Computational simulations of potential Pachycrocuta bite damage based on a ~1.2 Ma ravaged hippopotamus femur from Fuente Nueva 3 (Orce, Granada, Spain)
Understanding the behaviour and interactions of extinct carnivoran species present a significant challenge in archaeological and palaeontological research, often limited by numerous constraints in the fossil record. Here we analyse a hippopotamus femur that presents extensive damage by carnivorans, recovered from the open-air site Fuente Nueva 3 ( Pachycrocuta brevirostris . Leveraging the use of advanced microscopic techniques to digitise the tooth marks observed on this specimen in three dimensions, the present study utilises artificially intelligent algorithms to then simulate the possible morphological variability of this carnivoran. This allows us to propose a characterisation of Pachycrocuta brevirostris tooth pit morphology, so as to construct a proposal for a diagnostic reference sample of this species. If our findings are correct, they underscore the importance tooth mark size has on identifying the activity of Pachycrocuta , revealing the giant hyena to have produced remarkably large, deep, and circular tooth pits on dense cortical bone.
Authors
- José Yravedra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4323-3379)
- Alexia Serrano‐Ramos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9466-3088)
- Juan Manuel Jiménez Arenas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4165-0187)
- Lloyd A. Courtenay (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4810-2001)
- Suvi Viranta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4105-530X)
- Juha Saarinen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1351-4652)
- Déborah Barsky (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4921-0389)
Institutions
- Universidad Complutense de Madrid (ES)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- University of Helsinki (FI)
- Université de Bordeaux (FR)
- Universidad de Granada (ES)
- Instituto de Historia (ES)
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (ES)
- De la Préhistoire à l'Actuel : Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie (FR)
- National Archaeological Museum of Spain (ES)
- Universitat Rovira i Virgili (ES)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Peer Community Journal
- Published
- 2026-08-20
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.24072/pcjournal.771
- Primary Topic
- Evolution and Paleontology Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Centres de Recerca de Catalunya
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche
- Generalitat de Catalunya
- Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
- Université de Bordeaux
- Universidad de Granada
- Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle
- Junta de Andalucía
- Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca
- Agencia Estatal de Investigación