Dmanisi (Pleistocene of Georgia)

Also known as Dmanissi

Where: Georgia (41.3° N, 44.2° E: paleocoordinates 41.3° N, 45.0° E)

• coordinate based on political unit

• small collection-level geographic resolution

When: Early/Lower Pleistocene (2.6 - 0.8 Ma)

• underlying Masavera Basalt was dated at 1.8 +/- 0.1 Ma (K-Ar) by Gabunia and Vekua 1995 and at 1.85 +/- 0.01 (40Ar/39Ar) by Gabunia et al. 2000 and is of normal polarity, so it correlates with the Olduvai Subchron; unit A also is normally polarized and assigned to the same subchron, whereas unit B and fossiliferous fissure fills in unit A are reversed and assigned to the following Matuyama Subchron (Gabunia et al. 2000)

• group of beds-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: fissure fill; poorly lithified, tuffaceous sandstone

• "lens- to tunnel-shaped... intrusive fills within unit A strata that formed at the time of erosion of unit A deposits but before deposition of unit B... These structures probably formed by underground water movement or soil piping, which eroded subsurface tunnels and cavities" (Gabunia et al. 2000)
• "2.5 m of fossiliferous, volcaniclastic alluvium" consisting of units A (lower) and B (upper), with most fossils coming from fills in unit A that are "poorly lithified and distinctively different in color, texture, and primary structures from the surrounding unit A sediment" that consists of tuffaceous loamy sand (Gabunia et al. 2000)

Size class: macrofossils

Collected in 1991, 1999, 2000, 2002 - 2004

• "over 2000 identifiable vertebrate fossils... and over 1000 stone artifacts" (Gabunia et al. 2000)

Primary reference: L. Gabunia and A. Vekua. 1995. A Plio-Pleistocene hominid from Dmanisi, East Georgia, Caucasus. Nature 373:509-512 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 56733: authorized by Jason Head, entered by Jason Head on 23.11.2005, edited by John Alroy, Evangelos Vlachos and Bethany Allen

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

unclassified
  -
Amphibia
 Salientia -
Anura indet.2 Fischer von Waldheim 1813 frog
 Salientia - Bufonidae
Bufo cf. viridis2 Laurenti 1768 European green toad
Mammalia
 Rodentia - Sciuridae
Marmota sp.4 Frisch 1775 marmot
 Rodentia - Muridae
Apodemus dominans4 Eurasian field mouse
Gerbillus sp.4 Desmarest 1804 gerbil
 Rodentia - Cricetidae
"Kowalskia sp." = Neocricetodon Schaub 1934 mouse
Cricetus sp.4 Leske 1779 mouse
Mimomys aff. pliocaenicus6 Forsyth Major 1889 vole
 Lagomorpha - Leporidae
 Lagomorpha - Ochotonidae
 Primates - Hominidae
Homo georgicus n. sp.3 Gabounia et al. 2002 human
 Perissodactyla - Rhinocerotidae
Stephanorhinus etruscus6 Falconer 1868 rhinoceros
subspecies etruscus
 Perissodactyla - Equidae
"Equus stenonis" = Allohippus stenonis4
"Equus stenonis" = Allohippus stenonis4 Cocchi 1867 horse
 Artiodactyla - Cervidae
"Cervus perrieri" = Praeelaphus perrieri, Eucladoceros aff. senezensis4, "Dama nestii" = Cervus nestii4, "Praemegaceros obscurus" = Cervus obscurus1
"Cervus perrieri" = Praeelaphus perrieri Croizet and Jobert 1828 deer
Eucladoceros aff. senezensis4 deer
"Eucladocerus aff. senezensis"
"Dama nestii" = Cervus nestii4 Azzaroli 1947 deer
"Praemegaceros obscurus" = Cervus obscurus1 Azzaroli 1953 deer
 Artiodactyla - Bovidae
Soergelia sp.4 Schaub 1951 antelope
 Carnivora - Felidae
Megantereon whitei1 Broom 1937 cat
Homotherium latidens1 Owen 1846 scimitar toothed cat
Acinonyx pardinensis1 Croizet and Jobert 1828 cheetah
Panthera onca1 Linnaeus 1758 jaguar
Lynx issiodorensis1 Croizet and Jobert 1828 lynx
 Carnivora - Hyaenidae
Pachycrocuta brevirostris1 Gervais 1850 brown hyaena
 Carnivora - Mustelidae
Pannonictis sp.1 Kormos 1931 mustelid carnivore
Martes sp.4 Frisch 1775 marten
Lutra sp.1 Brisson 1762 otter
Meles sp.1 Brisson 1762 badger
 Carnivora - Ursidae
Ursus etruscus4 Cuvier 1823 bear
 Carnivora - Canidae
Xenocyon lycaonoides1 Kretzoi 1938 canine
Canis borjgali n. sp.1 Bartolini-Lucenti et al. 2020 canine
Vulpes alopecoides1 Forsyth Major 1877 fox
 Proboscidea - Elephantidae
Mammuthus meridionalis4 Nesti 1825 mammoth
Reptilia
 Testudines - Testudinidae
Testudo graeca2 Linnaeus 1758 common tortoise
 Squamata -
Serpentes indet.2 Linnaeus 1758 snake
 Squamata - Crotalidae
"Daboia cf. raddei" = Vipera (Daboia)5
"Daboia cf. raddei" = Vipera (Daboia)5 oriental viper
 Squamata - Colubridae
Elaphe sp.5 Wagler 1833 colubrid snake
Coluber robertmertensi5 Mlynarksi 1964 racer
Natrix sp.2 Laurenti 1768 water snake
 Squamata - Lacertidae
Lacerta cf. viridis2 Laurenti 1768 European green lizard
Aves
 Struthioniformes - Struthionidae