Abstract In Sicily few studies have been devoted to the climatic–environmental changes of the Pleistocene and Holocene period. Most of the studies on Quaternary vertebrates in Sicily have been focused on the evolutionary–taxonomic aspects of the fauna. Sicily experienced at least four vertebrate dispersal events during Quaternary time, which are of different provenence (African and/or European) and have been controlled by filtering barriers of different intensities. The marked endemism and the extremely low diversity of the fossil assemblages of early and early–mid-Pleistocene time do not allow detailed interpretations. By way at contrast, younger assemblages are more diverse and, although they display some endemic characters, are similar to those of southern peninsular Italy. The late mid-Pleistocene and early Late Pleistocene assemblages ( Elephas mnaidriensis faunal complex) are characterized by the occurrence of a red deer ( Cervus elaphus siciliae ), a dwarf fallow deer-like endemic megalocerine ( Megaceroides carburangelensis ), auroch ( Bos primigenius siciliae ), bison ( Bison priscus sieiliae ), elephant ( Elephas mnaidriensis ), hippopotamus ( Hippopotamus pentlandi ), boar ( Sus scrofa ), brown bear ( Ursus cf. arctos ) and three large social carnivores ( Panthera leo , Crocuta erocuta and Canis lupus ). Most of these taxa, except for the megalocerine, are characterized by slightly reduced body size compared with the same taxa from mainland Europe. These assemblages are indicative of a climate with temperate, Mediterranean affinity and of landscapes in which forested areas were associated with more open environments. The relatively low abundance of the red deer and the dominance of the megalocerine in several assemblages suggests that a Mediterranean-type forest locally dominated some of the climatic phases. The assemblages of the youngest Late Pleistocene period on Sicily are characterized by a dramatic drop in diversity, with the disappearance of elephant, hippopotamus, bison, the endemic megalocerine, and the largest predators. This would indicate an environmental crisis probably linked to the drier climatic oscillations of late Pleniglacial time, as is suggested also by the spread of the ground vole, which is the dominant small mammal in several assemblages. The Late Glacial period is characterized by the spread of equids (horse and wild ass), which are indicators of open landscapes and of xerophytic steppe-like cover. The beginning of the Holocene period is characterized by the expansion of forested areas and by a more humid climate, as suggested by the abundance of red deer, and by the dispersal of the common dormouse ( Glis glis ) and water vole ( Arvicola sp.).

Abstract Bernard, H. A., and LeBlanc, R. J., 1965, Resu:ne of the Quaternary geology of the northwestern Gulf of Mexico Province, in Wright, H. E., Jr., and Frey, D. G., editors, The Quaternary of the United States: Review vole, VII Cong. Int. Assoce Quat. Research, Princeton Univ. Press p. 152.

Abstract The end of the Early Pleistocene is intriguing particularly for mammalian palaeontologists. In Eurasia, this interval has a faunal turnover caused by both the evolution and migration of species. It is the time in which the famous end-Villafranchian 'event' takes place, a phenomenon characterized by a faunal turnover resulting mainly from the migration of larger mammals. The smaller mammal record reveals in particular an important radiation in medium-sized voles. Different Microtus species evolve rapidly from species of the genus Allophaiomys, and various lineages can be observed. This radiation finally leads to the diversity seen today. In eastern Europe, particularly on the Russian Plain and the Taman Peninsula, a number of localities occur where faunal assemblages from well-dated stratigraphic sequences can be analysed. These assemblages show the mid-Pleistocene evolution of rodent faunas within eastern Europe. Identical and synchronous changes in the mammalian faunas are found in other parts of Europe. However, a fauna from Untermassfeld in Germany does not fit this general picture, and serious doubts about its published age must be considered.

The purpose of this study is to reconstruct the geologic history of a sinkhole collapse basin that formed during late Pleistocene time in Meade County, Kansas; to determine the nature of the vertebrate faunas that lived in and around this basin during Illinoian glacial, Sangamon interglacial, and Wisconsin glacial times; and to reconstruct, on the basis of the fossils, some of the local environments and climatic conditions that existed in the southern High Plains during late Pleistocene time. Small fossils were recovered from the sedimentary deposits by washing and screening large quantities of matrix. Most of these fossils were identified by comparing them with Recent skeletal remains of the same species. Remains of larger, extinct mammals also were found. Mapping of the geology was facilitated by the use of aerial photographs, topographic maps, and Brunton compass. The basin under study is called the Butler Spring Basin and is located in southern Meade County, Kansas, about 1 mile north of the Cimarron River. It is approximately 1 mile in diameter and is believed to have formed when subsurface solution of salt and anhydrite from Permian beds caused the collapse of overlying beds of Pleistocene age. Studies of fossils preserved in the sediments filling the basin have demonstrated the presence of four superimposed vertebrate faunas. Associated with some of these faunas are mollusks, freshwater ostracods, and pollen. The oldest fauna occurs in stream deposits of the ancestral Cimarron River which lie topographically below the High Plains surface and which represent a period of downcutting during late Pleistocene time. Younger faunas occur in a series of overlying silts and sands of sinkhole origin. On the basis of stratigraphic position, faunal composition, and associated floral (pollen) evidence, the faunas are assigned to the third (Illinoian) and fourth (Wisconsin) glacials and the intervening third (Sangamon) interglacial. The Adams local fauna (Illinoian) contains fragmentary remains of large mammals taken from sands and gravels of the ancestral Cimarron River. In the Butler Spring local fauna (late Illinoian), the occurrence of Sorex cinereus , masked shrew; Citellus richardsoni , Richardson ground squirrel; and Microtus pennsylvanicus , meadow vole, whose present ranges do not extend as far south as Meade County, Kansas, suggests summers that were cooler and more moist than those in the area today. The Cragin Quarry local fauna (Sangamon) occurs in sediments which overlie the Butler Spring local fauna. It includes a large and diverse mammalian assemblage; many of the species are upland prairie forms. The remains of the tortoises Gopherus and Geochelone indicate a warm, interglacial climate. A massive caliche immediately above the faunal zone suggests a period of prolonged weathering and aridity—perhaps during middle Sangamon time. The Robert local fauna (late Wisconsin) consists of microvertebrates collected from a 1-foot, dark-gray to black silt or soil zone just below the surface in the immediate vicinity of Butler Spring. Most of the mammals are characteristic of marshy conditions or moist, low meadows. A radiocarbon date of 11,000 ± 390 years B.P. was obtained by dating shells of Succinea ovalis Say. Several of the mammalian species represented in the fauna are not found as far south as Meade County, Kansas, at the present time. Eleven of the extant species may be found living today in northeastern South Dakota. From a study of temperature and effective precipitation in both areas, it appears that the Robert local fauna lived in Meade County, Kansas, during the late Wisconsin glacial in a climate which had cooler summers and more effective moisture than occur in the area today, and that this climate is probably similar to that of northeastern South Dakota today.