Mediterranean Quercus woodlands are socio-ecological systems where biodiversity associated with tree-related microhabitats remains poorly known despite its potential importance for ecosystem functioning and conservation. Tree cavities, in particular, provide buffered microclimates and key nesting and shelter resources for numerous taxa, yet the diversity of organisms associated with these microhabitats remains incompletely doc...

The early Middle Miocene (15.9 Ma) site of els Casots (Vallès-Penedès Basin, Catalonia, Spain) has yielded a rich vertebrate assemblage, including abundant carnivoran remains that mostly remain unpublished. Here we describe a new species of the amphicyonid genus Paludocyon based on a compressed cranium with well-preserved teeth and an isolated lower molar (m2) from els Casots. Paludocyon moyasolai sp. nov., included in the sub...

Suines originated in Asia during the Middle Miocene and dispersed into Europe by the early Late Miocene. Their first European record, which corresponds to Propotamochoerus palaeochoerus , was formerly dated to MN7+8 but recent data have suggested an earliest MN9 age. Although P. palaeochoerus has long been known from the fossiliferous area of els Hostalets de Pierola, dating inaccuracies have precluded ascertaining its earlies...

How barriers to gene flow arise between closely related species is one of the oldest questions in evolutionary biology. Classic models in evolutionary biology predict that negative epistatic interactions between variants in the genomes of diverged lineages, known as hybrid incompatibilities, will reduce viability or fertility in hybrids. The genetic architecture of these interactions and the evolutionary paths through which th...