J 2017

Vipera berus (Linnaeus, 1758) remains from the Late Pleistocene of Slovakia

IVANOV, Martin a Andrej ČERŇANSKÝ

Základní údaje

Originální název

Vipera berus (Linnaeus, 1758) remains from the Late Pleistocene of Slovakia

Autoři

IVANOV, Martin (203 Česká republika, garant, domácí) a Andrej ČERŇANSKÝ (703 Slovensko)

Vydání

Amphibia-Reptilia, LEIDEN, BRILL ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS, 2017, 0173-5373

Další údaje

Jazyk

angličtina

Typ výsledku

Článek v odborném periodiku

Obor

10600 1.6 Biological sciences

Stát vydavatele

Nizozemské království

Utajení

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

Odkazy

Impakt faktor

Impact factor: 1.105

Kód RIV

RIV/00216224:14310/17:00096462

Organizační jednotka

Přírodovědecká fakulta

UT WoS

000405024000002

Klíčová slova anglicky

Central Europe; Late Pleistocene; osteology; palaeoecology; Viperinae

Štítky

Změněno: 12. 4. 2018 18:32, Ing. Nicole Zrilić

Anotace

V originále

Completely preserved specimens of fossil snakes are extremely rare and ophidian palaeontologists are usually dependent only on disarticulated elements of a postcranial skeleton. Here we present an unusually well-preserved specimen of a small viperid snake from the Late Pleistocene firm travertine at the famous Gánovce-Hrádok Neanderthal mound in Slovakia. The complex study of both cranial and axial skeleton with well-preserved maxilla and basiparasphenoid confirms the presence of a viper from the Vipera berus species group, and recent distribution of V. berus species complex members supports identification of these preserved remains as belonging to the common adder, V. berus (Linnaeus, 1758). Associated faunal assemblages of the MFG-C and D mammalian fauna groups reported from the firm travertine indicate a humid climate in a predominantly woodland environment with typical forest species in the Gánovce-Hrádok vicinity throughout the Eemian optimum, and mixed forest and steppe environments in the late Eemian to early Weichselian stages. Occurrence of V. berus documents the presence of open or semi-open biotopes with low vegetation. Although V. berus occurs in the Quaternary glacial/interglacial cycle and throughout the entire warm part, it never dominated herpetofaunal assemblages during the climatic optimum. Therefore, the presence of V. berus most likely indicates late Eemian or early Weichselian (interstadial) climatic conditions.