Dama celiae

Credit: Juan José Rodríguez-Alba.

*Dama celiae* is an extinct species of deer that lived in Spain during the Middle Pleistocene.

## History

The species was named by van der Made et al. (2023) from MIS9 or -10-aged fossils from Madrid, Spain. The type series were found within the Arenero de Pedro Jaro I locality of the Manzanares valley, dating somewhere between 337 and 300,000 years. The holotype is MAN 73/58/PJ-39, 73/58/PJ-21, 73/58/PJ-26 (assorted fragments belonging to the left antler) and MAN 73/58/PJ-24 (fragments forming the central beam of the right antler); they belong to the same individual. It is named after Celia Casado Sarrión, but the describers do not specify why or the notable role of this individual.

## Description

It is medium-sized , with males having large upwards-projecting brow tines and main beams that flow backwards, curve laterally and then continue backwards, lacking upward curving and lacking further bifurcation, flattening or palmation. The brow tine and main beam bifurcation occurs low, above the burr. The elongation, lacking of flattening and without bifurcation of the main beam differentiates it from contemporaries within its genus. This simplistic morphology is reflective of its evolutionary lineage losing complications in antler morphology.

## Classification

The describers postulate that *Dama* species lost bifurcation points in the antlers across geologic time, creating a lineage leading to the species from Madrid: *D. farnetensis*–*D. vallonnetensis*–*D. roberti*–*D. celiae*.

## Notable Specimens

* MAN 73/58/PJ-7, 21, 24-27, 33-35 and 75: An individual from the type locality comprising of: three chunks of the basal (39) and main beams (21, 26); a main beam (24); and various fragments (25, 27, 33, 34, 35 and 75). 39, 21 and 26 are corresponding parts of the left antler, 24 is part of the right antler and the fragments belong to both.
	+ MAN 19/68 K7/5: A part of the left main beam, fitting with no. 7.
* MAN 73/58/ CA K7/7-8: A left frontal and antler broken slightly above the burr, and a right frontal and basal part of the antler with fragments (none palmate) (7, 8). They were discovered from Orcasitas.
	+ MAN 19/68/CA K7/5: The left main beam, fitting with MAN 73/58/ CA K7/7.
	+ MAN 19/53/CA K7/4: A left main beam, fitting with MAN 73/58/ CA K7/8.
	+ MAN 19/58/CA K7/4, 10: A left brow tine tip that is a part of MAN 73/58/ CA K7/8, despite lacking connection (10) and a basal fragment of a shed left antler (4).
* MSI 1962/13/32-33: A left antler base and frontal (32) and a fragmented bow tine (33). Presumed a different individual from the aforementioned.
	+ Transfesa:
		- MAR 96/79/XIII/13/4/488: Left scapula from the Transfesa unit of Mz3.
		- MAR "nivel superficial": Left scapula from the Transfesa unit Mz3.
		- MNCN 62,332: Proximal and distal fragment of a left radius from the Transfesa unit Mz1.

* MSI AM61/3877: Proximal end of a right metatarsal fragment from Arenero de Manuel Soto.

## Paleoecology

Deer from a ~300kya timeframe are abundant and many contemporaries. *D. celiae* lived alongside *Haplodoiceros* (with similar antlers) and *D. clactoniana*. These species were all around the same size, and their diversity was historically undersold. Also present in the valley was *Megaloceros matritensis*. All of these species are either rare or unknown in the remainder of Europe, suggesting that they were either endemic or adapted to a specific location, assuming preservation bias is not the explanation. Acheulean lithics from fossil sites that provide this species are contemporary with Neanderthals in Europe, which may suggest that members of this species were hunting and consuming local dear—as suggested by cut marks on *D. celiae* fossils.

## References

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12520-023-01734-3