Pupilla alluvionica Meng & Hoffmann, 2008 is an extant land snail species known until now only from a few sites in the Russian Altai Mountains. We have now identified it in fossil loess assemblages of Early-Middle Pleistocene age at three Central European sites. Fossil materials match those of Altaian populations, being only slightly smaller in mean shell width. In addition to the details of the locations and biometrics of these fossil finds, we list the faunas associated with P. alluvionica in the deposits. These are compared with the ecological conditions and associated faunas of living populations from the Altai. Pupilla alluvionica is a typical inhabitant of xeric habitats: steppes with rocky limestone outcrops. This matches the known habitat preferences of associated species in the fossil deposits that are typical of open loess steppe.
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1 December 2016
Pupilla alluvionica Meng & Hoffmann, 2008: A Land Snail Extant in the Altai Refugium Recognised for the First Time in Central European Early-Middle Pleistocene Glacials
Michal Horsák,
Lucie Juřičková,
Jana Škodová,
Vojen Ložek
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Malacologia
Vol. 59 • No. 2
December 2016
Vol. 59 • No. 2
December 2016
Altai refugium
Brunhes-Matuyama reversal
Central Europe
first record
land snails
Loess
Pleistocene