The Late Pliocene vertebrate fauna of Vatera (Lesvos Island, Greece)

Vatera is a Late Pliocene (~2 Ma) locality in the southern part of Lesvos Island, Greece, in which a mainland fauna of large vertebrates has been found and systematically excavated. The fauna is composed of the typical European mammals of that time: horses (Equus), giraffes (Mitilanotherium), gazelles (Gazella), antelopes (Gazellospira), oxes (Leptobos), raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes), badgers (Meles), dirk-toothed cats (Homotherium), rhinoceroses (Stephanorhinus), mastodonts (Anancus) and mammoths (Mammuthus). In addition, the remains of a rare species of macaque (Paradolichopithecus) and a species of a giant tortoise (Cheirogaster) were also discovered.