Late Pleistocene small mammal community from the Chongphadae Cave Site (DPRK)

Abstract This paper treats new data about small mammals from the Chongphadae Cave Site, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Seven samples from Layers 8–10 and 12–15 included 161 tooth fossils of small mammals. The composition of small mammal assemblage is 3 orders, 5 families, and 11 species, which are 1 insectivore taxon, 1 lagomorph taxon, and 9 rodent taxa. The community development is distinguished into five stages (62.122–19.630 ka), and stage I is characterized by the dominance of xerophilous elements, including Myospalax epsilanus, Microtus brandti, and Cricetulus barabensis . Alternating between mesophilous and xerophilous elements, the last stage (stage IV) of community development is characterized by the existence of only mesophilous elements, such as Ochotona alpina and Erinaceus sp. The dynamics of small mammal communities of the Chongphadae Cave Site demonstrate that alternation between mesophilous and xerophilous elements during the Late Pleistocene contributed to the formation of the modern mosaic landscape consisting of forests, grasslands, and riverside.