CO-HERP Research Project.
Taxonomical assessment of early Pleistocene herpetofaunal assemblages from Copăceni (Dacian Basin, southern Romania) and their significance in the evolution of Pleistocene herpetofaunas from SE Europe
Funding
CO-HERP is a postdoctoral research project funded by the Executive Agency for
Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding
Project Registration Code: PN-III-P1-1.1-PD-2016-0848
Contract no. 50/2018
Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding
Project Registration Code: PN-III-P1-1.1-PD-2016-0848
Contract no. 50/2018
Project Summary
Following the identification of a diverse early Pleistocene (around 1 million years old) mammal assemblage at the recently-discovered site of Copăceni (Ilfov County), along with fragmentary remains of ectothermic microvertebrates, the project plans for a more thorough search for microvertebrates in the sedimentary successions from Copăceni, but also from other synchronous sediments from neighbouring locations. The screenwashing of larger amounts of sediment is expected to yield more and better preserved fossil remains belonging to ectothermic vertebrates, thus allowing for a better reconstruction of the local herpetofaunal assemblage.
Ectothermic vertebrates (amphibians and reptiles in particular) are good palaeoenvironmental indicators, some of the taxa requiring very specific temperature or humidity conditions. Systematic sampling, from all the layers cropping out along the Argeş River and its tributaries, at Copăceni and in other nearby localities, will also check whether the taxonomical composition of the herpetofaunas changed during the time the sedimentary sequence was deposited, as a possible consequence of climatic changes.
The taxonomical assessment of the herpetological assemblages will also help reconstruct a better, more complete, picture of the early Pleistocene ecosystems from the Dacian Basin, allowing for the identification of more diverse range biotopes inhabited by these taxa (dry land, riversides, water-logged areas, etc.).
The taxonomical composition of the identified herpetofaunal assemblages, the first of the kind to be described from the Pleistocene of the Dacian Basin, will be compared to those of other older or newer herpetofaunas previously found in Romania and other countries of Southeast Europe, for a better understanding of the temporal and spatial evolution of herpetofaunal assemblages throughout the Pleistocene.
Ectothermic vertebrates (amphibians and reptiles in particular) are good palaeoenvironmental indicators, some of the taxa requiring very specific temperature or humidity conditions. Systematic sampling, from all the layers cropping out along the Argeş River and its tributaries, at Copăceni and in other nearby localities, will also check whether the taxonomical composition of the herpetofaunas changed during the time the sedimentary sequence was deposited, as a possible consequence of climatic changes.
The taxonomical assessment of the herpetological assemblages will also help reconstruct a better, more complete, picture of the early Pleistocene ecosystems from the Dacian Basin, allowing for the identification of more diverse range biotopes inhabited by these taxa (dry land, riversides, water-logged areas, etc.).
The taxonomical composition of the identified herpetofaunal assemblages, the first of the kind to be described from the Pleistocene of the Dacian Basin, will be compared to those of other older or newer herpetofaunas previously found in Romania and other countries of Southeast Europe, for a better understanding of the temporal and spatial evolution of herpetofaunal assemblages throughout the Pleistocene.
