Small mammal fauna in Europe during the second half of the Middle Pleistocene

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Evolutionary changes in European small mammals during the second half of the Middle Pleistocene, from the Likhvin (Holsteinian, Hoxnian) Interglacial (MIS 11) to the beginning of the Mikulino (Eemian) Interglacial (MIS 5e), that is between 424 ka BP and 130 ka BP were traced. Trends in evolutionary change were documented, and East European and West European faunas were compared. An integrated analysis of available theriological, geological, and geochronological data for the second half of the Middle Pleistocene in Europe has shown marked changes in the small mammal fauna throughout the period under consideration and provided information on the climate and environments at different time intervals. Changes traceable in the Arvicolinae phyletic lines made a correlation between the West European and East European mammal localities possible. The biostratigraphic scheme of the second half of the Middle Pleistocene has been developed and maps of small mammal localities compiled.</jats:p>

<p align="center">A new Norwegian Lemming subspecies from Novaya Zemlya, Arctic Russia

“…After that, lemmings colonized Western Siberia, the Urals, Novaya Zemlya, and Europe (approximately 170 Ka ago, the MRCA of Lemmus sibiricus and L. lemmus). As it was noted above, this massive westward dispersal event coincides with the penultimate glacial maximum (MIS 6) 190-130 Ka ago, and is traced well in paleontological records (Markova & Puzachenko 2017).…”

“…Hence, the MRCA of the Lemmus lemmus clade was widely distributed throughout the drying Arctic Shelf from Western Europe to Novaya Zemlya before the Eemian interglacial, as suggested based on our generalized ancestral area reconstruction (S-DIVA + BayArea models; probability = 96.6%). This broad range could have been originated during a cold event corresponding to the marine isotope stage (MIS) 6 [the penultimate glaciation], when lemmings abundantly occurred in Western (Lemmus lemmus) and Eastern (L. lemmus and L. sibiricus) Europe (Markova & Puzachenko 2017). The rising of the sea level during the subsequent Eemian interglacial (MIS 5) (Markova & Puzachenko 2017) was the most likely driver of isolation of Novaya Zemlya from the mainland followed by a vicariance event in the MRCA of L. lemmus.…”