The Mikulino (= Eemian) mammal faunas of the Russian Plain and Crimea

Abstract

During the last decades a considerable amount of data on mammals from Mikulino (=Eemian) deposits of the central and southern parts of the Russian Plain has been produced. Mammuthus primigenius (the early type), Palaeoloxodon antiquus (the advanced form), Arvicola ex gr. terrestris, Eolagurus cf. luteus and Lagurus cf. lagurus characterize this period. The so-called 'Shkurlatian mammal assemblage' was distinguished on the basis of a number of Eemian faunas.The age of the mammal localities was established by using various geological and palaeontological evidence, together with the results of palaeomagnetic studies and absolute dating. The evolutionary level of the diagnostic species allows correlations between localities from different parts of the Russian Plain that have varying taphonomical conditions. The mammal-and malacofauna of the Mikulino Interglacial can also be used as a basis for correlations between the Karangat marine strata of the Black Sea and the continental deposits (alluvial sediments of the second terrace of the Sudost' River and the Salyn phase of the Mezin fossil pedocomplex (see Dodonov et al., this volume). Forest, forest-steppe and steppe zone landscapes have been reconstructed for the central and southern parts of the Russian Plain on the basis of the Eemian faunas.

Preliminary Analysis of European Small Mammal Faunas of the Eemian Interglacial: Species Composition and Species Diversity at a Regional Scale

“…The small mammal fauna were recovered from lagoonal and marine sediments of the Black Sea attributed to the Karangatian transgression (correlated with the Mikulino Interglacial and MIS 5e) based on the evidence retrieved mollusk fauna [28]. The SDQ index and size of the water vole Arvicola teeth agree with the data from other Mikulino localities [12]. The mammal fauna from the Eltigen section (eastern Crimea) is also confined to the Black Sea lagoonal-marine sediments and, in common with the Novonekrasovka sequence, includes Karangatian mollusk shells along with small mammal remains.…”

“…Over the last 30 years the authors of this paper collected a huge amount of data with detailed information on the Pleistocene mammal localities in Europe and northern Asia. The remains of small mammals found in the Mikulino localities on the East European Plain were collected in the field and analyzed by the first author [12].…”

“…The Eemian (Mikulinian) small mammal fauna data from Eastern Europe collected until the late 20th century have been summarized by A.K. Markova [12].…”

“…Some species found in the localities prefer humid environments among them are the water vole Arvicola terrestris and the tundra vole Microtus oeconomus. The water voles from the Mikulino localities are characterized by their advanced (progressive) morphology, with SDQ values of 100 [12,130].…”

The Pleistocene easternmost distribution in Eurasia of the species associated with the Eemian Palaeoloxodon antiquus assemblage

“…1). In Eastern Europe it has been identified in Croatia (Malez, 1986), Poland (Kowalski, 1989; Kubiak, 2001), Moldova (David & Lungu, 1972; David, 1985), Ukraine (Kahlke, 2001) and European Russia (Alexeeva, 1980; Markova, 2000, 2007). In European Russia P. antiquus or P. cf.…”