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The present is a palaeobiological and taphonomic analysis of a Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 4–3 (Late Pleistocene) assemblage of animal remains and hominin artefacts from layers 7–5 of Biśnik Cave, Czestochowa Upland, Poland. The analysis indicates that the bone assemblage is the result of a time-averaged palimpsest of both biotic and episodic abiotic events, the former consisting of many successive generations of animals and hominins that frequented the cave, and the latter including hydraulic winnowing. In fact, the taphonomic history of the fossil assemblage from Biśnik Cave's layers 7–5 is partially obscured by the overprint of hydraulic winnowing, which purportedly removed a certain amount of the original specimens. Besides evidence of cave bear deaths from non-violent, hibernation-related mortality and of occupation by generations of denning wolves and hyaenas, there is a wealth of flint artefacts, alongside remains of a few fireplaces and of a structure built in the cave by hominins to partition the cave chambers. The studied layer contains an impressive number of shed antlers, primarily of the red deer Cervus elaphus. Crocuta crocuta spelaea is normally held responsible for such accumulations of shed antlers in various European caves; Biśnik Cave's layers 7–5 will therefore simply add to the list. However, the role of accumulator of shed antlers attributed to the Pleistocene spotted hyena does not match the behaviour of its modern counterpart and seems not accounted for metabolically. The only reasonable alternative is that the antlers were collected by hominins. From this alternative perspective the cave would have functioned as a warehouse, where naturally shed antlers were stored as raw material, potentially to be shaped into tools and/or employed as tools to make other tools. The palaeobiological and taphonomic analysis presented here provides new insights into the succession of pre- and postdepositional events that involved the bone remains accumulated in the cave, as well as into the interactions between the animals and hominins of the time. More importantly, if hominins, and not hyaenas, were responsible for the amassment of the shed antlers in Biśnik Cave, this study raises doubts as to the hyaenid or human origin of other similar cave accumulations of shed antlers throughout Europe.

Panthera spelaea was recorded in Poland from 18 open-air and 42 cave sites dated in the range 750–28 ka. Most of these records are located in southern Poland (Silesia) and neighbouring areas. Among them, the find of Panthera spelaea in Kozi Grzbiet mentioned here for the first time is one of the oldest European records of the species. Most of the obtained AMS dates are concentrated on the second half of MIS 3 and showed that the Pleistocene lion disappeared more or less synchronously across Poland. The findings of its remains from open-air sites are mostly accidental discoveries during field works, while those in caves are mostly connected with archaeological research and the exploitation of cave sediments for producing fertilizers. Aside of a few juvenile bones and milk teeth, the remains of adult individuals, mostly males, predominate in the studied sample. Their behavior to hunting cave bear during the times, when the other, more typical food sources were scarce, tendention to hunt very big preys and went into the conflicts with other carnivores than females do, resulted in higher injuries and mortalities. Within the species, three chronosubspecies were recognized, with P. s. fossilis recorded from 7 sites, dated between 750 and 240 ka and P. s. intermedia only partially recognized in Wierzchowska Gorna Cave. The most numerous are the remains of P. s. spelaea which were found in 48 localities dated between 150 and 28 ka. With the exception of four caves, the Polish finds of P. spelaea are generally less abundant at sites where they occur. Older P. s. fossilis, dated on MIS 19–12, was a large form with robust stature and broad cheek teeth. Younger P. s. fossilis dated on MIS 11–9 was represented by a large and massive specimens, but with more advanced morphological dental features. Polish individuals of P. s. spelaea were slightly smaller and less massive than P. s. fossilis, with narrower cheek teeth. Since MIS 3, a dwarf and gracile specimens appeared, which is correlated with the genetic turnover ca. 48–45 ka. The Pleistocene lion was one of the earliest disappeared large carnivores predated only by a cave hyena. There are no direct evidences of P. spelaea encounters with humans. The extinction of P. spelaea is broadly correlated with the general collapse of the “mammoth steppe” ecosystem and was resulted of multiple reasons like climatic changes, re-building of herbivore guilds, competition and human pressure. Wolf and, to a lesser extent, bears were the main competitors for the Pleistocene lion in Poland.

Subfossil remains of the Quaternary megafauna from two Ukrainian natural history collections stored at Kaniv Nature Reserve and the National Museum of Natural History NAS of Ukraine were examined. Most of the bones were collected in 1965–1966, in the building pit and the gateway of the Kaniv hydroelectric power plant. The fauna is represented at least by ten taxa (Gulo gulo, Mammuthus trogonterii chosaricus, Mammuthus intermedius, Coelodonta antiquitatis, Megaloceros giganteus, Alces alces, Bison priscus, Cervus elaphus, Capra cf. ibex, and Equus ferus). Skeletal parts are represented mainly by skulls, long bones, horns, and tusks. Based on the species composition of proboscideans, at least part of the faunal assemblage is dated by the end of the Middle Pleistocene (Dnieper Stage = Saale, Warta, MIS 6), but majority of bones could be older or younger (Late Pleistocene and Holocene age) due to the alluvial origin of accumulation.

Sackdilling Cave is a karst fissure filled with a fossiliferous breccia including abundant fossil remains, mostly snails and small mammals. The taxonomic status of mustelid remains from this cave was previously regarded as controversial and, consequently, different authors listed different species from the locality. A detailed revision of the material shows the presence of five mustelid species: Meles sp., Martes vetus, Mustela strandi, Mustela palerminea, and Mustela praenivalis. Among them, especially noteworthy is the presence of the type specimen of Martes vetus. The Sackdilling holotype resembles Martes foina and differs from that of Martes martes in a short and broad viscerocranium; wide and less extended forward incisor row; compressed, short and wide temporal region; large, strongly inflated and convex tympanic bullae; and narrow P3 with weak lingual bulge. Some dental characters are specific for Martes vetus and show some intermediate values between Martes foina than Martes martes. Among them are the P4 protocone length and the M1 trigon length. The revised material from Sackdilling Cave of Mustela palerminea and Mustela praenivalis was compared with that from other Early and early Middle Pleistocene sites of Europe and showed the presence of intermediate characters. Subsequently, based on the entire mustelid assemblage and other faunal elements (mainly rodents), the age of this fauna was estimated as ca. 0.9–0.7 Ma.

Cranial material of Pachycrocuta brevirostris from the late Early Pleistocene site of Nogaisk is the first record of this species in Ukraine. This large hyena was a representative of the Tamanian faunal complex and a single specialised scavenger in these faunas. The revisited European records list of P. brevirostris documented the presence of this species in 101 sites, dated in the range of 3.5–0.4 Ma. This species first disappeared in Africa, survived in Europe until ca. 0.8–0.7 Ma, and its last, relict occurrence was known from south-eastern Asia. The main reason of extinction of P. brevirostris probably was the competition with Crocuta crocuta. The cave hyena was smaller, but its teeth were proportionally larger to the body size, better adapted to crushing bones and slicing meat, and could also hunt united in larger groups.

The rediscovery of old collections and revision of the fossil material from more than 30 Sudeten caves and rock shelters allow reconstructing the faunal changes during the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene. We found that the composition of mammalian assemblages of Sudety Mts during MIS 3 differed significantly from the Holocene and modern one, and reflected the colder climate. Mammals belonging to the Mammuthus-Coelodonta faunal complex inhabited open flattened lowlands (Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia) surrounding Sudeten area. Several large carnivores (Canis lupus spelaeus, Ursus arctos priscus, Ursus ingressus, Gulo gulo, Mustela eversmanii, Panthera spelaea spelaea, Crocuta crocuta spelaea) as well as herbivores (Mammuthus primigenius, Coleodonta antiquitatis, Megaloceros giganteus, Rangifer tarandus, large form of Equus ferus, Bison priscus, and Ovibos moschatus) made up the core of this assemblage. Our studies showed that most of these faunal elements were also present in Sudety Mts, despite the previous opinion that these mountains formed an effective natural barrier during the Late Pleistocene. Besides, it seems that during cold phases they could be refugees for forest animals, which were also present in the Mammuthus-Coelodonta faunal complex, but lower quantities. They avoided flat treeless Silesian lowlands and concentrated in mountainous and hilly regions. In this context, during the Late Pleistocene Sudety Mts were a “forested island” confined to elevated areas or river valleys. Range extensions, contractions, and continuations on different scales resulted in mammalian paleoassemblages which differed in particular from the modern ones. The analysis of the mammal faunas from Sudeten sites revealed that there were three heterochronous mammalian faunal complexes replaced each other throughout the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene. Differences between these assemblages resulted from changes in morphology, areas and extinction of several species. The existence of different faunal elements was distinguished by the chronological and geographical change in the structure of mammalian assemblages. At the end of MIS 3 most of the cold-adapted species from the Mammuthus-Coelodonta faunal complex like Ursus ingressus, Panthera spelaea spelaea, Coelodonta antiquitatis, Bison priscus, and Megaloceros giganteus disappeared. During the second phase, at the latest Pleistocene and the Holocene boundary, all the species of the Mammuthus-Coelodonta faunal complex still not became extinct. Several species from this assemblage disappeared later in the Holocene. It should be noted that the role of the human in the changes of faunal complexes and species extinctions during the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene in the Sudety Mts cannot be so far demonstrated.

The Asiatic wild dog (Cuon alpinus), restricted today largely to South and Southeast Asia, was widespread throughout Eurasia and even reached North America during the Pleistocene. Like many other species, it suffered from a huge range loss towards the end of the Pleistocene and went extinct in most of its former distribution. The fossil record of the dhole is scattered and the identification of fossils can be complicated by an overlap in size and a high morphological similarity between dholes and other canid species. We generated almost complete mitochondrial genomes for six putative dhole fossils from Europe. By using three lines of evidence, i.e., the number of reads mapping to various canid mitochondrial genomes, the evaluation and quantification of the mapping evenness along the reference genomes and phylogenetic analysis, we were able to identify two out of six samples as dhole, whereas four samples represent wolf fossils. This highlights the contribution genetic data can make when trying to identify the species affiliation of fossil specimens. The ancient dhole sequences are highly divergent when compared to modern dhole sequences, but the scarcity of dhole data for comparison impedes a more extensive analysis.

Revision of the Silesian bear fauna, based on material from 152 sites, mainly cave and karstic localities, and also archaeological and open-air sites, shows the presence of 13 forms and species. These records encompass the last 16.5 Ma and may be divided into five main morphophyletic groups. The oldest bears, represented by the genera Ballusia and Ursavus , are dated to 16.5–11 Ma, and belonged to the stem forms of the subfamily Ursinae. After a break of 6 My, the earliest members of the genus Ursus appeared, and all known Pliocene bears in Silesia belong to the genus Ursus were identified as Ursus minimus . They represent one or two migration events. Additionally, between 3.6 and 3.2 Ma, a single occurrence of Agriotherium insigne was recorded from the Weze 1 site. A few Early Pleistocene bear records are represented by U. etruscus , which was a probable ancestor of both arctoid and spelaeoid bear lineages. The oldest representative of Ursus ex gr. arctos known so far and assigned to U. a. suessenbornensis is known from one latest Early Pleistocene (1.2–0.9 Ma) locality, while other Polish records of this form require confirmation. The first occurrence of U. deningeri , the oldest taxon within the U . ex gr. deningeri–spelaeus lineage, was recorded from ~700 ka deposits in Silesia. During the pronounced cold period of MIS 12, the Scandinavian ice sheet covered almost the entire modern territory of Poland, with the exception of the Sudetes and the Carpathians. The accompanying drastic faunal turnover led to the formation of the pan-Eurasian Mammoth Fauna at ~460 ka. At that time a characteristic member of this fauna, the steppe brown bear Ursus arctos priscus , a specific ecomorph adapted to live in open grasslands, appeared in this region. It survived until the beginning of MIS 1, when modern Ursus arctos arctos appeared in Silesia and survived to the present day. U. deningeri was the most common bear during the Middle Pleistocene, while the first records of U. spelaeus spelaeus appeared since MIS 7. The latter form was replaced by U. ingressus during the Late Pleistocene (~110–100 ka). Spelaeoid bears totally dominated the cave assemblage, and finally vanished between 27 and 24 ka.

Fossil bear material from the lowermost deposits of the Jasna Strzegowska cave is described and its taxonomic status assessed. Comparison with bear remains from other Early and early Middle Pleistocene localities of Eurasia shows the presence of two bear species: Ursus etruscus and U. deningeri , based on morphological and size characters of the teeth and postcranial bones. The teeth of U. deningeri from the Jasna Strzegowska cave are larger, wider and have much more complicated occlusal surfaces when compared with the teeth of U. etruscus . Both bear species are characterized by relatively short and robust metapodials, although those of U. etruscus are on average less massive. Some differences in muscle attachments and articular surfaces have also been found. Metapodials of primitive arctoid bears, that co-occurred with U. etruscus and U. deningeri , are much longer and slimmer. U. etruscus and U. deningeri probably did not live in the Jasna Strzegowska cave at the same time. Based on its time range in Eurasia and morphological characteristics, the age of U. etruscus is estimated as Early Pleistocene, between 1.8–1.3 Ma. This is its first description from Poland, and the remains described are in size and morphology indistinguishable from material from other European localities. For U. deningeri , an early Middle Pleistocene age is suggested.

Archeological and genetic evidence suggest that all domestic cats derived from the Near Eastern wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica) and were first domesticated in the Near East around 10,000 years ago. The spread of the domesticated form in Europe occurred much later, primarily mediated by Greek and Phoenician traders and afterward by Romans who introduced cats to Western and Central Europe around 2000 years ago. We investigated mtDNA of Holocene Felis remains and provide evidence of an unexpectedly early presence of cats bearing the Near Eastern wildcat mtDNA haplotypes in Central Europe, being ahead of Roman period by over 2000 years. The appearance of the Near Eastern wildcats in Central Europe coincides with the peak of Neolithic settlement density, moreover most of those cats belonged to the same mtDNA lineages as those domesticated in the Near East. Thus, although we cannot fully exclude that the Near Eastern wildcats appeared in Central Europe as a result of introgression with European wildcat, our findings support the hypothesis that the Near Eastern wildcats spread across Europe together with the first farmers, perhaps as commensal animals. We also found that cats dated to the Neolithic period belonged to different mtDNA lineages than those brought to Central Europe in Roman times, this supports the hypothesis that the gene pool of contemporary European domestic cats might have been established from two different source populations that contributed in different periods.

Results derived from the analysis of small carnivores from a burial chamber at the Late Neolithic Catalhoyuk (TP Area) shed light on the socioeconomic significance of stone martens (Martes foina), red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), and common weasels (Mustela nivalis). All of these are fur-bearing animals, though only the stone marten remains to show evidence that this animal was exploited for its pelt. The evidence consists of the observed skeletal bias (only the head parts and foot bones were present) and skinning marks. Two of five sets of articulated feet are most likely linked with an almost completely preserved human infant skeleton, one of two well-preserved skeletons that were interred on the burial chamber floor. In contrast to these, other human skeletons were found mostly incompletely preserved, though with evidence of articulation. It seems that the articulated forepaws were deliberately incorporated into the structure, most likely as a part of burial practice and ritual behavior. These distinctive deposits, along with rich grave goods, emphasize the uniqueness in the entire Anatolian Neolithic of the assemblage from the burial chamber, which is decorated by a panel incised with spiral motifs.

The steppe brown bear U. a. “priscus” is constant but not a common member of the Late Pleistocene paleocommunities. It is not distinct arctoid species, but a large brown bear ecomorph which lived in open environments. Instead to speleoid bears, which disappeared ca. 26-24 ka BP, arctoid bears, thanks to their ecological plasticity, were present in most of the European areas even during the cold phases. The size and diet of these bears were modified under the climate conditions and food availability. U. a. “priscus” cannot be distinguished genetically, but it differs metrically and morphologically. It was a big sized form with enlarged and broad cheek teeth. Late Pleistocene brown bears, especially those lived before the LGM were more carnivorous than the Holocene and recent brown bear. The steppe brown bear survived till the beginning of the Holocene, where the last relict populations lived around the Baltic and the North Sea decreasing in size and merging genetically with widely distributed Eurasian populations of U. a. arctos.

Archaeological and genetic evidence suggest that all domestic cats derive from the Near Eastern wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica) and were domesticated twice, first in the Near East around 10 000 years ago and for the second time in Ancient Egypt ca. 3 500 years ago. The spread of the domesticated form in Europe occurred much later, primarily mediated by Greek and Phoenician traders and afterwards by Romans who introduced cats to Western and Central Europe around 2 000 years ago. We investigated mtDNA of Holocene Felis remains and provide evidence of an unexpectedly early presence of cats bearing the Near Eastern wildcat mtDNA haplotypes in Central Europe, being ahead of Roman Period by over 2 000 years. The appearance of the Near Eastern wildcats in Central Europe coincide with the peak of Neolithic settlement density, moreover most of those cats belonged to the same mtDNA lineages as those domesticated in the Near East. Thus, although we cannot fully exclude that the Near Eastern wildcats appeared in Central Europe as a result of introgression with European wildcat, our findings strongly support the hypothesis that the Near Eastern wildcats spread across Europe together with the first farmers, perhaps as commensal animals. We also found that cats dated to the Neolithic period belonged to different mtDNA lineages than those brought to Central Europe in Roman times, this supports the hypothesis that the gene pool of contemporary European domestic cats might have been established from two different source populations that contributed in different periods.

Coulet des Roches is a natural karst trap in Southern France. Its infilling dates back to the end of the Pleniglacial (Last Glacial Maximum, LGM) and the end of the Tardiglacial (Last Glacial, LG). Three mustelid species have been identified in this infilling: the common polecat (Mustela putorius, minimum number of individuals (MNI) = 4), the stoat (Mustela erminea, MNI = 14) and the weasel (Mustela nivalis, MNI = 48). The common polecat remains are metrically and morphologically indistinguishable from recent European specimens. The smallest mustelids are mainly represented by average-sized specimens, which are slightly smaller than extant species. A partial weasel skeleton of an extremely small pygmy weasel, regarded as a typical glacial element, was also discovered. Sexual dimorphism is strongly pronounced. Seventeen horses have been identified, corresponding to the chrono subspecies Equus ferus gallicus. The analysis of the muzzles and metapodials shows overall adaptation to cool and dry weather conditions. The ibexes are typical of Capra ibex (MNI = 15). The p3 morphology is similar to the LGM populations located on the southern side of the Durance River, with an important dilation of the metaconid, except for the oldest LGM specimen. This dilation is older on the southern side of the Durance River, as it occurs at the end of MIS 3. This difference could reflect the barrier role of the Durance River. Micromammals are abundant (mostly related to rodents and shrews; 18 genera/species; MNI = 470). The paleoecological study highlighted important and rapid climatic and environmental fluctuations throughout the sequence. As a result of climatic fluctuations, the plains constituted a corridor for the migration of temperate species to Provence during cold periods (“southern refuge zone”) and their re-immigration to Western Europe during temperate episodes. In a related and complementary way, the highland areas not only played a natural role as a geographical barrier, but also constituted a refuge zone during interglacial episodes for some micromammal species originating from northern and eastern parts of Europe (“cryptic southern refugia”).

The pre-Quaternary fossil record of Canis in the Old World is scarce, and the first appearance of this genus in Europe remains an enigma. Amongst the oldest fossils assigned to this genus, there is a natural cast of the brain (endocast) collected in Węże 1, Poland, from Pliocene deposits dated between 3.3 and 4.0 Ma. We reexamined this specimen and found that it differs from the brain of Canis in having its region medial to the coronal sulcus heart-shaped in dorsal view, its region rostral to the presylvian sulcus shorter and less constricted laterally, and its cerebellum less overlapped by the cerebrum and lacking a lateral twist of the posterior vermis. We identified this fossil, as well as another fossil canid endocast from Węże 1, as representing the raccoon dog genus Nyctereutes. The previously reported presence of Canis in Węże 1 is therefore not confirmed. Specifically, both endocasts can be referred to N. donnezani because this is the only species of Nyctereutes that has been recognised in this locality on the basis of craniomandibular and dental fossils. Our study represents a taxonomic application of comparative neuroanatomical and palaeoneurological data, an approach that may become increasingly useful with the growing knowledge of the endocranial morphology of fossil mammals.

The deposits of Biśnik Cave yielded numerous bear remains from sediments dated to the MIS 8–MIS 3 interval. This situation allowed examination of the paleoecology of Ursus spelaeus over time, compared with two other species of bears: Ursus deningeri and Ursus arctos, also present in fossil material from Biśnik Cave. The stable isotope ratios (δ13C, δ18O) in tooth enamel were applied in combination with examination of seasonal deposition of dental cementum. The δ13C values showed the diet of each bear species stayed in the range of C3 plants. Results for U. spelaeus showed a wider range of δ13C values than for U. deningeri or U. arctos. The values are relatively negative in comparison to fossil bears from other European sites. Low δ13C values observed in bears from Biśnik Cave could be linked to a canopy effect and document a forested environment for these bears. No correlation between δ18O and δ13C values was noted. The cementum analysis revealed that season of death of all species was winter and all studied specimens died during hibernation. The highest mortality concerned mostly individuals below 4 years old and the highest individual aged was U. deningeri.

In this paper, the evolution of wolves and deer is presented as expressed in changes in size and proportions in molars, metapodials and phalanges, which are well represented in the fossil record. This has two advantages: firstly, samples are often large, and secondly this is a taxon-free approach, focussing on the data, rather than presenting the lineages in the form of sequences of names of chrono species or subspecies. This allows more precise documentation of the changes. Occasionally rapid evolutionary changes are found, which mark a time slice and which have biochronologic value. Several canid and deer lineages were studied previously in this way, while others are presented for the first time here, and Polish material is incorporated in all. In some cases, the Polish material helps to improve the timing of the evolutionary events, while in others, the existing information is used to confirm or improve the dating of Polish localities.

Climate changes that occurred during the Late Pleistocene have profound effects on the distribution of many plant and animal species and influenced the formation of contemporary faunas and floras of Europe. The course and mechanisms of responses of species to the past climate changes are now being intensively studied by the use of direct radiocarbon dating and genetic analyses of fossil remains. Here, we review the advances in understanding these processes by the example of four mammal species: woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius), cave bear (Ursus spelaeus s. l.), saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) and collared lemmings (Dicrostonyx ssp.). The cases discussed here as well as others show that the migrations, range shifts and local extinctions were the main responses to climate changes and that the dynamics of these climate driven processes were much more profound than it was previously thought. Each species reacted by its individual manner, which depended on its biology and adaptation abilities to the changing environment and climate conditions. The most severe changes in European ecosystems that affected the largest number of species took place around 33–31 ka BP, during the Last Glacial Maximum 22–19 ka BP and the Late Glacial warming 15–13 ka BP.

The cave bear (Ursus spelaeus sensu lato) is a typical representative of Pleistocene megafauna which became extinct at the end of the Last Glacial. Detailed knowledge of cave bear extinction could explain this spectacular ecological transformation. The paper provides a report on the youngest remains of the cave bear dated to 20,930 ± 140 14C years before present (BP). Ancient DNA analyses proved its affiliation to the Ursus ingressus haplotype. Using this record and 205 other dates, we determined, following eight approaches, the extinction time of this mammal at 26,100–24,300 cal. years BP. The time is only slightly earlier, i.e. 27,000–26,100 cal. years BP, when young dates without associated collagen data are excluded. The demise of cave bear falls within the coldest phase of the last glacial period, Greenland Stadial 3. This finding and the significant decrease in the cave bear records with cooling indicate that the drastic climatic changes were responsible for its extinction. Climate deterioration lowered vegetation productivity, on which the cave bear strongly depended as a strict herbivore. The distribution of the last cave bear records in Europe suggests that this animal was vanishing by fragmentation into subpopulations occupying small habitats. One of them was the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland in Poland, where we discovered the latest record of the cave bear and also two other, younger than 25,000 14C years BP. The relatively long survival of this bear in karst regions may result from suitable microclimate and continuous access to water provided by deep aquifers, indicating a refugial role of such regions in the Pleistocene for many species.

The Borsuka Cave is located in the southern part of Krakow-Czestochowa Up- land, about 20 km west of Krakow. During excavations conducted in 2008-2010 a very rare and interesting faunal assemblage from layer VI was found, dating to the Upper Pleniglacial. Among cold steppe-tundra or taiga species such as Rangifer tarandus, Vulpes alopex, Equus sp. or Coelodonta antiquitatis taxa adapted to forest environment were also found. Associated with them we found snails, such as Ena montana, Aegopi- nella pura and Perforatella incarnata; insectivores, like Sorex araneus, carnivores, such as Martes martes, Meles meles and Lynx cf. lynx; ungulates, like Alces alces and Bos primigenius and, among rodents, Clethrionomys glareolus, Apodemus sylvaticus/flavicol- lis and Castor fiber. This assemblage is the first from southern Poland during this time pe- riod to comprise such relatively rich material, and indicates the presence of forest adapted species at the end of the Upper Plenivistulian. No similar assemblages are known from other caves from the Krakow-Czestochowa Upland, and this suggests that during Late Pleistocene in a limited area of Poland, short episodes of forest formations could appear.

The fossil-bearing deposits of Żabia Cave (Czestochowa Upland, Poland) yielded a diverse vertebrate fauna (75 taxa in total) of middle Early Pleistocene age. The assemblage comprises 5 amphibian, 10 reptilian and 6 bird taxa. Small mammals are represented by13 insectivorous species, 6 taxa of bats, 2 lagomorphs and 18 rodents. Large mammals include 15 species of carnivores, an unidentified horse, and 3 even-toed ungulates. The assemblage contains few Pliocene relict forms (e.g. Mioproteus wezei, Asoriculus gibberodon, Beremendia fissidens, Mimomys pitymyoides, Pannonictis ardea) and numerous Early Pleistocene newcomers (e.g. Sorex runtonensis, Ochotona zabiensis, Prolagurus ternopolitanus, early Microtus, Gulo schlosseri, Lutra simplicidens, Cervalces carnutorum). The assemblage documents migration of species associated with cool climate into Central Europe in the middle Early Pleistocene.

Two forms of cave lion Panthera spelaea GOLDFUSS, 1810: Middle Pleistocene Panthera spelaea fossilis REICHENAU, 1906 and Upper Pleistocene Panthera spelaea spelaea GOLDFUSS, 1810 are reported from the Bisnik Cave (Czþ estochowa Upland, Southern Poland). A detailed examination of tooth (particularly carnassials) and mandible morphology provides a basis to discuss the inferred size trend from the earlier, bigger P. s. fossilis to the smaller and more recent chronosubspecies P. s. spelaea. The original acquisition labels and detailed stratigraphy make it possible to place these finds within an updated stratigraphic and biochronological framework. The cave lion remains from the Bisnik Cave show that the large, primitive form fossilis was replaced by the more specialized form spelaea.

Investigations in four natural traps from southeastern France have provided new and extensive information on the palaeoenvironment from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; 21,000 to 15,075 cal BP), the Late-glacial period (15,075 to 11,490 cal BP) and the beginning of Holocene (11,490 to 2835 cal BP). Radiocarbon and U/Th dates provided precise chronological data. In the Coulet des Roches, an LGM and a near complete Late-glacial period sequence were identified. The infilling preserved skeletons of large mammals, revealing a new faunal assemblage for southeastern France. For the first time, two distinct southern expansions of Dicrostonyx torquatus have been identified, correlated firstly to the LGM and secondly to the Late-glacial period. Dicrostonyx torquatus was found to be associated with Microtus oeconemus during the Oldest Dryas (15,075 to 18,270 cal BP). Morphological adaptations to the cold climate were indicated by some mammals (Vulpes vulpes, Mustela nivalis, Mustela erminea, Equus caballus gallicus). Among the birds, Bubo scandiacus and Pyrrhocorax graculus were found to be abundant. Palynological data suggested a very open landscape as well as a cold and rather dry climate. Rangifer tarandus remains were recovered from the Oldest Dryas layers of Aven des Planes. During the Allerod, a wooded environment permitted the dispersal of Cervus elaphus, Sus scrofa, Tetrao urogallus as well as reptiles and amphibians. Holocene sequences existed in these two natural traps as in Aven Souche n° 1 and n° 2. At this time, a sparsely wooded landscape covered much of the area. Cervus elaphus and Tetrao urogallus were still present with Canis lupus, Lynx lynx and Felis silvestris. Areas of open landscape were occupied by Otis tarda. During the Bronze Age (2200 to 800 cal BC) and Iron Age (800 to 50 cal BC), Aven des Planes, Aven Souche n° 1 and n° 2 were used by humans and had a sepulchral destination.