Species identification of Late Pleistocene bat bones using collagen fingerprinting

AbstractBats form the second most diverse mammalian order (Chiroptera) and vary widely in their physiology and ecology. Those species which live in temperate climates are generally insectivorous and nocturnal or crepuscular, sheltering in tree hollows, caves or buildings during the day. They are potentially valuable ecological indicators, due to their dependence on suitable roosting sites and arthropod food, both of which are commonly affected by human activities. Identification of bats from ancient assemblages that are found in caves could therefore provide useful data for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions and show the effect of habitat loss. Here we present the application of a recently developed approach, collagen fingerprinting with analysis by soft ‐ionization mass spectrometry, to the identification of ancient bat remains in the archaeological assemblage from Pin Hole Cave (Derbyshire, England). Our results show that a simple set of markers can distinguish all seven genera of bats known to be present in either modern or ancient Britain (Myotis, Nyctalus, Pipistrellus, Barbastella, Plecotus, Eptesicus andRhinolophus). Further analysis indicates that species ‐level determination should also be possible using other methods of collagen sequence analysis. Within our assemblage of ~6,800 ancient bone collagen fingerprints, we identified only ~1% that derived from chiropterans, and these were predominantly derived fromMyotis,Barbastella andRhinolophus. We infer that the ...
Source: International Journal of Osteoarchaeology - Category: Science Authors: Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research