Bos primigenius Bojanus, 1827 (Mammalia, Bovidae) in Greece: New Finds and a Revision of the Species, with a Comparison with Body-size Variations of Aurochs from the Italian Peninsula

The present study deals with a new bovid assemblage from Kataphyto, Northeastern Greece, providing additional information concerning this species dispersal and stature in Greece. It consists of 155 teeth and bone remains attributed to the extinct species Bos primigenius Bojanus, 1827. The 14C dating analysis of the fossils resulted in a Late Pleistocene age, with a median at 23,800 calBP, similar to the age obtained using the Useries geochronology. A brief outline of the evolutionary history, morphology and ecology of the Pleistocene aurochs is reported, with a comprehensive update of the palaeontological and archaeological records of the species in Greece reviewed here. Morphometric data have been investigated in order to provide an evaluation of the species body size variations throught time in Greece. The results show that the populations of aurochs in Greece were small in size during the Middle Pleistocene, increased in size during the end of the Late Pleistocene, followed by a decrease during the Holocene. Moreover, aurochs remains from Greece, compared with those obtained from the Italian Peninsula, contribute to knowledge about body size variation during the Pleistocene and Holocene. This study revealed a different trend compared to other European sites and depict a more complex and articulated framework on aurochs body size variation than previously thought.