engleski

The Upper Pleistocene Refugium in Croatia

In Hrvatsko zagorje, northwestern region of Croatia, several Paleolithic cave localities are situated. Among them Vindija, Velika pećina and Veternica are well known as typical cave-bear localities and present a fairly complete succession of Upper Pleistocene fossiliferous layers. Recent detailed paleontological researches of ungulates from these caves has changed the elements of faunal complexes of all stratigraphic units and hence the knowledge about paleoecological characteristics of this region. Revision of the ungulate assemblages suggests that during OIS 2-5 the region was dominated by open forests, although rare findings of chamois/ibex in all stages suggests a continuous presence of broken ground. Recent investigations of the micromammal fauna from Vindija cave complement these results and indicate that open habitats with forest cover developed to a lesser degree than today prevailed near Vindija during the Upper Pleistocene. The list of recent fauna of this region contains more or less the same micromammal taxa as during the Upper Pleistocene, although some are missing (for example Microtus oeconomus ; last appearance radiocarbon dated on 18.5 kya BP). In Velika pećina and Veternica, previously determined cold indicative taxa such as Lepus timidus, Ochotona sp., Alopex lagopus and Gulo gulo have been removed from what now appears to be a forest faunal association with Lepus europaeus, Canis sp., Vulpes vulpes and Meles meles, indicating a more temperate climate zone during OIS 2-4 than previously thought. Recent investigations of faunal complexes of the above mentioned localities confirm the existence of more favourable and temperate biotopes with less extreme climatic oscilations than was previously considered. Forests with clearings define this region south from the Alpine ice sheet on the margin of the Pannonian steppe ; it was a refugium for numerous species during unfavourable climatic conditions in neighbouring areas. With climatic amelioration these taxa spread their ranges to the north.

Upper Pleistocene; ungulates; micromammals; Vindija; Velika pecina; Veternica; Croatia

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