1 – M\1 of Microtus (Stenocranius) gregaloides ; 2,3,- M\1 of

1. Biostratigraphy NEW EARLY MIDDLE PLEISTOCENE LOCALITY OF SMALL MAMALS (LOWER DNIESTER) AND ITS POSITION IN EARLY MIDDLE PLEISTOCENE MAMMAL SEQUENCE Anastasia K. Markova, Institute of Geography Russian Academy of Sciences, Staromonetny 29, Moscow, Russia, amarkova@list.ru This locality located near Levada station 30 km eastward from Tiraspol town, Moldova, Trasdniestria (Chepalyga et al., 2013). It related to the deposits of V terrace of the Dniester (Kolkotova terrace). The sequence of this outcrop from the top to the down is about 20 m and includes four paleosols interleaved with the loess horizons. The lower fossil soil resembles by the morphological features and stratigraphical position to the Vorona paleosol, which correspond to the Muchkap Interglacial (Shik, 2005). Under this sequence the fluvial deposits with small mammal bones are located. The deposits of the Kolkotova terrace form the wide plain on the left bank of the Dniester from the Tiraspol town till the mouth of the river. Earlier rich mammal and mollusk fauna was discovered in the fluvial deposits of this terrace near the Tiraspol town in the Kolkotova Balka section and was described as Tiraspolian Faunistic Complex (Pleistocene of Tiraspol, 1971). Small mammals found in Levada locality include Spermophilus sp., Lagurus transiens, Eolagurus sp., Microtus (Terricola) arvalidens, Microtus (Stenocranius) gregaloides. The species composition of this fauna indicates its close similarity with fauna from Kolkotova Balka found in fluvial deposits (Alexandrova, 1976). On the contrary it differs from the small mammal fauna found in the Vorona paleosol in Kolkotova Balka, which contains Lagurus transiens Jannosy, Eolagurus luteus volgensis Alex., Microtus (Stenocranius) gregalis and others (Markova, 1998, 2007). The last species is more evolved than M. (S.) gregaloides found in Levada. This indicates older age of the Levada fauna than the fauna from the Vorona paleosol in the Kolkotova Balka (Muchkap Interglacial = Interglacial IV of Cromer) and its closeness to the fauna from fluvial deposits of the Kolkotova Balka with Mimomys savini,Lagurus transiens, Microtus (T.) arvalidens, Microtus (S.) gregaloides. The later fauna could be correlated with the Third Ilinka Interglacial (Interglacial III of Cromer) (Shik, 2005).The fauna from the Levada section is not the oldest Early Middle Pleistocene fauna. Several early Middle Pleistocene faunas were described from the Russian Plain which have more archaic species composition that the Levada one. They include Mimomys pusillus Mehely,Prolagurus pannonicus Kormos and some others. These faunas are correlated with older First and Second Ilinka Interglacials and Pokrovka cooling (Shik, 2005). This study was supported by the grant of RFBR project N 13-05-00056 Levada (after Markova, Kolfschoten, 2012) 1 – M\1 of Microtus (Stenocranius) gregaloides; 2,3,- M\1 of M. (Terricola) arvalidens; 4-6 – M/3 of Microtus sp. Likhvin soil Vorona soil Fauna Lagurus transiens -1-5 – M\1; 6-9 – M/3 Eolagurus cf. luteus: 1-M/1; 2-M/3; 3-M\2 Levada