Pleistocene herpetofaunal studies in Serbia (Balkan Peninsula, SE Europe): State of the art and perspectives

Abstract

The country of Serbia is situated on the Balkan Peninsula and has a moderate continental climate. Dramatic tectonic activity in the early Miocene generated two main mountain ranges and led to the retreat of Paratethys. This meant the Balkan Peninsula became a crossroads for many migrating species. Currently, the majority of central European species, along with some Mediterranean, and even Euro-Siberian taxa can be found in Serbia. Fossil records from caves reveal changes in fossil fauna from the Pleistocene to Holocene. There is evidence that the distinct configuration of the terrain in the Balkans led to many isolated areas, enabling large mammal species, together with Neanderthals that were living in the area, to find refuge and survive longer than in the rest of Europe. The best fossil associations containing small vertebrates come from the Baranica, Hadži Prodanova, Pešturina, and Smolućka caves. Based on available numerical dating, an attempt has been made to fit these within the chronological context of the Mousterian-Aurignacian-Gravettian cultural succession. The stratigraphy of the layers corresponds to the so-called MIS 5 to MIS 2 (i.e., from 70,000 to 14,000 years ago). This paper presents a review of the herpetofaunal findings from Serbia, and analyses the data collected. Statistical approaches, involving hierarchical clustering and correspondence analysis, have been used on the fossil amphibian and reptile assemblages. As associated context is often not sufficient, small mammal assemblages have been used as a comparative proxy for reconstructing the palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironment, through the application of taxonomical habitat indexes and bioclimate analysis. The overall analysis reveals that the herpetofaunal composition experience substantial change between MIS 3 and MIS 2, when there were a loss of diversity and the concurrence of species adapted to cold climates and environments, in accordance with the glacial cycle.