A reappraisal of the Early to Middle Pleistocene Italian Bovidae

The Boiano Basin is one of the largest Quaternary intermontane basins of the central‐southern Apennines within one of the most tectonically active areas of the Mediterranean region. In order to reconstruct its entire Quaternary stratigraphic, tectonic, and palaeoenvironment evolution, lithofacies and palaeomagnetic analyses have been performed on a 900 m‐deep borehole (CP1) drilled in the southwestern sector of the basin. The Quaternary succession consists of an alternating of alluvial fan and fluvial–marshy deposits for a total thickness of 240 m, unconformably laying on Lower Miocene deposits of the Sannio Unit, thrusted on upper Miocene deposits of the Molise Flysch. In addition, the stratigraphic study and facies distribution of 29 intermediate and shallow wells drilled in the basin, allowing us to define the thickness and lithofacies variations of the Quaternary sedimentary units inside the entire Boiano Basin in the sector of Campochiaro alluvial fan. Our results demonstrate that the Boiano Basin infilling started during the late Early Pleistocene (c. 1.1 Ma) and developed with variation in lithofacies distribution and thickness. The first depositional unit (Early Pleistocene–early Middle Pleistocene in age) was palustrine and fluvial–marshy, the second (Middle Pleistocene in age) was characterized by the occurrence of the first cycle of alluvial fan deposition, the third (late Middle Pleistocene in age) was newly palustrine and fluvial marshy and, finally, the fourth recorded two cycles of alluvial fan deposition (late Middle Pleistocene and Late Pleistocene in age, respectively), interspersed by short periods of palustrinity, tephra layers deposition, and palaeosols development. The study allows the hypothesizing that the Quaternary infilling was accommodated within a graben (or semigraben) structure, affected mainly by extensional fault systems localized in the inner part of the basin and secondly by fault systems bounding the basin.

The Middle and Late Pleistocene mammalian faunas of Japan are described with new opinions on their succession and relation to the continental faunas. Although fossil materials assignable to early Middle Pleistocene are seemingly scarce in Japan, the fauna of that time is considered to have been transitional between the Early and Middle Pleistocene ones. On the other hand, fossil records which are younger than early Middle Pleistocene are abundant from the mainlands of Japan; viz. the Honshu-Shikoku-Kyushu area.In the middle Middle Pleistocene, the fauna of this area contained a considerable number of taxa which are extant today in the area (about 50%). It was also characterized by a high proportion of endemic species and the predominance of temperate forest elements. From this time to the late Middle Pleistocene, several species disappeared from the fauna; at the same time, immigrants from the continent were scarce. The faunal characters of the late Middle Pleistocene were basically identical with those of the preceding time.In the early Late Pleistocene, no mammal seems to have immigrated from the neighboring continent, and faunal composition was almost consistent with that of the late Middle Pleistocene. The elements of that fauna still persisted in the late Late Pleistocene, apart from the extinction of a few forms. In addition to the fact mentioned above, immigration from the northern part of the continent was recognized in the late Late Pleistocene, although it was restricted to a few large herbivore forms and to a short time duration.The introduction of the continental faunas to the mainlands of Japan during Middle and Late Pleistocene times was not so remarkable as previously inferred. Therefore it becomes doubtful that the faunas of the area were drastically replaced by the immigration of the Choukoutien, Wanhsien and Loess faunas of China during those times.

Hominin diversity in East Asia during the Middle Pleistocene: A premolar endostructural perspective

Pleistocene mammals of Mediterranean islands

Hominin distribution and density patterns in Pleistocene China: Climatic influences

The faunal succession of Japanese Quaternary mammals is described within the stratigraphic framework provided mainly by KAMEI, KAWAMURA and TARUNO (1988). Descriptions are given separately for Hokkaido, Honshu-Shikoku-Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands.In Hokkaido, Pleistocene mammalian remains are too scarce to provide a detailed faunal succession, but abundant remains of Holocene age suggest that the fauna was almost identical to that of the present day. Large mammals recorded for the Late Pleistocene are therefore considered to have been extinct by the Holocene.In Honshu-Shikoku-Kyushu, the Early Pleistocene fauna is of temperate forest type, and related to those of north China. Almost all the components are, however, assigned to extinct endemic species. The Middle Pleistocene fauna is characterized by the presence of extant species. In fact, they exceed half of the components in the middle Middle Pleistocene fauna, and are still more common in the later faunas. This fauna is also dominated by temperate forest elements and endemic species. Immigration from south China in the middle Middle Pleistocene is more limited than previously thought, and only a few forms migrated from north and northeast China in the late Middle Pleistocene. The Late Pleistocene fauna is basically identical with that of the Middle Pleistocene except for the absence of several extinct species and several exotic species which still survive in other regions. Although the fauna seems to have been isolated from those of the adjacent continent in the early Late Pleistocene, immigration of large herbivores from the northern part of the continent was recognized in the late Late Pleistocene. Most of the extinct and exotic species were eliminated from the fauna between 20, 000 and 10, 000 years BP, and thus the fauna became almost identical with that of the present day by the early Holocene.In the Ryukyu Islands, Early and Middle Pleistocene faunas are almost unknown, while Late Pleistocene and Holocene ones are relatively well recorded. The Late Pleistocene fauna is of insular type, and includes several species endemic to the islands. Some of them are extinct species. From the end of the Pleistocene to the Holocene, insularity of the fauna was enhanced by the extinction of major species and by extreme reduction in habitat areas of the survivors.

Quaternary marine transgressions in eastern China

The current study focuses on the emblematic Myopus/Lemmus species complex (tribe Lemmini) in the European Pleistocene fossil record. The members of the two genera occupy distinct ecological niches and have different external appearances, but they are remarkably similar in their dental morphology, so that they were commonly thought of as undistinguishable in the fossil record. Thus, more or less all European Lemmini fossils have been assigned to the genus Lemmus. In the Early Pleistocene site of Schernfeld (Germany), the species Lemmus kowalskii had been described. It was thought by some authors that all Lemmini from Early to late Middle Pleistocene belong to this species.In the current study, we investigated Lemmini molar morphology from Western and Central European sites including Schernfeld (Early Pleistocene), Sackdillinger Höhle (Sackdilling Cave), and Koněprusy C718 (both early Middle Pleistocene), as well as other fossil localities with fewer specimens, formerly assigned to Lemmus kowalskii. Using an extensive modern referential material of Lemmus and Myopus, this study proposes to re-evaluate taxonomic status of the Middle and Early Pleistocene Lemmini. This modern referential also allows a better understanding of the morphology of Lemmus kowalskii specimens and its variability.Our results highlight the very high variation within fossil populations, as well as significant statistical differences between populations of the Early and Middle Pleistocene localities. A large part of these fossil specimens is firmly identified as Myopus sp., including the L. kowalskii holotype. Our identifications demonstrate that in most Early and Middle Pleistocene sites considered in this study, both genera (Lemmus and Myopus) are present. Possible interpretations and consequences for current view of lemming history are discussed, as well as some of the paleoecological and paleoenvironmental implications.

New Light on the Earliest Hominid Occupation in East Asia

The Pleistocene terrace staircase of the River Thame, central-southern England, and its significance for regional stratigraphic correlation, drainage development, and vertical crustal motions

Quaternary sediments in the Binh Tri Thien coastal zone are diverse in both material composition and development history. From land to sea, there are 4 structural regions: i) marginal plain region; ii) Coastal lagoon region; iii) Coastal sand dunes region; and iv) Monocline coastal subsidence region. In the vertical direction, all four regions have five sedimentary cycles as follows: a) Early Pleistocene (Q11); b) Early middle Pleistocene (Q12a); c) Late middle Pleistocene (Q12b); d) Early late Pleistocene (Q13a); e) Late late Pleistocene (Q13b-Q2). Four structural zones are characterized by different lithofacies complexes: 1) In the lowstand systems tract (LST) at the beginning of each cycle in all 4 structural zones, the SmaLST facies complex is present; 2) In the transgressive systems tract (TST), there are the following lithofacies complexes: a) region I: MsbTST; b) region II: MlgTST; c) region III: SmTST; d) region IV: Msam,mTST; 3) In the highstand systems tract (HST) there are the following facies complexes: a) Region I: (MsabHST); b) Region II: MslgHST; c) Region III: SmvHST; d) Region IV: SmmHST. The difference in sedimentary facies in the transgressive and highstand systems tract depends on the differentiation of four geological structure regions.

Early and Middle Pleistocene of North America

Middle Pleistocene to Holocene fluvial terrace development and uplift-driven valley incision in the SE Carpathians, Romania

Paleoecology of Pleistocene mammals and paleoclimatic change in South China: Evidence from stable carbon and oxygen isotopes

Ungulates from Atapuerca TD6