Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia, 32() 1989
Middle Pleistocene small mammals (Insectivora, Lagomorpha, Rodentia) from Morovitsa Cave (North Bulgaria)
Abstract:
The present paper is a study of small fossil mammals found in the matrix of multilayer deposits in the entrance chamber of Morovitsa Cave. The systematic part of study contains a review of 34 small mammal taxa. The characteristic feature of the Morovitsa local fauna is that it contains recent genera (except Pliomys in lower layers), but some of the species are somewhat more primitive than recent end-members of these phyletic lineages. The morphological evolution in some phyletic lineages is traced and discussed. The biostratigraphic zonation and correlations suggest that Morovitsa section represents the upermost part of Mauer and the lower part of Swanscombe phases of Steinheimian. The faunal change is not sharp and it is probably connected with progressive continentalisation of the climate during deposition of lower layers.
