Avian predators as accumulators of fossil mammal material

Abstract

Differences between the remains of mammalian prey in pellets of diurnal and nocturnal avian predators are discussed on the basis of recent material and in relation to probable fossil occurrences. The ability of diurnal predators to digest bone reduces the value of their pellets for quantitative or qualitative indications of the regional mammalian fauna. However, the remaining partially digested fragments in pellets of diurnal predators appear to have a characteristic morphology which may be recognised in a sample of fossil mammalian teeth from the type Cromerian Upper Freshwater Bed sediments at West Runton, England. The implications of such an origin for faunal analysis are briefly considered. This is believed to be the first time that the role of diurnal predatory birds in accumulation of fossil vertebrate material has been recognised. The characteristically digested teeth from diurnal predator pellets may provide the only direct indication of the origin of at least a part of the mammalian material contained in deposits formed in open sedimentary environments where skeletal parts have been dissociated.

Micromammals from the 1995 Mammoth Excavation at West Runton, Norfolk, UK: Morphometric data, biostratigraphy and taxonomic reappraisal

“…This observation is supported by earlier taphonomic observations by Mayhew (1977), who identified diurnal birds of prey as an important source of small mammal material in his samples from the same deposit. Mayhew (ibid.…”

Eagle owl (Bubo bubo) pellets from Roman Sagalassos (SW Turkey): distinguishing the prey remains from nest and roost sites

“…In addition to those unmodified remains, there are bones that show a heavier alteration compared with those deposited by owls (Andrews, 1990;Bocheń ski et al, , 1998. Articular ends may dissolve completely, often leaving only shafts in the pellets of the diurnal raptors (Mayhew, 1977).…”

Gratkorn: A benchmark locality for the continental Sarmatian s.str. of the Central Paratethys

“…Prieto et al (2009Prieto et al ( , 2010a) explain such extreme local concentration of small vertebrate remains as the result of pellet accumulations at feeding/resting places of birds of prey, in more detail of owls. In contrast to, e.g., diurnal raptors or mammalian carnivores, owls cause only minor effects of digestion (Mayhew 1977;Denys et al 1995;Terry 2007). Thus, the low grade of corrosion, the extreme concentration and the roughly equal co-occurrence of cranial and post-cranial elements (e.g., Andrews 1990;Matthews 2002) point to accumulated owl pellets.…”