Taxonomic Study of Ostracods from the Early Holocene Sediments of Lake Peţea, NW Romania

The ostracod fossils are extremely important for the reconstruction of the prehistoric environment. This is also the case for lake environments (pH, carbonate content, isotope geochemistry, water depth, temperature, vegetation cover). In a lake of hydrothermal origin, such as Lake Peţea in the north-western part of Romania, it is of particular importance, as the lake has now dried up and a significant part of the endemic fauna has disappeared. The conclusions drawn from the Ostracoda remains, together with other taxa, could be of great help to local conservation efforts to restore the lake to its former state. Based on our results the following taxa were identified in the Early Holocene deposits of the lake: Candona weltneri var. obtusa, Pseudocandona rostrata, Cypridopsis vidua.