of the Sardinian pika, Prolagus figaro, arrived in the Corsican-Sardinian microcontinent at the early-late Pliocene boundary around 3.6 million years ago, likely due to an emergent land connection with Italy caused by a sea level drop. Amongst mainland species, the P. figaro-P. sardus lineage was previously thought to be most closely related to the species P. depereti known from the Pliocene of France, which was originally described as a subspecies of P. figaro. However, the oldest known remains of Prolagus from Sardinia, referred to as P. aff. figaro, show closer affinities to the species P. sorbinii, a species of Eastern European origin, which expanded westwards during the Messinian, the last stage of the Miocene, with well known remains from central Italy from the latest Miocene and early Pliocene. The oldest unambiguous remains of Prolagus sardus date back from the Middle Pleistocene, a time when both islands were periodically connected due to sea level changes. Reassessment of palaeontological data has shown that the distinction made by early authors between two contemporaneous taxa (P. sardus and P. corsicanus) is probably unfounded, as the Sardinian pika exhibits only subtle anagenetic evolution of its anatomy and body size through time. Humans first arrived in Corsica-Sardinia around 10,000 years Before Present (BP). The presence of Prolagus facilitated the establishment of the first human communities of the islands. Jean-Denis Vigne found clear evidence that the Sardinian pika was hunted and eaten by people. He found that many of the Sardinian pikas' limb bones were broken and burnt at one end, suggesting that this animal had been roasted and eaten by the Neolithic colonists of Corsica. The Sardinian pika became extinct in Corsica and Sardinia sometime after 810 BC, probably during Roman times due to agricultural practices, the introduction of predators (dogs, cats and small mustelids) and ecological competitors (rodents, rabbits and hares). Transmission of pathogens by rabbits and hares introduced to Sardinia and Corsica by the Romans may have also played a role in the species's extinction. Other endemic small mammals like the shrew Asoriculus similis, the Tyrrhenian field rat, and the Tyrrhenian vole, probably also disappeared from Corsica and Sardinia around the same time. Historical references The 2nd century BCE Greek historian Polybius described in The Histories the presence of an animal in Corsica locally called the kyniklos which "when seen from a distance looks like a small hare, but when captured it differs much