Correlation of English and German Middle Pleistocene fluvial sequences based on mammalian biostratigraphy
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Level 4 by design analogy (comparative geological site series / assemblage correlation)
OpenAlex W2475806632 · doi:10.1017/s0016774600022654
What was done
The author compared Middle Pleistocene interglacial mammalian fossil assemblages from key German fluvial and travertine localities (including Steinheim an der Murr, Bilzingsleben, Weimar-Ehringsdorf, and Schöningen) with Mammal Assemblage-Zones (MAZs) established in the post-Anglian/Elsterian terrace sequence of the Lower Thames, United Kingdom.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical or quantitative metrics. Qualitatively: - Mammalian assemblages from Steinheim an der Murr and Bilzingsleben II matched the Swanscombe MAZ from the Thames, attributed to the Hoxnian/Holsteinian interglacial and oxygen isotope stage (OIS) 11. - The sequence from Weimar-Ehringsdorf aligned with two separate MAZs from Aveley in the Thames sequence, attributed to substages of OIS 7. - An equivalent to the Thames Purfleet MAZ (correlated with OIS 9) was not identified in Germany. - Unlike the Lower Thames, no single terrace staircase in Germany preserves the complete succession across OIS 11, 9, 7, and 5e.
Why it matters
Cross-regional biostratigraphic correlation of mammalian assemblages provides a framework to synchronize discontinuous terrestrial geological deposits and climatic cycles across Northwest Europe during the Middle Pleistocene.
Limits
The abstract provides no specimen counts, quantitative comparative metrics, or independent radiometric dates. Correlation in Germany relies on fragmented, multi-site composite records rather than a continuous single-terrace sequence, and the OIS 9 interval remains unrepresented.
Cited by
- supports Hippopotamuses lived in the Thames River region in Southern England approximately 125,000 years ago during the interglacial period.