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MAMMAL FAUNA OF PALAEOLITHIC STATION FROM CIUNTU CAVE Pascari Viorica, David Anatolie Institute of Zoology of ASM, Chisinau, Republic of , e-mail: pascaruviorica@gmail .com davidanatolie@gmail .com Palaeolithic site of Ciuntu cave is located about 2.5 km north of the village Corjeuţi, district in «Ciuntu valley» gorge formed over millennia by Lopatnic river course (left tributary of river) in the chain of Tortonian lime- stone reefs. This archaeological site investigated by digging on area of about 15 m un- der the guidance of notorious archaeologists from Moldova N. Chetraru and I. Borziac (Борзиак, Кетрару, 1978), is attributed to the early stage of Upper Paleolithic (Branzeni archaeological culture) and late Pleistocene (early phase of the last wurmian Pleniglacial, accurate dating according to C -18500+200 – 22100+220, after Borziac, 2005). During the excavations there was discovered, mainly in the lower level of living, an interesting osteological material (over 1800 remains), representing skeletal remains of mammal haunted in the surroundings of this territory by the inhabitants of the site, which represented their main source of food. At the same time, through washing of sandy-clay soil from lower housing layer, skeletal re- mains of small mammals were collected and studied. This fauna is of great inter-est in the reconstruction of environmental conditions in studied area at that time. The results of investigations of mammalian skeletal remnants from the Pa- leolithic site of Ciuntu cave revealed the following species compositions: In- sectivora-Crocidura leucodon Herm., Sorex sp.; Lagomorpha: Lepus europaeus L., Lepus sp., Ochotona spelaea Owen; Rodentia: Marmota bobac Mull., Sper- 257 mophilus (Citellus) suslica Guld., Cricetus cricetus L., Allocricetus sp., Nan- nospalax leucodon Nordm.,. Spalax sp., Dicrostonyx guilielmi Sanf., Lagurus lagurus Pall., Arvicola teresrtis L., Microtus socialis Pall., M .(Stenocranius) gregalis Pall., Apodemus sylvaticus L.; Carnivora: Vulpes sp., Ursus arctos L.; Perissodactyla: Equus cf. latipes V.Gom., Coilodonta antiquitatis Blum.; Artio- dactyla: Cervus elaphus L., Megalocerus giganteus Blum., Rangifer tarandus cf. guettardi Desmar., Bison priscus Boj. The heterogeneous composition in ecological and palaeo-geographic aspects of this faunal associations (the presence of representatives of steppe fauna - ochotona, marmots, ground squirrel, steppe lemming, horse, bison, etc., of Tun- dra and subarctic zone – collared Lemming, narrow headed vole, reindeer, wood mouse, brown bear, red deer, reindeer; of open land fauna – rhinoceros, giant elk etc.) prove that the mammal fauna as the fauna of third levels of living from Branzeni I Paleolithic site, from the same area of north-western Moldova is par- ticular for the initial period of the last wurmian Pleniglacial in Europe. The study was performed within the project 2/3056-4373 financed by FEN.