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172 M. Masseti: Homogenisation and the loss of biodiversity of mammals of the Mediterranean islands

Figure 4 Middle and Upper Pleistocene distribution of endemic glirids on the Mediterranean islands (from Masseti 2005).

culus similis Hensel 1855 and E. corsicanus Bate 1944, been recorded in the Late Pleistocene of Malta (Bate
are known from Late Pleistocene sites in Sardinia and 1920, Burgio and Kotsakis 1986, Brunet-Lecomte and
Corsica, respectively, while the late Quaternary faunas of Chaline 1991).
both the latter islands were characterised by the occur-
rence of the large field vole Microtus (Tyrrhenicola) hen- From the post-Tyrrhenian deposits of south-eastern
seli Forsyth Major 1881, and the big rat Rhagamys Capri, Cinque et al. (1986) and Gliozzi (1988) reported a
orthodon Hensel 1856 (Vigne 1988a, 1992). Morphome- giant long-tailed field mouse, Apodemus sylvaticus tyr-
trical analyses carried out on remains of Microtus recent- rhenicus Gliozzi 1988, also characterised by peculiar
ly discovered in a deposit on Monte Tuttavista, in the dental patterns. The same islands also yielded the
vicinity of Orosei (western Sardinia), have led to the remains of the endemic Capri hazel dormouse, Muscar-
establishment of a new fossil species Microtus (Tyrrhe- dinus malatestai Gliozzi 1995 (Gliozzi 1995) (Figure 5),
nicola) sondaari Marcolini, Caterinella, Arca and Kotsakis whereas a large Apodemus sp. was reported from the
2006 (Marcolini et al. 2005, 2006). A fossil endemic spe- Middle or Late Pleistocene assemblages of Naxos, Cyc-
cies, Microtus (Terricola) melitensis (Bate 1920), has also lades (Greece) (Sondaar 1971, Kotsakis 1990). Further-
more, subfossil black rats, Rattus rattus (L. 1758), of large

Figure 5 A giant long-tailed field mouse, Apodemus sylvaticus tyrrhenicus, the Capri hazel dormouse, Muscardinus malatestai, and
the Capri red deer, Cervus elaphus tyrrhenicus, are all endemic taxa reported the exploration of the post-Tyrrhenian deposits of the
island of Capri, Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy). The pale grey area represents land lost when the sea level rose during the Holocene.