INVESTIGATION OF THE IMPORTANCE OF STARUNIA PALEONTOLOGICAL LOCATION OF THE PLEISTOCENE FAUNA OF THE RHINOCEROSES AND THE MAMMOTHS FOR QUATERNARY GEOLOGY

Abstract

The first finds of mummified carcasses of the hairy rhino, mammoth, horse, roe deer and other animals were carried out at a depth of 12 m when passing the mines for the production of ozokerite near the village. The expedition of the Academy of Skill from Krakow, when passing a mine at a depth of 17 m, found the remains of 3 more hairy rhinos. There were also numerous bones of small vertebrates (rodents), artichokes, numerous insects, beetles, parasitic worms, slag, butterflies, spiders, snails, vascular plants, seeds and branches of dwarf birch, alder, and other representatives of tundra flora. After the earthquake in the Vrancha Mountains (Romania), the first and still unique mud volcano in the Carpathians, which gave the Starunia paleontological location a new "sound", arose on the ozokerite deposit. An important result was the discovery of the most desirable area, where the remains of giant mammals and even the Cro-Magnon Pleistocene could still be found at the depths. All the numerous interdisciplinary traces of Polish and Ukrainian scientists confirm the uniqueness of Starunia on a global scale, requiring the preservation and further study of paleontological finds and the only mud volcano in the Carpathians. Such findings can only be made by organizing the Starunia geodynamic ground International Ecological and Tourist Center «Geopark Ice Age».