Apidima Cave D (Pleistocene to of Greece)

Where: Lakonia, Greece (37.0° N, 22.6° E: paleocoordinates 37.0° N, 22.6° E)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

When: Middle Pleistocene to Middle Pleistocene (0.8 - 0.0 Ma)

• The Apidima caves are karstic formations within the Middle Triassic-Late Eocene limestone (Plattenkalk) of depth 500m, from 4m to 24m above sea level, in a vertical zone of depth 20m. Very thick and cohesive breccia up to 23m above sea level. Dated using ESR on travertine calcite and fossils - two samples with dates of 250-450,000BP and 200-300,000BP. "As the Apidima fauna is stratigraphically mixed, careful interpretation is required."

Environment/lithology: cave

• Temperate climate, with mixed and variable steppe like during sea regression, interrupted by forests (mainly of coniferous trees, wild olive trees, pistachio and other Mediterranean flora).
• Quaternary deposits are represented, in some places, by very cohesive cemented breccias, sometimes with fossils; and scree and talus cones compacted during the Mindel, Riss and Wurm. The Apidima caves are karstic formations within the Middle Triassic-Late Eocene limestone (Plattenkalk).

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils

Collection methods: bulk,

• Total of 20,000 specimens refers to all four cave sites. Material stored in the Museum of Anthropology, Athens University.

Primary reference: E. Tsoukala. 1999. Quaternary large mammals from the Apidima Caves (Lakonia, S. Peloponnese, Greece. Beitraege zur palaeontologie 24:207-229 [A. Behrensmeyer/H. O'Regan/H. O'Regan]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 32086: authorized by Anna Behrensmeyer, entered by Hannah O'Regan on 04.06.2003, edited by Denne Reed

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• Carnivore milk teeth and many birds of galliform size.
Show authors, comments, and common names
Mammalia
 Carnivora - Canidae
Vulpes vulpes
Vulpes vulpes Linnaeus 1758 red fox
 Carnivora - Felidae
Lynx lynx
Lynx lynx Linnaeus 1758 Eurasian lynx
 Artiodactyla - Cervidae
Cervus elephas, ? Dama dama
? Dama dama Linnaeus 1758 fallow deer
 Artiodactyla - Bovidae
Capra ibex
Capra ibex Linnaeus 1758 Alpine ibex