Mammoth bone structures: A Comparison of Dolní Věstonice and Spadzista Street Site in Kraków

The interpretation of accumulations of mammoth bones has been a long-term subject of archaeozoological studies. As the issue is typically approached from a taphonomic perspective, the broad spectrum of represented bones, especially the presence of large, non-meat bones, is taken as evidence of the local death of animals – either through natural causes or as a consequence of hunting. The number of mandibles and lower molars are used to calculate the number of hunted individuals, as they are the most frequently represented element. However, this approach faces numerous pitfalls. Interpretations, even contradictory, always neglect some important fact, especially associations with artefacts and the living floor. In our opinion, the use of ethnohistorical knowledge could mitigate, alleviate or eliminate some of the discrepancies. The fact that these enormous bone accumulations are typical only for the Gravettian (s. lato) underscores their culturally conditioned character. A traditional source of controversial interpretations is the well-known mammoth bone heap at Kraków – St. Bronislawa Hill (Spadzista Street B+B1). Until recently, all that was known from the classic settlement agglomeration of “mammoth hunters” near Dolní Věstonice was a “large accumulation of mammoth bones” studied by B. Klíma. However, based on unpublished terrain documentation, it has recently been possible to reconstruct several other accumulations directly in the base camp in the upper part of the Dolní Věstonice I site. The various phenomena with which the bone depositions there are associated provide new impulses for additional discussions.     

Mammouth et comportements de subsistance à l’Épigravettien : analyse archéozoologique du secteur de la fosse no 7 associée à l’habitation no 1 de Mezhyrich (Ukraine)

Zooarchaeological analyses were carried on new large mammal bone materials, from the Epigravettian (Late Upper Palaeolithic) site Mezhyrich (Ukraine), in the pit n^o 7 area associated with the mammoth bone dwelling n^o 1. The results exhibit a usage of the pit as a dump area of food and technical remains from mainly mammoth, hare and fox processing, and bone fuels. The information about mammoth procurement by the last Palaeolithic hunter–gatherers in Eastern Europe allows to document the hunting activities on the mammoth populations, which were probably already weakened at the end of the Pleistocene.     

Hommes et environnements au Paléolithique supérieur en Ukraine : introduction aux recherches interdisciplinaires menées sur le site de Mezhyrich

Research conducted under the ANR project “Mammouths”, about “the end of the mammoth steppe: Man/Environment relationship during late Pleniglacial in Eastern Europe”, is the subject of several contributions. A first part was published in the Volume 118 (issue 5, November–December 2014) in the journal L’Anthropologie. We present in this second volume seven articles dedicated to the Upper Paleolithic site of Mezhyrich in Ukraine.     

Absolute nannofossil abundance estimates: Quantifying the pros and cons of different techniques

A quick and inexpensive method to determine absolute nannofossil abundance in deep sea sediments – the “drop” technique (modified dilution method) – was compared to two other available methods – the filtration and random settling techniques. All techniques rely on the same basic principle, under which a volume of known concentration (bulk sediment weight/mL) is distributed evenly over a known total area (glass slide or filter) to then count particles within a set of (randomly) selected fields of view. The three preparation techniques were also calibrated by spiking the samples with microbeads to approach the “real values” as closely as possible. Significant offsets in abundance estimates between methods mainly reflect bias due to the uneven distribution and/or loss of particles. We show that the drop technique is most consistent and accurate in estimating “real values” and offers similar or better reproducibility than the other techniques. The drop method also allows detection of the same trends with or without calibration with microbeads. The filtration method holds the risk to drastically underestimate absolute abundances, while the settling technique is demanding in terms of time and may suffer from advection processes. The composition of nannofossil assemblages can be reliably determined by any of the three different techniques.     

Charles de Gerville et les premiers restes de Plesiosauria signalés dans le Jurassique inférieur de France (Hettangien,région de Valognes,Manche)

The historian, archaeologist, and naturalist Charles de Gerville (1769–1853) reported as early as January 1816 the presence of fossil bones in the quarries of the region of Valognes, in the department of Manche. These quarries exploited the “Calcaire de Valognes” and the underlying “Argiles et Calcaires d’Huberville”, both formations dated as Lower Hettangian (Lower Jurassic). De Gerville communicated to Jacques-Louis-Marin Defrance a watercolour drawing of one of these fossil bones, discovered in July 1820, in which it is possible to recognize a plesiosaur femur. This femur, as well as a fragment of rib and three vertebrae of Plesiosauria from de Gerville's collection, was then figured in a publication by Arcisse de Caumont, in 1825. The plesiosaur femur was later acquired by Pierre Tesson of Caen, who owned one of the most important collections of fossils in Normandy. The Tesson collection was later purchased in 1857 by the British Museum (now The Natural History Museum, London), where the femur has been rediscovered. This specimen is the first known plesiosaur specimen ever discovered in the Lower Jurassic of France, before the genus Plesiosaurus was established upon material from the Lias of southwestern England. One of the vertebrae figured by de Caumont has been rediscovered in the “Muséum Emmanuel-Liais” (Cherbourg-en-Cotentin), which had acquired part of de Gerville's collection. The interpretation of the “fossil bones of Valognes” by Georges Cuvier, Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville, Arcisse de Caumont, Jacques-Amand Eudes-Deslongchamps and Constant Duméril is revealed through unpublished documents.     

Les assemblages lithiques du site épigravettien de Buzhanka 2 (Ukraine)

In 2003, a new Epigravettian site, Buzhanka 2, was discovered in the Middle Desna region. Typologically, the tool complex of the Upper layer is close to the Mezhyrich type complex. Thus, Buzhanka 2 is the northernmost site with this type of industry. It is the only site, in the Middle Desna basin and also in the whole basin of the Middle Dnieper, where the proportion of quartzite reaches more than 40 %. In the other sites from the whole Middle Dnieper region, this proportion is usually not more than a few percent.     

Isotopes stables (C,N) du collagène des mammouths de Mezhyrich (Epigravettien,Ukraine) : implications paléoécologiques

The mammoth steppe ecosystem was characterized by a high diversity in large mammals species distributed on a vast geographical range. The isotopic analyses of the collagen of the faunal remains from this context testified the niche partitioning among large herbivores with a specialization in the types of consumed plants. In the case of the mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius), systematic higher abundances in ¹⁵N are found for this species compared to those of other grazers in Eurasia and Alaska during the Upper Palaeolithic. This distinct isotopic signature reflects a specific ecological niche. The analyses of mammoth remains at the Epigravettian site of Mezhyrich (15,000–14,300 conv BP) reveal low abundances in ¹⁵N that are equivalent to those of the associated horses. Thus, the mammoth of Mezhyrich experienced a significant change in their environment and diet that probably led to the loss of their ecological niche. A likely direct competition with other large herbivores and the possible predation by wolves and human populations should be considered for the mammoth of the Ukrainian plains, long before their extirpation from the region.     

Meet the new mammoth,same as the old? Resurrecting the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mammuthus primigenius</Emphasis>

Media reporters often announce that we are on the verge of bringing back the woolly mammoth, even while there is growing consensus among scientists that resurrecting the mammoth is unlikely. In fact, current “de-extinction” efforts are not designed to bring back a mammoth, but rather adaptations of the mammoth using close relatives. For example, Harvard scientists are working on creating an Asian elephant with the thick coat of a mammoth by merging mammoth and elephant DNA. But how should such creatures be classified? Are they elephants, mammoths, or both? Answering these questions requires getting clear about the concept of reproduction. What I hope to show is that with an appropriate notion of reproduction—one for which I will argue—resurrecting a member of Mammuthus primigenius is a genuine possibility.     

Variabilité de l’industrie lithique entre les structures de l’habitation no 1 de Mezhyrich,site du Paléolithique supérieur d’Ukraine

The investigation of the lithic assemblages from three archaeological structures of the Upper Palaeolithic Mezhyrich site, mammoth bone dwelling no. 1, nearby located pit no. 7 and workshop with a portion of cultural layer situated on the border of the pit, exhibits a sufficient diversity of the main indexes of flint assemblages. According to the latter, the main flint resources, cores and large pieces of flint, as well as blades and several tools (scrapers), were kept just in the dwelling. At the same time, the remains of “debitage” and the modification products of several tools (burin spalls) are more numerous in the pit and the workshop. The higher percentages of backed microliths, included the forms with diagnostic projectile impact fracture, and burins with several working edges are also observed in the assemblages of the last two archaeological structures.     

A new data of worker polymorphism in the ant genus Dorylus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Dorylinae)

Recently, in southern and central Vietnam, foraging columns of D. orientalis which contained not only “typical” workers but also a few “atypical” workers were collected. The atypical worker mentioned above is characterized by a set of the following features: (1) head narrowed anteriorly, (2) median portion of clypeus strongly projecting anteriad, and (3) antenna 8-segmented. Sequences of the 658-base standard mitochondrial DNA barcoding region were completely identical between typical and atypical workers. Therefore, the condition observed was a case of worker polymorphism within a colony. The mode of polymorphism observed has the following interesting aspects: (1) workers are clearly subdivided into two series by a set of qualitative characters; (2) the “typical series” is numerically much more dominant than the “atypical series” (the latter occupied less than 1% of the whole of the workers collected); (3) a wider size variation was observed in the former (HW, 0.48–1.41 mm; ML, 0.42–1.12 mm) than in the latter (HW, 0.44–1.13 mm; ML, 0.35–0.79 mm); and (4) within the atypical series, smaller workers are numerically much dominant. Rareness of the workers belonging to the atypical series in foraging column as well as morphological differences between the two series suggests a certain possibility that the atypical series does not adapt to foraging but to other tasks in the colony's life history.     

Ecological accounting for an integrated “pig–biogas–fish” system based on emergetic indicators

With the expansion of urbanization in China, the integrated biogas-utilization system has gained its popularity for both renewable energy production and multi-level utilization of organic waste. To appraise the ecological performance of the integrated biogas system, systematic accounting is undertaken for an integrated “pig–biogas–fish” system in Hubei province, China. Based on Odum's concept of embodied solar energy as a unified measure for environmental resources, human labors and purchased goods, a set of emergetic indicators are employed to quantify the system sustainability. The results reveal that in a 20-year designed lifetime scenario, 94.69% of the total emergy inputs for the “pig–biogas–fish” system are attributed to purchased social resources. Three kinds of products, namely pig, biogas, fish are taken into consideration, and transformity of the “pig–biogas–fish” system is calculated as 1.26E + 05 seJ/J. Compared with the Chinese conventional agriculture system, the integrated biogas system shows a higher sustainability. Given that most biogas systems have a lifespan less than 20 years, for the “pig–biogas–fish” system, six other scenarios with different lifespans are studied to investigate the impact of the lifespan on sustainability. The findings suggest that the “pig–biogas–fish” system should be well operated for at least 8 years to prove its advantage in ecological economy over the conventional agriculture system. This has essential policy implications that local government should strengthen subsequent management on biogas production to extend the practical service life of the biogas system.     

The taxonomy,chronostratigraphy and paleobiogeography of glyptosaurine lizards (Glyptosaurinae,Anguidae)

Glyptosaurine lizards (Glyptosaurinae, Anguidae) are an extinct group of heavily armored lizards known from North America, Europe and Asia. Glyptosaurine lizards, taxa that possess fully developed tuberculated dermal armor, appear to have been established in North America by late early Puercan time (To3). “Proxestops,” a taxon distinguished by a combination of vermiculate and tuberculated osteoderm sculpturing, is considered to be a non-glyptosaurine, a sister taxon of the Glyptosaurinae. Known from only fragmentary remains, its wide chronostratigraphic distribution suggests that “Proxestops” is a form genus that, in all probability, represents more than one taxon, that ranges from the middle Paleocene to the early Eocene of North America. Moreover, the taxa Odaxosaurus piger, Parodaxosaurus sanjuanensis and “Proxestops” are best considered “proto-glyptosaurines”. “Melanosaurins” and glyptosaurins were well-established by the early Eocene, especially in North America, and are here documented by their type species and chronostratigraphic levels. Both tribes are present in Europe (MP7), too, but the record is not as estensive as that of North America. The North American taxon Gaultia silvaticus (Wa0) is transitional between a “melanosaurin” and glyptosaurin. Because it lacks the well-defined hexagonal osteoderms that characterize the Glyptosaurini, it is removed from that group and considered to be a “melanosaurin”. The “melanosaurin” taxon “Xestops” savagei (Wa4–Wa6) cannot be referred to Xestops (Br2) based on non-corresponding elements and because superficial similarity does not justify assignment to this taxon. Arpadosaurus sepulchralis (Wa6?), whose holotype is a fragmentary right frontal, is considered a subjective junior synonym of A. gazinorum, based on minor differences in the epidermal scale pattern that probably represent individual variation. “Glyptosaurus” agmodon (Wa6?), based on a partial right maxilla, cannot be referred to Glyptosaurus (sensu stricto), and the material upon which this taxon is based bears strong resemblance to material identified as cf. “?Paraglyptosaurus” yatkolai (Wa5–Wa6). “Glyptosaurus” rhodinos (Wa5) is based on an incomplete parietal, and its reference to Glyptosaurus is considered problematic. Eoglyptosaurus donohoei (Wa7) is probably valid and is re-established here. Glyptosaurus (sensu stricto) is known solely from the middle Eocene (Br2) by G. sylvestris. Dimetoposaurus wyomingensis (Br3) is removed from Xestops vagans because its synonymy was based on superficial similarities. Helodermoides tuberculatus, the largest and last glyptosaurin (Ch3), is restricted to the Chadronian of North America. Only the “melanosaurin” Peltosaurus granulosus (Or2–Or3), which includes the species P. abbotti, seems to have crossed the Eocene-Oligocene boundary, and appears to be largely restricted to the Orellan, but extended into the Arikareean. European glyptosaurines are also represented by both glyptosaurins and “melanosaurins” early in the Eocene (MP7). Placosauriops-like “melanosaurins” are known from Dormaal (MP7), and the glyptosaurin taxon?Placosaurus ragei occurs at the same level. “Placosauriops abderhaldeni” has been identified from the Grube Messel (MP11), but this assignment remains dubious because the species has not been adequately diagnosed, and the holotype species is from the Geiseltal (MP13), which is some 4.5 million years younger. Placosauriops weigelti (MP13) is the only valid species of this genus. Paraxestops stehlini (MP14) is not referable to the North American taxon Xestops, and its relationship to Placosauriops has not been studied. The late Eocene glyptosaurins Placosaurus estesi (MP17) and P. rugosus (MP18) are the last glyptosaurines known from Europe and appear to have gone extinct at the Eocene-Oligocene boundary, casulties perhaps of the “Grande Coupure”. Asian glyptosaurines are known solely from one species, Stenoplacosaurus mongoliensis, from the middle Eocene (Sharamurunian) of China. Glyptosaurines most likely originated in North America, diversified by late Paleocene time, and rapidly spread across the North Atlantic into Europe by the early Eocene. Both “melanosaurins” and glyptosaurins took a foothold in Europe by the early Neustrian, but the glyptosaurins, aside from one occurrence (Dormaal, MP7), were conspicuously absent for most of Neustrian through early Robiacian time. In North America, glyptosaurins diversified during the early and middle Eocene, while in Europe small “melanosaurins” were a prominent part of the paleoherpetofauna, and glyptosaurins are unknown for most of the Neustrian through the Geiseltalian, in both the fossilferous Lagerstätten of Messel and Geiseltal. Stenoplacosaurus is the only known glyptosaurin glyptosaurine from Asia, and its abrupt appearance during the late Eocene suggests the possiblity of a Beringian dispersal from North America into Asia.     

La cabane no 1 de Mezine : une référence pour l’architecture des cabanes en os de mammouths

The mammoth bone dwelling n^o 1 of the site of Mezine, excavated and dismantled in 1954–55 by I. Chovkoplass, is an emblematic and historical reference for the discovery of palaeolithic dwelling structures and in particular mammoth bone dwellings of Eastern Europe. It was the subject of synthetic publications by I. Chovkoplass (1965) and I. Pidoplichko (1969) and a reconstruction at the Museum of Zoology in Kiev. The dwelling n^o 1 is revised here directly from the excavation documents archived at the Institute of Archaeology NAS Ukraine. The consequences of its collapse, following its abandonment, on the spatial distribution of the mammoth bones are highlighted. The principles of its architecture are specified. And the hypotheses of elevation reconstruction are discussed in light of recent excavations of other sites with mammoth bone dwellings.     

Adaptation of the woolly mammoth <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mammuthus primigenius</Emphasis> (Blumenbach, 1799) to habitat conditions in the glacial period

An analysis of the available data on the various adaptations of the woolly mammoth to the cryoarid conditions of the Ice Age is presented. Mammuthus primigenius had a set of specific anatomic–morphological (thick long three-row wool, small ears, a short tail, an adipose “hump”, a “hood”-like extension on the trunk, and wide soles of the feet) and physiological (reduced sensitivity to cold and a specific kind of lipid metabolism) ideoadaptations that provided safe existence and wide distribution of this species in the Northern Holarctic for a long time. The current data make it possible to refer the woolly mammoth to a highly specialized species of the Mammoth biome.     

L’exploitation de la faune par les groupes humains du Pléniglaciaire supérieur à Eliseevichi 1 (Russie)

The archaeological site of Eliseevichi 1, located in the Dnieper River Basin, was discovered in 1930 by K.M. Polikarpovich. It is contemporary of Epigravettian occupations of the end of the second half of the upper Pleniglacial (20,000–14,000 years BP). As for the sites of the culture of Mezine (Mezine, Mezhirich, Gontsy and Dobranitchevka), it was interpreted as a specialized camp of hunters, mainly for slaughtering woolly mammoths and fur exploitation. Moreover, mammoth bones have been used to build larger structures than in mezinian sites associated with storage pits, as in Timonovka I, Yudinovo, Yourevitchi, Suponevo and Chulatovo. However, Eliseevichi 1 differs from all other sites by the presence of ivory engraved pieces with zigzag patterns and multiple linear features and the presence of platelets with decorations in the form of fish scales (“churingas”) and the high number of chisels. These features make it a unique case in the Desna Valley. To better understand the activities that have been implemented within the site by human groups, particularly the role of different species, we processed to the zooarchaeological study of the faunal remains from the 1935–1936 excavations. The faunal spectrum is restricted, typical of a cold and dry environment, with Mammuthus primigenius, Rangifer tarandus, Canis lupus, Alopex lagopus rossicus and Ursus arctos. Two skulls were previously identified as being those of dogs. According to the taphonomical study we highlighted a quick and deep burying of bones, which were affected by freeze-thaw alternating, without being highly altered and moved by phenomena of cryoturbation. The woolly mammoth was used for its meat and for its ivory. The many remains of canids are characterized by skinning marks and long bones were sawed. The presence of ocher, ashy areas, crude lithic fragments, could be linked to the treatment of skins. The site of Eliseevichi 1 was probably occupied during winter and summer seasons, several times during a long period. It could have two main functions, not as a habitat but as a specialized site of furskin and bone production.     

Chemical,biochemical, preclinical and clinical studies of Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide as an approved drug for treating myopathy and other diseases in China

Ganoderma lucidum is an edible medicinal mushroom known as “Lingzhi” in China and “Reishi or Manetake” in Japan. It is a highly prized vitality‐enhancing herb for more than 2000 years. G. lucidum polysaccharide (GLPS) has been identified as one of the major bioactive components and developed into a drug named “Ji 731 Injection” in China since 1973. The large‐scale production of the drug began in 1985 and approved by the Chinese FDA as “Polysaccharidum of G. lucidum Karst Injection” (Ling Bao Duo Tang Zhu She Ye) in 2000, which is applied intramuscularly. After more than forty years of clinical use, its efficacy, safety and long‐term tolerability have been recognized by neurologists. It is one of a few non‐hormonal drugs used for treating refractory myopathy. It is also used for combination therapy, which reduces the amount of glucocorticoid required for myopathy patient who is in remission. In addition, it reduces adverse reactions and improves the quality of life for cancer patients during chemotherapy. We found 81 qualified chemical, biochemical, preclinical and clinical studies of GLPS both in English and in Chinese spanning from 1973 to 2017 by searching CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure), Wanfang database and PubMed. The molecular mechanisms underlying GLPS's antioxidant, anti‐tumour, immune‐modulatory, hypoglycaemic, hypolipidaemic and other activities are discussed. Both preclinical and clinical studies are either deliberated or indexed in the current article. We aimed at providing a molecular picture as well as a clinical basis to comprehend GLPS as one of few polysaccharide‐based modern medicines with complicated chemical and pharmacological properties that prevent it from entering the world's market.     

A new Mastodonsauroid Temnospondyl from the Triassic of Algeria: Implications for the biostratigraphy and palaeoenvironments of the Zarzaïtine Series,northern Sahara

We describe a new species of mastodonsauroid temnospondyl from Algeria, Stanocephalosaurus amenasensis nov. sp., on the basis of two exquisite skulls from a Lagerstätte found in the lowermost formation of the Zarzaïtine Series, Illizi Basin, in the area of “La Reculée”, In Amenas region, Algeria. The new species is characterized by subtriangular nostrils with concave lateral borders; small orbits; postfrontals posteriorly very wide; very elongate parietals; smoothly concave posterior margin of the skull; ovoid anterior palatal vacuities; very posteriorly pointed choanae; oval interpterygoid fenestrae; and a short anterior extension of the cultriform process of the parasphenoid. S. amenasensis is different than the Algerian taxa previously erected by Lehman (1971)–“Parotosaurus lapparenti” and “Wellesaurus bussoni”–which we consider nomina dubia. It enlarges the distribution of the genus in northern Gondwana and supports the Early-Middle Triassic age of the lowermost formation of the Zarzaïtine Series. It also suggests that the local palaeoclimate was very seasonal and these aquatic amphibians died massively in a dewatering sebkha.     

Prevailing sea surface temperatures inhibit summer reproduction of the kelp Laminaria digitata at Helgoland (North Sea)

The impact of abiotic factors on kelp sporophyte reproduction has rarely been investigated. Laminaria digitata (Hudson) J.V. Lamouroux is one of the few summer fertile Laminaria species worldwide and reproduction is subjected to relatively high water temperatures. We investigated the impact of prevailing summer temperatures (~18°C in August) on the induction of sporangia, meiospore release, and germination at the island of Helgoland (North Sea). At Helgoland, fertile sporophytes are found between April and December with a maximum in late summer. While released meiospore numbers were constant between June and October, germination rates decreased significantly in summer. Short‐term exposure of mature sori to 17°C–22°C induced a significantly higher meiospore release indicating enhancement of sporulation by elevated temperatures. Induction of sporangia on vegetative blade disks was not possible at 20°C, and fertility was only 20% at 18°C–19°C, but it was 100% in cool temperatures of 1°C–10°C. It was shown for the first time in a kelp species that “sporogenesis” is the life‐cycle process with the narrowest temperature window compared to growth or survival of the sporophyte or reproduction, growth, and survival of the gametophyte. We incorporated several parameters (induction time, fertile area, and relative fertility) into a “Reproductive efficiency index.” This indicates that sporogenesis of L. digitata is a cold‐adapted process with an optimum at (5)–10°C. The results show that the population at Helgoland is at its reproduction limit despite the existence of other geographically more southerly located populations.     

Amphibians and squamate reptiles from the late Pleistocene of the “Caverne Marie-Jeanne” (Hastière-Lavaux,Namur, Belgium): Systematics,paleobiogeography, and paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental reconstructions

Archeological sites usually provide important information about the past distribution of small vertebrate fauna, and by extension about past terrestrial environments and climate in which human activities took place. In this context, Belgium has an interesting location in northwestern Europe between the fully studied zooarcheological records of Germany and England. We present here the revision of the late Pleistocene (Marine Isotope Stages 3 and 2) collection of the “Caverne Marie-Jeanne” (Hastière-Lavaux, Namur), studied by Jean-Claude Rage in the 1970s and the revision of the whole “indeterminate” small vertebrate materials from the “Caverne Marie-Jeanne” stored in the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS) Quaternary collections in search of more herpetofaunal remains. It is now by far the largest late Pleistocene collection at RBINS with more than 20,500 recognized bones of amphibians and reptiles and covering the last 60,000 years. The faunal list comprises two urodeles (Lissotriton gr. L. vulgaris and Salamandra salamandra), four anurans (Bufo gr. B. bufo-spinosus, Epidalea calamita, Rana temporaria and Rana cf. R. arvalis), three lizards (Lacerta cf. L. agilis, Zootoca vivipara and Anguis gr. A. fragilis), and three snakes (Natrix gr. N. natrix, Coronella austriaca, and Vipera berus). This study represents the first fossil record in Belgium for L. gr. L. vulgaris, R. arvalis, Z. vivipara, N. gr. N. natrix and C. austriaca. As a whole, this assemblage suggests a patchy humid landscape under colder and dryer climatic conditions in comparison with present ones. This study also underlines the necessity of a primary separation in larger taxonomical categories by the specialist itself.