Review of the Results of Morphometric and Morphogenetic Analyses of Early Pleistocene Micromammals and Upper Pleistocene Cave Bears in Croatia

Abstract

Due to the large number and visible morphological variability ofskeletal parts of the Early Pleistocene micromammals and UpperPleistocene ursids we utilised morphometric, morphogenetic and statistical analyses in order to determine and process the material. Theresults indicate rapid microevolutionary processes which arc reflectedboth in variations of the characteristic parameters of particular skeletalparts, and their morphology.The Early Pleistocene age of the bone-breccias discovered alongthe Adriatic coast was confirmed by the morphogenetic analyses ofmicromammals, with reference to geochronologically important arvicolids: the fauna from Razvode near Knin comprises arvieolids characteristicof the Lower Early Pleistocene, the fauna from Tatinja draganear Karlobag comprises species typical for the Middle Early Pleistocene, while the fauna from Podumci near Unišić is of LateEarly Pleistocene age.The results of the analyses of teeth and metapodial bones of thecave bears from the Upper Pleistocene deposits in Vindija cave, Velikapećina and Veternica cave (NW Croatia) are expressed as morphodynamic indices, namely, the frequency of the morphotypes occurrence indicates the existence of an interermediate type (?subspecies) within the phyletic lineage Ursus deningeri - Ursus spelaeus, which appeared during the Riss glacial and Riss/Wuerm interglacial, and a lack of deposits of that particular age in Veternica cave and Velikapećina.