grassy area; moderately terrestrial and rather habitat. moist, well-vegetated, area; a open, sandy Samenvatting de Midden Pleistocene hominidsite in West heeft Nieuw herpetologisch materiaal van Boxgrove Sussex, Engeland, zwemvoetsalamander Triturus twee Triturus cristatus, en twee nog watersalamanders (kamsalamander helveticus), waterkikker kikkers (de modderspringer of groengestipte kikker Pelodytes punctatus en de groene Rana [ridibunda] Coronella Verder aantal stukken sp.), en een slang (gladde slang austriaca) opgeleverd. zijn er nog een aangetroffen bestaat de al eerder doorHolman soorten. De van van negen (1999) gerapporteerde complete herpetofauna Boxgrove één de nu uit drie salamanders, zeven kikkers, twee hagedissen, en twee slangen, en vormt zo van grootste komen Pleistocene herpetofauna’s van de Britse eilanden. Alle veertien herpetologische soorten van Boxgrove echter Pelobates kikke tegenwoordig nog voor; drie soorten (Europese knoflookpad fuscus, groengestipte rPelodytes het punctatus, heikikker Rana arvalis)zijn continentale soorten die tegenwoordig niet in Verenigd Koninkrijk de klimaat dat overeenkomt met het klimaat van het voorkomen. Als geheel wijst herpetofauna op een huidige gebied rond Boxgrove. De herpetologische soorten tonen de aanwezigheid aan van een ondiep water, een nat of land vochtig grasland, een tamelijk vochtig, dicht-begroeid hoger gelegen en een vrij open, zanderig gebied. Introduction Holman (1992,1998,1999) previously published the from reports on Boxgrove herpetofauna The Middle Pleistocene homonid locality (fig. 1) material collected to 1992. These fossils up repre- at Eartham Quarry, Boxgrove, West Sussex, of five sent at one species salamander, anurans, England, British National Grid Reference two lizards, andone snake. Since that time, much NumberSU920085, is one of the most publicized additional herpetological material has been Quaternary sites in the Old World because the collected at Boxgrove, and this has provided human artifacts and skeletal material suggest records of and two salamanders, two anurans, that it is the earliest human occupational site in one snake that are new to the fauna; as well as Europe (e.g. Roberts et ah, 1995; Roberts & Parfitt, additional material of previously reported 1999). Boxgrove is correlated with the Interglacial Boxgrove amphibians and reptiles. of the IV stage of the Cromerian Complex et al., a Dutch/European sequence (Roberts 1995). This paper provides (1) systematic annotated In the site is correla- list of the material from a narrower sense, Boxgrove new herpetological ted with the Miesenheim I Site in Germany (Kolf- Boxgrove, (2) a checklist of the entire herpeto- schoten known and & Turner, 1996), an important fauna as it is at present, (3) some continental herpetological site (Holman, 1998). comments on the significance of the herpeto- Roberts & Parfitt (1999) have provided the latest fauna. information (previous to the present report) on Fossil elements are listed bybulk sample number, the fauna of Boxgrove. the contextual details of which are in Parfitt (1999). 112 New herpetological records from the Middle Pleistocene Boxgrove HominidSite, England Fig. 1 Location map of Amey’s Eartham Pit (A.E.P) where the Boxgrove herpetofauna was collected Eartham verzameld Plattegrond van Amey’s Pit (A.E.P), waar de Boxgrove herpetofauna is 113 CRANIUM, 17, 2 - 2000 from and Annotated list of the new Boxgrove first record of the species Boxgrove only the fourth record from the Pleistocene of Britain herpetological material (Gleed-Owen, 1999; Holman, 1998). New mate- Order Caudata Scopeli, 1977 rial: two trunk vertebrae (54 and 690). Triturus vulgaris Group Family Salamandridae Goldfuss, 1820 Triturus helveticus or vulgaris Genus Triturus Rafinesque, 1815 Palmate Newt or Smooth Newt Alpine Newts These small newt fossils do not belong to the T. This contains salamanders of small or genus cristatus but group, they are fragmentary enough moderately small size that usually have two so thatthey lack thecharacters that enable one to distinct phases: an eft phase that is terrestrial, has identify them as either T. helveticus or T. vulgaris. a rough skin, and lacks a dorsal crest or "tail fin"; Holman (1992, 1998) previously identified “T. and that has smooth a newt phase is aquatic, a from Site. helveticus or T. vulgaris” the Boxgrove fin." skin, and has a crest and sometimes a "tail New material: five vertebrae (40,78,485,590, and occurs Scandan- The genus presently in England, 773). avia, continental Europe, andAsia Minor around Triturus the Black Sea and to the westward part of the vulgaris Group helveticus Caspian Sea eastward to the Ural Mountains. Triturus (Razoumowsky, 1789) Palmate Newt of Triturus Two species groups are presently recognized: the Triturus cristatus group and the T. these New record from the site. The vulgaris group (Frost, 1985). Osteologically, species palmate different that could be newt is a small that is smooth skinnedand groups are so they easily species Both has dark, webbedhind feet. The separated into two distinct genera. groups strongly palmate have been recorded from the Pleistocene of newt is presently absent from Ireland but it Europe (Holman, 1998). All of the three modern occurs in Great Britain, continental western northern to southern species that presently occur in Britain have now Europe from Germany been recorded from the Boxgrove Site. France and northern Iberia, and east to Poland and the Czech Republic. Triturus helveticus IS Species group undesignated more terrestrial than T. cristatus, but it is more Triturus sp. aquatic than T. vulgaris. It is rather ubiquitous in Alpine newt its choice of breeding places. Holman (1998) gave Damaged elements that cannot be referred with vertebral characters to separate T. helveticus from first certainty to either the Triturus cristatu s or the T. T. cristatus and T. vulgaris. This is the unequi- T. here. Holman vocal record of this from the vulgari s group are included (1992, species Boxgrove from the Site and the second record for the Pleisto- 1998) previously reported Triturus sp. only of Boxgrove Site. New material: jaw fragment (182), cene Britain (Gleed-Owen, 1999). New mate- partial femur (621), eight fragmental vertebrae rial: two trunk vertebrae (679 and 741). (235, 238, 278, 281, 663, and 741-743). Triturus vulgaris Group Triturus cristatus Group Triturus vulgaris (Linnaeus, 1758) Triturus cristatus Laurenti, 1758 Smooth Newt Crested Newt The smooth newt is small, smooth-skinned newt that lacks the webbed hind feet of T. helveticus. Triturus New species record from the site. The crested vulgaris presently occurs in Ireland, that Great Britain, almost all of and the newt is a large rough-skinned taxon is Europe, presently absent in Ireland but occurs in Great western part of Asia. The smooth newt is more Britain and from Europe eastward to the central terrestrial than most other species of European part of the former Soviet Union. Thecrested newt Triturus and tends to be a lowland species that favors slow water where lives in a wide of moist habitats. It quiet or very flowing variety thereis abundantvegetation. Theterrestrial form normally breeds in still, shallow water with an the where it abundanceof Holman usually stays near breeding pond aquatic vegetation. (1998) characters that hides under rocks or other flattened objects. gave vertebral separate Triturus of the skull, from T. cristatus and T. helveticus. This Holman (1998) gave characters vulgaris humeri, and vertebrae that separate T. cristatus newt has previously been reported from the from other species of European newts. This is the Boxgrove Site (Holman, 1992,1998) and has been 114 New herpetological records fromthe Middle Pleistocene Boxgrove Hominid Site, England rather frequently reported from the Pleistocene New material: two right scapulae (772), right of from and Holocene Britain (Gleed-Owen, 1999; scapula (774), two scapulae among samples Holman, 1998). Newmaterial: six trunk vertebrae 428-434, three more scapulae (286, 456, and 698), humeri (53, 91, 228, 297, 635, and 735). two left humeri (429), three left (280, 672, and 735), right humerus (799), five humeri (106, Family Pelodytidae Hogg, 1838 159,428,741, and 773), three left ilia (110,122, and Genus Pelodytes Bonaparte,
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