Črvenka loess-paleosol sequence revisited: local and regional Quaternary biogeographical inferences of the southern Carpathian Basin

Abstract

Studies of Quaternary malacological assemblages from the loess-paleosol section of Črvenka (Vojvodina region, Serbia) provided the opportunity to examine the paleobiogeographic dynamics of the southern part of the Carpathian Basin. The results of quantitative-statistical, paleoecological and paleobiogeographical analyses performed on 9185 specimens of 38 mollusc species from six stratigraphic units showed that the study area was a transition area between the refuge areas in the Carpathian Basin during the Pleistocene.

Ice Age Terrestrial and Freshwater Gastropod Refugia in the Carpathian Basin, Central Europe

“…Vojvodinian loess/paleosol sequence at the brickyard of Crvenka are presented in the following part [69,104,105]. The observed features of the malacofauna are in line with the ones made at other loess/paleosol profiles from the Southern GHP, spanning the same time period [54,55,67,68].…”

“…30 years that compositional changes in the mollusk fauna of the southern parts of the basin are utterly different from those recorded in the other parts of the Carpathian Basin as well as in northern, western, and eastern Europe [54,64,67,94,106]. The most important difference is seen in the constant presence of xerothermophylous grassland elements (Cochlicopa lubricella, Granaria frumentum, Pupilla triplicata, Chondrula tridens, and Helicopsis striata) during the entire Late Pleistocene and their clear dominance in periods corresponding to the interstadials [67,69]. It must be noted that the dominance peaks of the individual taxa in different profiles of the Southern GHP may not be fully coeval thanks to variations in local environmental and microclimatic conditions.…”

“…It must be noted that the dominance peaks of the individual taxa in different profiles of the Southern GHP may not be fully coeval thanks to variations in local environmental and microclimatic conditions. Yet the general fluctuations of the similar warmth-loving paleoecological groups in time are synchronous between the individual profiles [67,69].…”

“…600 Ky [10][11] compared to the modern known value of 2.58 My [12][13][14][15][16], his postulation is rather remarkable considering our modern understanding of speciation and macroevolution. Location of the sites mentioned in this study on the Holdridge-type bioclimatological map of Szelepcsényi et al [69]: (1) Lake St. Ladislaus, Püspökfürdő-Nagyvárad (Baia Mai 1, Oradea, Romania); (2) Petény rock shelter (Bükk Mts, Hungary); (3) Rejtek rock shelter (Bükk Mts, Hungary); (4) protected marshland, Bátorliget (Nyírség, Hungary); (5) Selyemrét, Ócsa (Danube-Tisza interfluve, Hungary); and (6) brickyard (Crvenka, Serbia).…”

“…Complementing comprehensive paleoecological investigations of loess/paleosol sequences from various parts of the basin using numerous biotic proxies (mollusks, phytoliths, alkanes) clearly highlighted the presence of temperate grassland refugia in the southern parts of the Great Hungarian Plain and its wider surroundings [53,54,[66][67][68][69][70]. In the following chapters, a short overview of the results of these works is also presented in addition to those of freshwater and woodland mollusk refugia.…”