Anastasia K. Markova

First accelerator mass spectrometry 14C dates documenting contemporaneity of nonanalog species in late Pleistocene mammal communities

Worldwide late Pleistocene terrestrial mammal faunas are characterized by stratigraphic associations of species that now have exclusive geographic ranges. These have been interpreted as either taphonomically mixed or representative of communities that no longer exist. Accelerator mass spectrometry {sup 14}C dates (n = 60) on single bones of stratigraphically associated fossil micromammals from two American and two Russian sites document for the first time that currently allopatric mammals occurred together between 12,000 and 22,000 yr B.P. on two continents. The existence of mammal communities without modern analogs demonstrates that Northern Hemisphere biological communities are ephemeral and that many modern biomes are younger than 12 ka. Future climate change may result in new nonanalog communities.

Response of the European mammalian fauna to the mid-Pleistocene transition

Abstract The end of the Early Pleistocene is intriguing particularly for mammalian palaeontologists. In Eurasia, this interval has a faunal turnover caused by both the evolution and migration of species. It is the time in which the famous end-Villafranchian ‘event’ takes place, a phenomenon characterized by a faunal turnover resulting mainly from the migration of larger mammals. The smaller mammal record reveals in particular an important radiation in medium-sized voles. Different Microtus species evolve rapidly from species of the genus Allophaiomys, and various lineages can be observed. This radiation finally leads to the diversity seen today. In eastern Europe, particularly on the Russian Plain and the Taman Peninsula, a number of localities occur where faunal assemblages from well-dated stratigraphic sequences can be analysed. These assemblages show the mid-Pleistocene evolution of rodent faunas within eastern Europe. Identical and synchronous changes in the mammalian faunas are found in other parts of Europe. However, a fauna from Untermassfeld in Germany does not fit this general picture, and serious doubts about its published age must be considered.

Radiocarbon dates of late quaternary mammals in the Archangelsk Region and their contribution to reconstructions of the last glaciation in Eastern Europe

Twelve new AMS (Accelerator Mass Spectrometry) dates of large Quaternary mammal remains were reported: mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius, bison (Bison priscus), and musk ox (Ovibos pallantis) found in the Archangelsk Region. The absolute age of the identified samples varies from 46 000 to 22 000 calibrated years ago. These data suggest that a substantial part of the Archangelsk Region was not covered by ice during the indicated time interval.

A New Early Middle Pleistocene Locality of Small Mammals (Lower Dniester River) and its Position in the Early Middle Pleistocene Sequence

An important, new Eastern European locality of small mammals has been discovered near Levada station, Dniester Basin, 30 km east of Tiraspol town, Moldova. Small mammals found at the Levada locality include Spermophilus sp., Lagurus transiens Yanossy, Eolagurus sp., Microtus (Terricola) arvalidens Kretzoi, and Microtus (Stenocranius) gregaloides Hinton, amongst others. The species composition of this fauna indicates its close similarity to the fauna from the stratotype of the Tiraspolian Faunistic Complex described from the Kolkotova Balka locality (Terrace V of the Dniester River, Kolkotova Terrace, Moldova). These faunas could be correlated with the Ilinka Interglacial III and possibly with the Interglacial III of Cromer.

Using multidimensional analysis and information functions for macro description of European natural complexes in the second part of the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene

This article analyzes the effect of geographic factors on variations in the species diversity of mammals and plants for the European territory. Multidimensional analysis and a number of information parameters have been applied for the first time, which allowed identifying objective indicators of mammal and plant diversity for different time periods in the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene.

MIDDLE PLEISTOCENE SMALL MAMMAL fAUNAS Of EUROPE: EVOLUTION, BIOSTRATIGRAPHY, CORRELATIONS

The paper is concerned with the small mammal fauna evolution in Europe in the Middle Pleistocene. The information on the faunas of the end of the Early Pleistocene has been also taken into consideration. The data available made possible identifying several stages in the small mammal evolution. Not all intervals within the Middle Pleistocene are provided with sufficient information for recognizing individual stages; that is particularly true for the cold periods of the Middle Pleistocene – the Donian and the Okian glaciations (=Elsterian, =Anglian). Based on the studies of small mammal localities, the biostratigraphic scheme has been developed, the principal phylogenetic lineages of Arvicolinae were traced, and maps of the Middle Pleistocene small mammal localities have been compiled