Three islands, three worlds: Paleogeography and evolution of the vertebrate fauna from the Balearic Islands

摘要: The Balearic Islands are an archipelago located in the Western Mediterranean Sea. Their isolation from mainland allowed establishment of different faunas on each island. In Mallorca, Pliocene fauna was composed so-called Myotragus-fauna (mainly consisting a bovid, glirid and soricid). Menorca, it constituted by giant rabbit-fauna rabbit tortoise), Pityusics tortoise, lizard two rodents. A main faunal turnover took place during Late or Early Pleistocene: reached Menorca replaced fauna. Pityusics, all mammals tortoise became extinct before Pleistocene for unknown reasons, leaving birds as only vertebrates these islands. Almost endemic Balearics probably due to first human arrival