Pleistocene landscapes in central Iberia inferred from pollen analysis of hyena coprolites

New pollen data from hyena coprolites from central Spain are presented. The fossil faecal material has been recovered from two karstic systems in different localities, Villacastin and Los Torrejones, which are both around 1000 m a.s.l. The combined findings of bone remains and coprolites in both locations suggest the following chronology: late Middle Pleistocene for Villacastin and early Upper Pleistocene for Los Torrejones. The environments inferred from pollen are broadly in keeping with evidence from associated vertebrate fossil remains, and include a shifting mosaic of open and wooded habitats with abundant pine and juniper species, steppe-grassland areas with composites and chenopods, and enclaves with mixed oak forests. However, Los Torrejones appears to have been less forested than Villacastin. The abundance of oaks in Villacastin may imply the presence of refugia within an interconnected network of several enclaves during the glacial stages in the Upper Pleistocene. A possible explanation for the patchiness of the landscape may be in the role of herbivores, although the long distances and variety of habitats that hyenas had to roam through could be another explanation for the heterogeneous pollen contents in their dung. Copyright (C) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.