The Early Pleistocene (Epivillafranchian) faunal site of Untermassfeld (Thuringia, Central Germany). Synthesis of new results

The Pleistocene fauna of Untermassfeld (Southern Thuringia, Central Germany) comprises some 99 taxa, among them 43 mammalian species. The fauna! remains were accumulated by repeated high flood events on the lee-side of an elastic fan of interfingering fluviatile sediments. Approximately 50% of larger mammal individuals (total MNI=310) indicated from the site fell victim to floods. The survival pattern of members of the recovered species was primarily determined by their respective specific behavior and motor abilities. Most animals died between October and the end of March/early April. A Pleistocene landscape consisting of a more or less damp river valley with thicket-like bank vegetation, low growing to higher mixed forests, limestone slopes with dry meadows and poor shrub to tree vegetation, as well as park-like to open landscapes out of the valley is deduced. The fossil assemblage mainly consists of moderate and thermophile elements, which illustrate a prevailing warm and humid climate balanced by atlanto-mediterranean influence. The summers with more than 60 days of air temperature above 25° C were warmer than recorded in the area today. Mainly during autumn and winter, extensive rainfalls led to repeated flood events. The mild winters were characterized by minimum temperatures of only a few degrees below 0° C. Combined lithostratigraphic, paleomagnetic and paleozoologic data make it more likely that the deposition of the fossiliferous sands of Untermassfeld can be assigned to the onset of the Jaramillo event (late Early Pleistocene ), rather than to the Matuyama/Brunhes boundary.