The Final Pliocene and Early Pleistocene Faunal Dispersals from East to Europe and Correlation of the Villafranchian Biochronology between Eastern and Western Europe

Abstract

The Villafranchian stage in the mammal fauna evolution in Eurasia (ca. 3.6/3.4 Ma—ca. 1.2 Ma) is associated with the beginning of the formation of the modern appearance of the mammal megafauna of today’s Palaearctic. The cooling and the aridification starting with the beginning of the Early Pleistocene gradually eliminated the quasi-tropical appearance of the Late Neogene landscapes and fauna of Europe. The time from the Mid-Piacenzian (ca. 3.3–3.0 Ma) to the end of the Early Pleistocene was a time of particularly intense dispersal of species, of faunal exchange between Eurasia and Africa, and of the entry of new mammals into Europe from the East. That is why the correlation of the biochronology of the Villafranchian fauna between Eastern and Western Europe is of particular interest. Accumulated data make possible a more precise correlation of these faunas today. A correlation of selected Eastern European localities with established faunal units and MNQ zones is made in the present work. Usually, the dispersal from Asia or from E. Europe to W. Europe is instantaneous from a geological point of view, but in a number of cases, reaching W. Europe happens later, or some species known to be from Eastern Europe do not reach Western Europe. The main driving forces of the faunal dispersals, which are the key bioevents in the faunal formation, are climate changes, which in turn, affect the environment. We can summarize the following more significant Villafranchian bioevents in Europe: the End Pliocene (Early Villafranchian: MNQ16) turnover related to the first appearance of a number of taxa, for example, felids, canids, proboscideans, and ungulates; the Quaternary beginning turnover. Correlated with this are the beginning of the Middle Villafranchian, which should be placed at about 2.6 Ma; the Coste San Giacomo faunal unit turnover (Senèze and Slivnitsa localities should be included here, and the FU itself, at the very beginning of the late Villafranchian (=MNQ18a)); the Pachycrocuta event at the very beginning of the Olivola FU; and the events related to the Late Villafranchian/Epivillafranchian bounfary.