Review of the Results of Morphometric and Morphogenetic Analyses of Early Pleistocene Micromammals and Upper Pleistocene Cave Bears in Croatia

Abstract

Due to the large number and visible morphological variability of skeletal parts of the Early Pleistocene micromammals and Upper Pleistocene ursids we utilised morphometric, morphogenetic and statistical analyses in order to determine and process the material. The results indicate rapid microevolutionary processes which arc reflected both in variations of the characteristic parameters of particular skeletal parts, and their morphology. The Early Pleistocene age of the bone-breccias discovered along the Adriatic coast was confirmed by the morphogenetic analyses of micromammals, with reference to geochronologically important arvicolids: the fauna from Razvode near Knin comprises arvieolids characteristic of the Lower Early Pleistocene, the fauna from Tatinja draga near Karlobag comprises species typical for the Middle Early Pleistocene, while the fauna from Podumci near Unisic is of Late Early Pleistocene age. The results of the analyses of teeth and metapodial bones of the cave bears from the Upper Pleistocene deposits in Vindija cave, Velika pecina and Veternica cave (NW Croatia) are expressed as morphodynamic indices, namely, the frequency of the morphotypes occurrence indicates the existence of an interermediate type (?subspecies) within the phyletic lineage Ursus deningeri - Ursus spelaeus, which appeared during the Riss glacial and Riss/Wuerm interglacial, and a lack of deposits of that particular age in Veternica cave and Velika pecina.