Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
3.3
2.3
Journals
Quaternary
Special Issues
Paleoecology, Evolution, Biogeography and Systematics of Quaternary Mammals
share announcement

Paleoecology, Evolution, Biogeography and Systematics of Quaternary Mammals

A special issue of Quaternary (ISSN 2571-550X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 January 2026 | Viewed by 2477

Special Issue Editors

Dr. H. Gregory McDonald

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Bureau of Land Management (Retired), Colorado State Office, 2850 Youngfield Street, Lakewood, CO 80215, USA
Interests: evolution; systematics; taxonomy; mammals; biodiversity; ecology and evolution; climate change; geology; computed tomography; stratigraphy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Joaquín Arroyo-Cabrales

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratorio de Arqueozoología, Subdirección de Laboratorios y Apoyo Académico, I.N.A.H., Moneda 16, Col. Centro, Ciudad de México 06060, Mexico
Interests: mammals; climate change; evolution; biodiversity; ecology and evolution; conservation; conservation biology; ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As the title of the volume “Paleoecology, Evolution, Biogeography and Systematics of Quaternary Mammals” indicates, an article can address any aspect of evolution, systematics, paleoecology or biogeography of any taxon of Pleistocene mammal, including possible causes of extinction and functional anatomy as related to the taxon’s ecology.

Information on Quaternary mammals based on trace fossils such as tracks and coprolites is also welcome in the volume. Articles may be narrowly focused on a specific taxon or the mammalian fauna from a single locality or it may be a broader synthesis on one of the above topics as it is applicable to a specific mammalian taxon. While broader taxonomic relationships may be addressed, we do not anticipate including the description of new taxa as that may be better addressed in other journals. A range of approaches is welcome, and it is hoped that geographically, we can cover all regions from which Quaternary mammals are known.

Dr. H. Gregory McDonald
Dr. Joaquín Arroyo-Cabrales
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Quaternary is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • paleoecology
  • mammals
  • stable isotopes
  • extinction
  • biogeography
  • paleoclimate
  • morphology
  • trace fossils

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

33 pages, 2340 KiB  
Article
Dietary Reconstruction of Pliocene–Pleistocene Mammoths and Elephants (Proboscidea) from Northern Greece Based on Dental Mesowear Analysis
by Christos Tsakalidis, George E. Konidaris, Evangelia Tsoukala and Dimitris S. Kostopoulos
Quaternary 2025, 8(2), 19; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat8020019 - 11 Apr 2025
Viewed by 531
Abstract
Dental wear analyses of extinct animals offer key insights into their dietary preferences and in turn contribute substantially to palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, leading to more accurate interpretations about past ecosystems. This study employs dental mesowear analysis on Pliocene and Pleistocene elephants and mammoths from [...] Read more.
Dental wear analyses of extinct animals offer key insights into their dietary preferences and in turn contribute substantially to palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, leading to more accurate interpretations about past ecosystems. This study employs dental mesowear analysis on Pliocene and Pleistocene elephants and mammoths from several localities in Northern Greece (Ptolemais Basin, Mygdonia Basin, Drama Basin, and the Neapolis-Grevena Basin), aiming to classify them into three main dietary categories (browsers, mixed-feeders, grazers) and investigate potential niche partitioning. The method relies on documenting the wear pattern of molar surfaces through angle measurements on the enamel ridges, which reflect the average annual diet of the examined taxon and in turn the annual ecological conditions of the studied area. Prior to the palaeodietary study and in order to ensure the taxonomic attribution of the examined specimens, a taxonomic review was conducted which confirmed the presence of the mammoths Mammuthus rumanus, Mammuthus meridionalis (southern mammoth), and Mammuthus trogontherii (steppe mammoth), and the European straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus. Dental mesowear results indicate a grazing diet for M. (cf.) rumanus, a mainly browsing diet for M. meridionalis but mixed-feeding to grazing for the subspecies Mammuthus meridionalis vestinus, a grazing one for M. trogontherii, and a wide diet spectrum for P. antiquus, including browsing, mixed-feeding and grazing, depending on the locality. This study expands our knowledge on the palaeoecology of Greek proboscideans and further highlights the importance of mesowear analysis on proboscidean teeth for palaeodietary and palaeoenviromental inferences. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Paleoecology, Evolution, Biogeography and Systematics of Quaternary Mammals)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

28 pages, 8756 KiB  
Article
Stable Isotope Analysis of Pleistocene Proboscideans from Afar (Ethiopia) and the Dietary and Ecological Contexts of Palaeoloxodon
by Julie Luyt, Yonatan Sahle and Deano Stynder
Quaternary 2025, 8(1), 16; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat8010016 - 20 Mar 2025
Viewed by 1188
Abstract
The timing, cause, and magnitude of mammalian extinctions during the African Middle Pleistocene remain largely unresolved. The demise of Elephas/Palaeoloxodon recki, a lineage that had a great geographic and temporal span, represents a particularly enigmatic case of megafaunal extinction. Previous studies of Early [...] Read more.
The timing, cause, and magnitude of mammalian extinctions during the African Middle Pleistocene remain largely unresolved. The demise of Elephas/Palaeoloxodon recki, a lineage that had a great geographic and temporal span, represents a particularly enigmatic case of megafaunal extinction. Previous studies of Early Pleistocene fossil material have proposed that this lineage was a strict C4-grazer, with its dietary specialization causing its extinction during a period of climatic instability that coincided with the Late Acheulean. Others have associated its disappearance with overhunting by hominins during the same period. We contribute to this debate by analyzing carbon and oxygen isotope data from the tooth enamel of late Early and Middle Pleistocene Palaeoloxodon specimens from various localities in the Afar Rift. To contextualize the isotopic data of Palaeoloxodon within its broader ecosystem, we also provide data from non-elephant species. Carbon isotope values indicate that while C4 plants dominated diets, varying amounts of C3 vegetation were also consumed throughout this period. Oxygen isotope values reflect an initial focus on stable water sources that were later broadened to include transient sources. Serially sampled teeth of P. cf. recki recki from Late Acheulean contexts in the Megenta research area show no significant seasonal shifts in δ13C or δ18O values, even during a period of heightened climatic instability regionally. Taken together, our results suggest that Palaeoloxodon was capable of flexibility in diet and drinking habits which belies its morphological specializations. Our results do not support the idea that an inability to adapt to climatic instability caused the extinction of P. recki recki during the Late Acheulean. There is also currently no solid evidence that hominin hunting activities were the cause. However, we cannot discount the potential cumulative impact of climatic-induced environmental pressures and advancements in hominin hunting technologies during the early Middle Stone Age on the eventual extinction of the Palaeoloxodon lineage during the Middle–Late Pleistocene interface. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Paleoecology, Evolution, Biogeography and Systematics of Quaternary Mammals)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop