Biostratigraphy of the Late Middle Pleistocene (Middle Neopleistocene) of the Southern Urals region

Abstract

A summary of published and unpublished materials on the stratigraphy of the Late Middle Pleistocene (Middle Neopleistocene according to the Russian stratigraphic scheme) of the Southern Urals region is given. Deposits of different origin in the regional stratigraphic units are characterized. The results of mammalian investigations provide the basis for the stratigraphical subdivision. Mollusca and palynology are used for the reconstruction of the palaeoenvironments. The stratigraphical positions of the main Middle Neopleistocene localities and precise definitions of the stratigraphical scheme of the Southern Urals region are discussed. The Southern Urals subdivisions are correlated with the Western European stratigraphical schemes (Holsteinian–Saalian interval).