Smaller mammals (Insectivora and Rodentia) from the early Mesolithic site of Bedburg-Königshoven, Germany

The early Holocene (Preboreal) smaller mammal fauna from Bedburg-Königshoven (Nordrhein Westfalen, Germany), found in association with larger mammal remains and artefacts, consists of Sorex cf. minutus Linnaeus, 1766, Sorex araneus Linnaeus, 1758, Talpa europaea Linnaeus, 1758, Arvicola terrestris (Linnaeus, 1758), Microtus arvalis (Pallas, 1779) and/or Microtus agrestis (Pallas, 1776), species which inhabited the area during deposition of the gyttja from which they have been collected. Remarkable is the occurrence of a mandible of (Linnaeus, 1761) and Microtus oeconomus with five premolars; available humeri of this species are comparatively large, which confirms the early Holocene age of the fauna.