ammonites
Apidima Cave B (Pleistocene to of Greece)

Where: Lakonia, Greece (37.0° N, 22.6° E: paleocoordinates 37.0° N, 22.6° E)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

When: Middle Pleistocene to Middle Pleistocene (0.8 - 0.0 Ma)

• The Apidima caves are karstic formations within the Middle Triassic-Late Eocene limestone (Plattenhalk) of depth 500m, from 4m to 24m above sea level, in a vertical zone of depth 20m. Very thick and cohesive breccia up to 23m above sea level. Dated using ESR on Travertine and calcite fossils - two samples with dates of 250-450,000 and 200-300,000BP. "As the Apidima fauna is stratigraphically mixed, careful interpretation is required"

Environment/lithology: cave

• Temperate climate, with mixed and variable steppe like during sea regression, interrupted by forests (mainly of coniferous trees, wild olive trees, pistachio and other Mediterranean flora).
• Quaternary terrestrial deposits are represneted, in some places, by very cohesive cemented braccias, sometimes with fossils; and scree and talus cones compacted during the Mindel, Riss and Wurm. The Apidima caves are karstic formations within the Middle Triassic-Late Eocene limestone (Plattenhalk).

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils

Collection methods: bulk,

• total of 20,000 specimens is for all four cave sites. Material stored in the Museum of Anthropology, Athens University.

Primary reference: E. Tsoukala. 1999. Quaternary large mammals from the Apidima Caves (Lakonia, S. Peloponnese, Greece. Beitraege zur palaeontologie 24:207-229 [K. Behrensmeyer/H. O'Regan/H. O'Regan] more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 32062: authorized by Kay Behrensmeyer, entered by Hannah O'Regan on 03.06.2003, edited by Denne Reed