CRITICAL ISSUES IN EUROPEAN QUATERNARY BIOSTRATIGRAPHY

Abstract

The papers presented here form the Special Issue of Quaternary Science Reviews on European Quaternary Biostratigraphy. New and testable frameworks for the subdivision of Pleistocene time are proposed, based upon the evidence from three fossil groups that have a long history of biostratigraphical application in Europe, namely pollen, molluscs and mammals. In addition, the potential biostratigraphical value of beetles, chironomids, ostracods and testate amoebae is explored. The diverse lines of fossil evidence are consistent with a more complex chronology than previously envisaged for the Pleistocene and underline the need for future multiproxy studies, underpinned by a sound lithostratigraphy and consistent numerical dating.