Pleistocene vertebrate faunas of the Süttő Travertine Complex (Hungary)

Abstract

Numerous fossil remains (vertebrates, molluscs and plants) were found in more than twenty sites of the Sütt Travertine Complex during the last 150 years. The majority of these remains were recovered from fissures of the travertine, but also from the travertine and an overlying loess-paleosol sequence. The aims of this study were to review the Sedimentological and OSL data of well-dated layers of the loess-paleosol sequence (Sütt /LPS) at Sütt allowed a correlation with the layers of Sütt 6. The paleosol layer in the upper part of the sequence of Sütt 6, was correlated with a pedocomplex of the overlying loess-paleosol sequence, which was dated to MIS 5c (upper, dark soil) and MIS 5e (lower, reddish brown soil). The paleoecological analysis of the mammal and mollusc faunas supported the former interpretation of Novothny et al., inferring warm, dry climate during the sedimentation of the upper layers, and more humid climate for the lower layers). However, the fauna of the lower soil layer indicated cold climate, so an age of MIS 5d is suggested.Dating of the fissure faunas is based on similarity studies. For some faunas, this method cannot be used, because of the low number of species. On the basis of the species compositions and former interpretations, these faunas originated mainly from sediments that were deposited under cold climatic conditions. Other fissure faunas M A N U S C R I P T A C C E P T E D ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPTwere dated by AMS 14 C (Sütt 16), or by correlation with soil layers of Sütt 6.According to these results, most of the fissure faunas can be correlated with different phases of MIS 5. However, there are a younger (MIS 2) and an older (Early-Middle Pleistocene) fissure fauna.

The influence of climate on morphometric traits of fossil populations of Microtus arvalis and M . agrestis from the Carpathian Basin, northern Hungary

“…arvalis needs less water than small‐sized individuals in warm climates (Dienske ), so a selection in favour of bigger specimens would be expected in the warm and dry environment of Süttő 6 (Pazonyi et al . ). Nevertheless, the sudden increase in m1 size at this site, followed by the return to the earlier, Middle Pleistocene values, may be the sign of an immigration event.…”

“…Süttő 6 (layers 1–5; Barta ; Pazonyi et al . ), Porlyuk Cave and Poroslyuk Cave (Jánossy ) are dated to the initial stages of MIS 5 (128–104 ka) at the beginning of the Late Pleistocene. Lambrecht Cave and the lower levels of Tokod (layers 4–6; Gasparik ) pertain to the end of MIS 5 (82–80 ka), whereas the upper levels of Tokod (layers 1–3; Jánossy ) and Istállóskő Cave (Jánossy ) belong to MIS 3 (40–30 ka; Table ).…”

Geobody architecture of continental carbonates: “Gazda” travertine quarry (Süttő, Gerecse Hills, Hungary)

“…This travertine complex has been investigated by several researchers since the early '50ies (Schréter, 1951;Kele, 2009;Sierralta et al, 2010;Pazonyi, 2014;Pazonyi et al, 2014). Scheuer and Schweitzer (1988) proposed that spring activity was initiated by Early Pleistocene structural movements and that the original centre of spring discharge could have been situated in the Haraszt Hills (Fig.…”

The Danube Corridor Hypothesis and the Carpathian Basin: Geological, Environmental and Archaeological Approaches to Characterizing Aurignacian Dynamics

“…When present, biotic remnants such as mollusk shells (Marković et al 2007;Molnár 2015;Sümegi et al 2011Sümegi et al , 2015, charcoal (Rudner and Sümegi 2001;Willis and van Andel 2004), and/or osseous remains (Jánossy 2011;Pazonyi et al 2014) found within loesspaleosol sequences can provide further insights into the paleoenvironment.…”