More than three million years of community evolution. The temporal and geographical resolution of the Plio-Pleistocene Western Eurasia mammal faunas

In this study we collected, in a database, faunal lists for more than 800 Eurasian fossil localities yielding large mammal remains so as to produce continental-level ecologic-evolutionary units (Eurasian Paleocommunities, EA PCOMs) via bootstrapped cluster analysis. EA PCOMs are meant to represent taxonomically distinct assemblages of species. EA PCOMs allow the evolution of large mammal assemblages to be traced both in time and space. This latter attribute (spatial resolution) represents the most important innovation here and contrasts with classic biochronologic schemes, from which EA PCOMs clearly depart. The merits and limitations of this innovation are discussed in detail.