The Palawan bearded pig is the only extant artiodactyl on the main island of Palawan. In the Pilanduk Cave assemblage, it occurs in very small proportions across the sequence and accounts for only 6% of the identified taxa in the assemblage. Other confirmed fossil records of the bearded pig come from several other sites in northern Palawan (Ochoa et al. 2014; Piper et al. 2011) and southern Palawan (Reis and Garong 2001). In the Mid to Late Holocene record of the Dewil Valley in El Nido, the bearded pig is the most abundant prey animal, and deer is very scarce (Ochoa and Piper 2017). Presently, they are observed from sea level to 1500 m above sea level in a variety of forest habitats (Esselstyn et al. 2004). The wild pig is locally called babuy or bjak.
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Taxon/Element Locality Specimen No. Sex Humerus (Bt) Humerus (Bd) Radius (Bp) Radio-ulna (Bd) Femur (DC) Tibia (Bd) Metacarpal (Bp) Metatarsal (Bp)
Axis porcinus India FMNH-27447 M 30.72 32.85 31.67 \ \ 24.53 \ \
Axis porcinus India MCZ-37003 F 25.8 29.7 27.4 \ 19.8 \ 21.4 21
Axis porcinus India FMNH-65802 F 32.74 34.61 \ 30.96 \ 31.29 \ \
Rusa marianna Luzon MCZ-14227 F 34.4 39.9 36.8 33.1 23.3 30.9 \ \
Rusa marianna Luzon USNM-49706 F 38.16 40.91 38.41 34.02 24.4 33.66 27.4 27
Rusa marianna Mindanao FMNH-61007 F 29.03 31.92 28.85 23.1 18.9 29.94 \ \
Rusa marianna Guam FMNH-186613 F 34.06 39.62 34.6 28.54 24.19 28.1 \ \
Rusa unicolor Borneo USNM-151861 M 52.79 55.1 49.65 42.22 33.1 44.23 35.81 34.1
Rusa unicolor Borneo MCZ-7282 M 47.8 55.6 51.5 47 33.7 44 36.6 34.8
Rusa unicolor Borneo USNM-151859 F 55.7 57.06 55.03 46.5 36.46 48.9 40.13 38.95
Rusa unicolor India MCZ-1381 M 56.4 66.2 63.7 53.9 40.7 55.1 43.1 39.5
Rusa unicolor India FMNH-27455 M 61.31 67.28 63 56.1 43.52 60.18 \
distal humerus Pilanduk 4503e 31.64 33.28
distal humerus Pilanduk 4503d 35.57 38.18
distal humerus Pilanduk 4503c 39.94 41.9
distal humerus Pilanduk 4503b 40.33 46.57 distal humerus Pilanduk 4503a 46.57 40.33
proximal radius Pilanduk 5369 28.58
proximal radius Pilanduk 4505f 28.74
proximal radius Pilanduk 5502 28.95
proximal radius Pilanduk 4505e 29.43
proximal radius Pilanduk 5740 33.95
proximal radius Pilanduk 3905 34.32
proximal radius Pilanduk 4505c 34.48
proximal radius Pilanduk 4505d 34.66
proximal radius Pilanduk 4505b 36.44
proximal radius Pilanduk 4505a 36.8
distal radius Pilanduk 1790 26.5
distal radius Pilanduk 1966 27.3
distal radius Pilanduk 4505h 27.23
distal radius Pilanduk 4505g 31.8
Table 5.8 Measurements (in mm) of cervid post-cranial elements from Pilanduk and modern comparative species. Pilanduk measurements in bold font indicate overlap with extant R. marianna (with +/- 1 mm of the sample range). Measurements shaded in grey are smaller than A. porcinus. Bt= breadth of trochlea, Bd=breadth of distal end, Bp=breadth of proximal end, DC= depth of caput of femur (after von den Driesch 1978). Breadth measurements are taken medio-laterally.
Table 5.23 Measurements (in mm) of cervid post-cranial elements from Pilanduk and modern comparative species. Pilanduk measurements in bold font indicate overlap with extant R. marianna (with +/- 1 mm of the sample range). Measurements shaded in grey are smaller than A. porcinus. Bt= breadth of trochlea, Bd=breadth of distal end, Bp=breadth of proximal end, DC= depth of caput of femur (after von den Driesch 1978). Breadth measurements are taken medio-laterally.
Figure 5.33 Relative taxonomic abundance (%NISP) of vertebrate taxa in Squares 27 and 37 of Minori Cave. NISP = number of identified specimens. NISP counts per layer are in Table 8.25.Table 5.24 Measurements (in mm) of cervid post-cranial elements from Pilanduk and modern comparative species. Pilanduk measurements in bold font indicate overlap with extant R. marianna (with +/- 1 mm of the sample range). Measurements shaded in grey are smaller than A. porcinus. Bt= breadth of trochlea, Bd=breadth of distal end, Bp=breadth of proximal end, DC= depth of caput of femur (after von den Driesch 1978). Breadth measurements are taken medio-laterally.
Table 5.25 Measurements (in mm) of cervid post-cranial elements from Pilanduk and modern comparative species. Pilanduk measurements in bold font indicate overlap with extant R. marianna (with +/- 1 mm of the sample range). Measurements shaded in grey are smaller than A. porcinus. Bt= breadth of trochlea, Bd=breadth of distal end, Bp=breadth of proximal end, DC= depth of caput of femur (after von den Driesch 1978). Breadth measurements are taken medio-laterally.
Figure 5.34 Relative taxonomic abundance (%NISP) of vertebrate taxa in Squares 27 and 37 of Minori Cave. NISP = number of identified specimens. NISP counts per layer are in Table 8.25.
Table 5.26 Measurements (in mm) of cervid post-cranial elements from Pilanduk and modern comparative species. Pilanduk measurements in bold font indicate overlap with extant R. marianna (with +/- 1 mm of the sample range). Measurements shaded in grey are smaller than A. porcinus. Bt= breadth of trochlea, Bd=breadth of distal end, Bp=breadth of proximal end, DC= depth of caput of femur (after von den Driesch 1978). Breadth measurements are taken medio-laterally.
Table 5.27 Measurements (in mm) of cervid post-cranial elements from Pilanduk and modern comparative species. Pilanduk measurements in bold font indicate overlap with extant R. marianna (with +/- 1 mm of the sample range). Measurements shaded in grey are smaller than A. porcinus. Bt= breadth of trochlea, Bd=breadth of distal end, Bp=breadth of proximal end, DC= depth of caput of femur (after von den Driesch 1978). Breadth measurements are taken medio-laterally.
124 Table 5.8 continued. Measurements (in mm) of cervid post-cranial elements.
Element Locality Specimen No. Humerus (Bt) Humerus (Bd) Radius (Bp) Radio-ulna (Bd) Femur (DC) Tibia (Bd) Metacarpal (Bp) Metatarsal (Bp)
proximal femur Pilanduk 4514b 21.03
proximal femur Pilanduk 4514a 22.19
proximal femur Pilanduk 3900 25.82
proximal femur Pilanduk 4514d 28.72
proximal femur Pilanduk 4514e
distal tibia Pilanduk 1721 22.41
distal tibia Pilanduk 4513c 21.15
distal tibia Pilanduk 4513b 23.58
distal tibia Pilanduk 4513d 27.34
distal tibia Pilanduk 1792 27.48
distal tibia Pilanduk 4513a 27.77
distal tibia Pilanduk 1761 27.9
proximal metacarpal Pilanduk 6216 19.1
proximal metacarpal Pilanduk 5806c 19.62
proximal metacarpal Pilanduk 5371b 23.4
proximal metacarpal Pilanduk 5371a 25.8
proximal metacarpal Pilanduk 6011 26.1
proximal metacarpal Pilanduk 5464 26.47
proximal metacarpal Pilanduk 4508e 30.33
proximal metacarpal Pilanduk 4508f 30.9
proximal metacarpal Pilanduk 5806a 31.7
proximal metatarsal Pilanduk 5371d 21.51
proximal metatarsal Pilanduk 4509i 26.5
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5.5 Conclusion
This chapter has presented the fossil mammal identifications from Pilanduk Cave. The records of three extirpated large mammals – Panthera tigris, Rusa sp. and Axis calamianensis have been provided in detail. All identifications from the site currently represent the oldest confirmed fossils records for the seven identified taxa, dating to 25,000-20,000 years ago. In the case of the deer, differentiation of antler morphology confirms the taxonomic diagnoses for the two cervid taxa.
The identification and biometric analysis of nine pantherine fossils from Pilanduk Cave add greatly to the sparse inventory of tiger fossils from Palawan. The LGM presence of this species, as well as that of the macaque, support the hypothesis of their natural distribution on Palawan Island. We have previously argued for the tiger’s native presence on the island based on initial evidence from Ille Cave in northern Palawan (Ochoa 2009; Ochoa and Piper 2017; Piper et al. 2008). A total of three phalanx specimens were identified in Ille Cave. The Pilanduk record lends further information regarding its past distribution, this time from a southerly geographic location and from an older period. The two oldest specimens described from Ille Cave are of Terminal Pleistocene age, ca. 14,000 BP, while another specimen derived from an Early Holocene layer. The Late Pleistocene presence of the tiger on Palawan runs parallel with the fossil presence of the tiger on Borneo (Piper et al. 2007), and this may likely be the population source of Palawan tigers. Based on GIS and bathymetric reconstructions, Palawan was likely not connected to Borneo during the LGM; however, only a short sea crossing of roughly 4.5 km would have been required during MIS 2 (Robles et al. 2015). In comparison, the present-day distance between the two islands is 140 km. Previous reconstructions, though, suggest a land connection (Sathiamurthy and Voris 2006). Tigers are known swimmers that can make sea-crossings and hence a landbridge between Borneo and Palawan would not have been necessary for colonisation, and the presence of this large carnivore on Palawan does not imply that a landbridge was present during MIS 2. In fact, all known fossil and extant large mammals (tiger, deer and pig) of the Palawan faunal region are capable of sea-crossings.
The Pilanduk Cave assemblage is not very speciose and is dominated by one taxon (Rusa sp.). This contrasts with the Holocene fossil assemblages of Ille and Pasimbahan Caves, which contain more macrovertebrate and microverterbate taxa. The diversity and abundance of taxa in Pilanduk Cave noticeably differ from these two sites. These features, along with palaeoecological, biogeographic and taphonomic issues, will be discussed further in Chapters 7 and 8.
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