Ichnologists examined animal tracks found near the coast of Spain at 4 sites, and they date to the last Interglacial ranging in age from 90,000 years BP-140,000 years BP. Ichnology is the study of animal tracks. They found tracks that compare favorably to the enormous, extinct straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus), horse, red deer (known as elk in North America), wolf, stone marten, and beetle. The sites include Torro de Copa, Calblanque, Monte de la Ceniza, and Pena del Aquela Regional Nature Park. The tracks are important evidence that these species occurred here because their remains are not found in the local fossil record, though they are found in other parts of the Iberian Peninsula.
Location and geological setting of sites where fossil tracks of animals dating to the last Interglacial were found in Spain. From the below referenced paper.
The tracks were found in fossilized sand dunes created by Ice Age winds. Note the impressions of raindrops. This indicates the sand was wet when the tracks were made. From the below referenced paper.
Fossilized elephant tracks. From the below referenced paper.
Map of sites where evidence of extinct elephants have been found. The yellow represent tracks; the red circles represent bones. From the below referenced paper.
Straight-tusked elephants were 1 of the largest land mammals of all time. There were 4 species and they ranged across Africa, Europe, and Asia. I believe they would still exist today, if not for man. During Ice Ages mammoths replaced them in colder regions, but they could still occur in warmer regions of Europe and Asia.
Ichnologists find impressions of rain drops in the sand next to the tracks, indicating the sand was wet from rain when the tracks were made. The tracks were made on coastal sand dunes that formed during a previous Ice Age when climate was dry, and wind blew sand into big dunes. However, by the time these tracks were made, wetter climate fostered the spread of beach shrubs that stabilized the dunes. They were walking through a scrubby habitat with many bare spots. The dunes were adjacent to a mixed forest of ash, birch, fir, and hornbeam. Straight-tusked elephants likely fed on the twigs and leaves of these plants. Some tracks appear as if the animals were just passing through, perhaps as part of a seasonal migration. Other trackways suggest the animals were congregating on the spot and trampling the ground. Neanderthals likely hunted these animals here.
The sites were dated using uranium-series dating of coral and seashells. They must have been rapidly covered by sediment that today is being eroded away, making them visible. It’s a nice snapshot of the local fauna during the interglacial. If not for man, all of these species would still enjoy living next to the Mediterranean Sea today.
Reference:
Carvalho, C.; et al
“New Vertebrate Track Sites from the Last Interglacial Dune Deposits of Coastal Murcia (Southeastern Spain): Ecological Corridors for Elephants in Iberia”
Quaternary Science Review 369 December 2025
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379125004512
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