THE ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE OF THE MIS 11 INTERGLACIAL IN EUROPE: EVIDENCE FROM THE VERTEBRATE RECORD

The recognition of a biostratigraphically diagnostic mammalian assemblage for MIS 11 has permitted correlation of numerous localities across western and central Europe, from the British Isles to the Czech Republic and beyond. The mammalian biostratigraphic framework provides one of the most robust means of linking different depositional environments, thereby maximising the information potential of disparate and generally fragmentary terrestrial sequences. Moreover, the vertebrate faunas (particularly elements of the exotic herpetofauna), in conjunction with invertebrate assemblages, provide significant information regarding the palaeoclimatic and environmental character of this interglacial, the rapidity of climatic amelioration after MIS 12 and the nature and timing of sea level change. This is especially noteworthy for extreme NW Europe, where Atlantic influence is at its most profound. The paper will also review faunal turnover during the MIS 11 interglacial, including the evidence for early hominid dispersals and behaviour.