The First Data on Late Pleistocene Ostracods from the Kurai Depression (Gornyi Altai)

Abstract

In the sections of Late Pleistocene deposits of the Kurai Depression of Gornyi Altai studied, an ostracod assemblage, including Leucocythere sp. 1, L. sp. 2, Leucocythere dorsotuberosa Huang and Leucocytherella sinensis Huang, was identified. These species were previously found in deposits (from the Late Pleistocene up to the present day) of high-altitude glacial lakes on the Plateau of Tibet and were ascribed to endemic fauna. Our study results show that the habitat area of Tibetian species is much wider. Based on the ecological data available for the species studied, the development conditions of a Late Pleistocene glacier-dammed lake in the Kurai Depression were reconstructed.