Hello again,
Just to report on the microfauna from Iraq again. So far the concensus is that the femur probably belongs to a bird (not a rodent), while the maxilla, incisor and near-complete skeleton belong to the genus Spalax ('mole rat') and possibly to Spalax ehrenbergi ('Middle East blind mole rat') which is the commonest species in the region and a very common burrower in archaeological sites (especially fond of Tells) (e.g. Reed, C. A. 1958 Observations on the burrowing rodent Spalax in Iraq. Journal of Mammalogy 39 (3)
Thanks to Katerina Papayiannis, Miriam Belmaker and Paul Halstead for their help.
All the best,
Angelos
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