Late Pleistocene and Holocene malacological and theriological faunas from the Tetyukhinskaya Cave (southern Far East, Russia) and their palaeoecological implications

Abstract

Assemblages of terrestrial molluscs and small vertebrates were recovered from the Tetyukhinskaya Cave, located in the vicinity of the Dalnegorsk city, Primorsky Krai (south of the Far East, Russia), from which we identified characteristic zones of molluscs and small mammals. Based on analysis of the malacofauna and theriofauna, we interpret the molluscs as indicators of the biotopes at the cave entrance, and the mammals as indicators of the cave surroundings, and during late Late Pleistocene and Holocene, forests existed near the area surrounding the cave. The small mammal fauna suggests the development of open spaces of a pasture-like ecosystem during the warm periods of the Late Pleistocene with the development of the forest vegetation. This study demonstrates the importance of complex faunal investigations for the reconstruction of the palaeoenvironment in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene.