GEOLOGICA CARPATHICA, 51, 1, BRATISLAVA, FEBRUARY 2000
36
QUATERNARY MALACOFAUNA OF TOPOLOVNIK AND GOLUBAC
(NORTH-EASTERN SERBIA)
BILJANA MITROVIÆ and GORDANA JOVANOVIÆ
Natural History Museum, Njegoeva 51, P.O.B. 401, 11000 Belgrade, Yugoslavia
(Manuscript received March 17, 1999; accepted in revised form September 28, 1999)
Abstract: The paper offers a survey of geological profiles of Quaternary sediments in the neighbourhood of Topolovnik
and Golubac. The profiles are composed of loess, loessoid sands, and quicksand. In the area of Topolovik, Quaternary
sediments overlying Pliocene sediments contain terrestrial fauna of molluscs (gastropods). These layers are more than
10 m thick. The neighbourhood of Golubac and the town itself lies partly on Badenian and partly on Quaternary
formations. The appearance and composition of these sediments can best be seen on the road cuts near the Danube
banks and on the profiles in the wider area of the town. The Quaternary overlies transgressively the marine Upper
Badenian. It is most manifest and best preserved north-west of the stadium. In the lower part it contains sands 2 m
thick with the fauna of fluvial and terrestrial origin. Overlying them are loess sediments more than 10 m thick, con-
taining terrestrial fauna.
Key words: Golubac, Topolovnik, uto Brdo, Quaternary, Mollusca, taphonomical, paleoecological.
Introduction
Quaternary sediments and malacofauna of the neighbour-
hood of Topolovnik and Golubac have not been investigated
in detail so far. The studies have been based mostly on a
survey of distribution of different types of Quaternary for-
mations and shorter lists of identified fossil material. These
sediments are chiefly described as deposits of loess, eolian
loessoid sands, and quicksand (Markoviæ-Marjanoviæ 1951;
Pavloviæ 1922; Rakiæ 1980; and Stevanoviæ 1949).
The profiles described lie in north-eastern Serbia (Fig. 1),
west of Veliko Gradite (the village of Topolovnik) and west
of Golubac (uto Brdo). During 1986/87 and 1997/98, a
markedly numerous and diverse mollusc fauna indicating
Pleistocene age was collected from these sediments. The
material is kept in the collections of the Natural History
Museum in Belgrade.
Investigation methods
The fossil material has been collected from several sites of the
aforementioned area. Both complete, well-preserved shells and
damaged (mechanically, after fossilization) have been collected.
The fauna is on the whole well preserved, which has rendered
possible an identification of the species as well as an assessment
of the sediment age. Stratigraphic, paleontological and micro-
paleontological methods have been employed for that purpose.
Determination of fossil material and paleoecological analyses
have been performed by means of widely accepted methods as
defined by Loek (1964) and Kerney (1983).
In the course of preparation, material was treated mechan-
ically by tools and sifted through mineralogical sieves. Cer-
tain gastropod specimens had very tender and fragile shells
and had to be protected by a thin layer of lacquer prior to
treatment. The paleoecological (actualistic) method has been
used to establish the living conditions under which paleoflo-
ra thrived. Paleoecological characteristics of fauna have been
shown in histogrammes.
Quaternary malacofauna of Topolovnik
Quaternary sediments overlying Pliocene sediments are
widespread on the territory of Topolovnik near Veliko Gra-
dite. The best exposed profiles are those in the road-cuts,
gullies, and streams (the Veliki Izvor and Door).
South of the Topolovnik village, at the foot of Kalugara,
on the road to the source of the Veliki Izvor, a gravel series
around 0.50 cm in thickness (Spajiæ 1967) is overlain by
Quaternary sediments (more than 10 m thick) abounding in
fossil gastropods and Carbonate concretions (loess dolls).
Two levels can be sharply distinguished (Fig. 2). The lower
level (Fig. 2/1) is represented by sandy silts with rich mac-
Fig. 1. Geographical position of sites with fossil macrofauna.
4 MITROVIÆ and JOVANOVIÆ
0
20
40
60
8H Succinea oblonga
7M Orcula dolium
7M Trichia hispida
5O Pupilla muscorum
4S Cepaea vindobonensis
3Wh Macroqastra ventricosa
2WM Bradybaena fruticum
2WM Trichia striolata
2WM Arianta arbustorum
1W Chilostoma cf. faustinum
Legend
1W Forest associated species
2WM Forest biotope (mesophilic forms)
3Wh Humid to wet forest biotope
4S Open areas (steppe) in forest biotope
5O Open places (from humid meadows to steppes)
7M Mesophilic species
8H Humidity - requiring, cold resistant sp.
0
10
20
30
10P Valvata cristata
8H Succinea oblonga
7M Trichia hispida
5O Vallonia costata
4S Granaria frumentum
4S Helicella obvia
4S Chondrula tridens
2WM Bradybaena fruticum
2WM Arianta arbustorum
2WM Pomatias elegans
2WM Trichia striolata
1W Chilostoma cf. faustinum
LEGEND
1W Forest associated species
2WM Forest biotope (mesophilic forms)
4S Open areas (steppe) in forest
biotope
5O Open places (from humid meadows
to steppes)
7M Mesophilic species
8H Humidity - requiring, cold resistant sp.
10P Shallow watter
loess (Trichia hispida Linné etc.). The representatives of the
subspecies Succinea oblonga Draparnaud indicating the condi-
tions of a humid biotope are seen to be numerous.
Quaternary malacofauna of uto Brdo
near Golubac
Quaternary sediments of uto Brdo (Golubac) overlying
transgressively Badenian sediments have been discovered in
the wider area of the town in cuts of local roads and the banks
of the stream flowing beneath the town church. The most in-
structive profiles lie near the Danube shore north-east of Gol-
ubac where a contact with Badenian sediments can be seen
(Fig. 4). Overlying Badenian conglomerates are loessoid sedi-
Fig. 2. Profile of Topolovnik. Legend: Layer 1. Sandy silts with
abundant macrofauna; Layer 2. Gray-yellow sandy silts with
sparse fossil remains.
Fig. 4. Profile of Badenian and Quarternary sediments of uto
BrdoGolubac. Legend: Layer 1. Gravely sands; Layer 2. Fine-
grained sands, clayey, with mollusc fauna; 3. Loose gravels; 4.
Loessoid sediments.
Fig. 3. Histogram of species frequency according to ecological va-
lence of Topolovnik.
Fig. 5. Histogram of species frequency according to ecological
characteristics of uto BrdoGolubac.
rofauna and larger Carbonate concretions: Succinea oblonga
Draparnaud, Euconolus cf. fulvus (Müller), Orcula dolium
(Draparnaud), Trichia hispida Linné, T. plebeia (Draparnaud),
Pupilla muscorum (Linné), Helicella obvia (Hartmann), Ce-
paea vindobonensis (Ferussac), Chondrula tridens (Müller),
Macroqastra ventricosa (Drapernaud), Perforatella bidentata
(Gmelin), Bradybaena fruticum (Müller), Vitrea crystallina
(Müller), Trichia striolata (Pfeiffer), T. cf. unidentata (Drapar-
naud), Cochlodina transsylvanica (Bielz), C. laminata (Mon-
tagu), Aegopinella nitens (Michaud), Chilostoma cf. faustinum
(Rossmässler), Pupilla sp. (tip of the whorl), Clausilia sp. (tip
of the whorl), Orcula sp. (part of the whorl), Aegopinella sp.
(part of the whorl). The layer 2 is composed of gray-yellow
sandy silts with sparse fossil remains: Helix pomatia Linné
and Arianta arbustrorum (Linné).
The histogram (Fig. 3) shows that the dominating species
are those related to woodland areas, cold to temperately cold
forms preserved in loess (Trichia striolata (Pfeiffer) etc.) and
mesophilous species of wide ecological valence also found in
LEGEND
QUATERNARY MALACOFAUNA OF TOPOLOVNIK AND GOLUBAC 5
ments which contain a diverse and numerous fauna of terrestri-
al molluscs: Chilostoma cf. faustinum (Rossmässler), Cochlo-
dina laminata (Montagu), Trichia striolata (Pfeiffer), Poma-
tias elegans (Müller), Arianta arbustorum (Linné),
Bradybaena fruticum (Müller), Vitrea crystallina (Müller),
Helix pomatia Linné, Cochlodina transsylvanica (Bielz),
Chondrula tridens (Müller), Helicella obvia (Hartmann), Gra-
naria frumentum (Draparnaud), Cepaea vindobonensis (Ferus-
sac), Vallonia costata (Müller), Trichia hispida Linné, Succin-
ea oblonga Draparnaud, and Valvata cristata Müller. The
histogram (Fig. 5) shows a presence of species related to
woodland areas mesophilous species (Trichia striolata
etc.). Inferring from the number of specimens, the most domi-
nant are the representatives of open areas steppes (Granar-
ia frumentum, Chondrula tridens, and Helicella obvia).
Quaternary malacofauna of the Golubac
stadium at Golubac
Near the Danube, at a distance of 300 m from the stadium
Golubac, there lies a profile (Fig. 6) of Quaternary sedi-
ments composed of two layers. The first level (Fig. 6/1) is rep-
resented by fine-grained clayey sands, 2 m thick, with fluvial
fauna: Pomatias elegans (Müller), Bradybaena fruticum
0
5
10
15
7Wf Clausilia dubia
4S Granaria frumentum
2WM Pomatias elegans
1W Chilostoma cf. faustinum
LEGEND
1W Forest associated species
2WM Forest biotope mesophilic forms
4S Open areas-steppe in forest
biotope
7Wf Easily aclimatised species-forest
waste
Paleocological
characteristics
Faunistic records
T
G
Chilostoma cf. faustinum (Rossmässler)
1
4
10
Aegopinella nitens (Michaud)
3
1
W
Cochlodina laminata (Montagu)
1
1
Cochlodina transsylvanica (Bielz)
2
1
Trichia cf. unidentata (Draparnaud)
1
Arianta arbustrorum (Linné)
19
7
Trichia striolata (Pfeiffer)
39 15
Vitrea crystallina (Müller)
1
2
2
WM
Bradybaena fruticum (Müller)
7
4
2
Helix pomatia Linné
3
1
Helix pomatia Linné juv.
1
Pomatias elegans (Müller)
6
5
3
W(h)
Macroqastra ventricosa (Draparnaud)
6
Perforatella bidentata (Gmelin)
1
Granaria frumentum (Draparnaud)
16 12
4
S
Chondrula tridens (Müller)
2
22
3
Helicella obvia (Hartmann)
3
13
1
Cepaea vindobonensis (Ferussac)
4
5
2
5
O
Pupilla muscorum (Linné) juv.
1
Vallonia costata (Müller)
1
1
1
Trichia hispida Linné
32
1
Trichia plebeia (Draparnaud)
4
7
M
Euconulus cf. fulvus (Müller)
1
Abida secale (Draparnaud)
5
2
Orcula dolium (Drapamaund)
6
Vertigo alpestris Alder
6
7
Wf
Clausilia dubia Draparnaud
1
8
H
Succinea oblonga Draparnaud
25
2
2
10
P
Valvata cristata Müller
1
T Topolovnik
uto Brdo (Golubac)
G Stadium at Golubac
Legend: 1W Forest associated species; 2WM Forest biotope (mesophilic
forms); 3Wh Humid to wet forest biotope; 4S Open areas (steppe) in
forest biotope; 5O Open areas (from humid meadows to steppes); 7M
Mesophilic species; 7Wf Easily aclimatized species-forest waste; 8H
Humidity-requiring, cold resistant species; 10P Shallow water.
Table 1: Survey of Quaternary malacofauna of the Danube area
near Poarevac from the collections of Natural History Museum.
(Müller), Helicopsis striata (Müller), Cepaea vindobonensis
(Ferussac), Chondrula tridens (Müller), Vallonia costata
(Müller), Succinea oblonga Draparnaud, Unio sp. This layer
was formed by the shifting of the Danube shore-line which
caused fluvial and terrestrial fauna of allochthonous origin to
be mixed together. The upper level (Fig. 6/2) is built of loess
sediments more than 10 m thick, containing terrestrial fauna:
Clausilia dubia Draparnaud, Bradybaena fruticum (Müller),
Helicella obvia (Hartmann), Chilostoma cf. faustinum
(Rossmässler), Granaria frumentum (Draparnaud), Chondrula
tridens (Müller), and Pomatias elegans (Müller). Most signifi-
cant is the presence of the steppic species Granaria frumen-
tum and Chondrula tridens indicating a warm climate (Fig. 7).
Conclusion
Quaternary sediments of the neighbourhood of Topolovnik
are represented only by eolian deposits, while at Golubac
two types have been distinguished, determined by sedimen-
tation process:
1) sediments of fluvial origin (on the basis of the preserved
remains of fossil bivalves Unio sp. in association with terres-
trial fauna);
2) eolian sediments (terrestrial fauna).
Fig. 6. Profile of Quaternary sediments in Golubac. Legend: Layer
1. Layer of sands with Unio sp.; Layer 2. Loose with terrestrial
malacofauna.
Fig. 7. Histogram of species frequency according to ecological
characteristics of fauna from Golubac.
6 MITROVIÆ and JOVANOVIÆ
Around 200 specimens have been collected from the fos-
siliferous sediments of Topolovnik and Golubac and a total
of 29 species belonging to six genera has been identified (Ta-
ble 1). From a comparison of taxa shown in the histograms of
molluscs for the sites cited (Topolovnik, uto BrdoGolu-
bac, and stadium Golubac at Golubac) it may be inferred
that the dominant forms in the Topolovnik area are those re-
lated to woodland areas mesophilous species (Trichia his-
pida etc.), while an increased presence of steppic species
(Chondrula tridens etc.) is characteristic of Golubac. Also
numerous is the species Succinea oblonga from the site of
Babina StenaKasumbaèa (near Golubac) indicating a moist
climate (Pavloviæ 1922). Tender and very fragile though they
are, the shells of fossil organisms are remarkably well pre-
served. Very few specimens were found where only parts of
whorl had been preserved. The pattern of the outer surface of
the shells is likewise well preserved; in larger forms from the
site of uto Brdo near Golubac we have observed only
cracks in sediment.
In several specimens of the species Cepaea vindobonensis
(Ferussac) from Topolovnik we have noted damages in the
shells, irregular in form, up to 0.5 cm in size suggesting biot-
ic damage inflicted by the predator insect Carabus sp. Simi-
lar damage on the recent species has been described by Abel
(1935). Taphonomical characteristics of the fauna indicate
that the oryctocenosis investigated was autochthonous in
character.
The paper offers the first results of paleontological investi-
gations of loessal and lessoid sediments of the Danube area
near Poarevac. The investigations performed so far suggest
that the deposits described may have originated during the
latest glaciation.
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