Late Pleistocene birds and mammals from the Kiliite Cave (central Stara Planina Mts – central North Bulgaria)

Abstract

The studied fossil material of birds and mammals from a new Late Pleistocene site in the Stara Planina (Balkan) mountain range is herein presented. The age of the site was determined on the basis of the taxonomic composition of the mammal fauna. A total of 28 taxa (10 birds, 15 small and 3 large mammals) have been identified from 103 bone/teeth specimens. Of these, 14.3% of the established species are extinct/disappeared – Perdix palaeoperdix, Megaloceros giganteus, Ursus ingressus and Cuon sp. Most numerous are the remains of Microtus arvalis-agrestis, representing 42.7% of all finds.