Alexandru Petculescu

• PhD
• Senior Researcher at "Emil Racovita" Institute of Speleology

The timing of the initial dispersal of hominins into Eurasia is unclear. Current evidence indicates hominins were present at Dmanisi, Georgia by 1.8 million years ago (Ma), but other ephemeral traces of hominins across Eurasia predate Dmanisi. However, no hominin remains have been definitively described from Europe until ~1.4 Ma. Here we present ev...

A recent palaeontological excavation in Muierilor Cave, southern Carpathians (Romania), has recovered one of the largest populations of Late Pleistocene wolves (Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758; MNI =25) documented in Eurasian cave deposits. Many individual nests with wolf bones, including fully articulated skeletons, were found in a remote passage of th...

The palaeontological material from the Dacian Basin provides a complete and well-represented record of faunal succession during the important faunal turnover called the Pachycrocuta event. The present study describes fossil remains of ruminants (Cervidae, Bovidae, Giraffidae) from the Early Pleistocene of Valea Grăunceanului, Fântâna lui Mitilan an...

Aim Many species experienced population turnover and local extinction during the Late Pleistocene. In the case of megafauna, it remains challenging to disentangle climate change and the activities of Palaeolithic hunter‐gatherers as the main cause. In contrast, the impact of humans on rodent populations is likely to be negligible. This study invest...

Many species experienced population turnover and local extinction during the Late Pleistocene. In the case of megafauna, it remains challenging to disentangle climate change and the activities of Palaeolithic hunter‐gatherers as the main cause. In contrast, the impact of humans on rodent populations is likely to be negligible. This study investigat...

The neighbouring sites of Berești and Mălușteni (Eastern Carpathian Foreland, eastern Romania) have yielded the most abundant and taxonomically diverse Pliocene vertebrate assemblages described so far from the entire country. Some of the small mammals found here were described as new taxa, and occasionally reassessed during the past one hundred yea...

Aim The common vole is a temperate rodent widespread across Europe. It was also one of the most abundant small mammal species throughout the Late Pleistocene. Phylogeographic studies of its extant populations suggested the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 26.5–19 ka ago) as one of the main drivers of the species’ population dynamics. However, analyses ba...

Subterranean habitats of anthropic origin (e.g. tunnels, mines, rupestrian settlements) have similar characteristics of natural voids, such as caves. These anthropic habitats have been shown to provide habitats for wildlife and harbor high species richness. In particular, rupestrian underground shelters have both natural and cultural importance. Ho...

Over the last thousands of years, human impact led to significant changes in the landscape, with impacts on the environment and the functioning of the ecosystems. We assumed that even small human settlements developed around water bodies might have a substantial impact that surpasses the natural cycles of climate change in an area, especially linke...

The deposition of tephra, such as volcanic ash and other pyroclastics, can provide important chronological context in archaeological records where standard geochronometers are ambiguous. An example of this are the caves in the Vârghiș (Vargyas) Gorges, close to the volcanic massif of Ciomadul (Csomád) where human presence has been documented since...

The fossil record for pangolins is sparse. Current biogeographic data suggest this clade originated in Europe, though pangolins seem to have disappeared from the European paleontological record during the middle Miocene, when they were hypothesized to have been pushed toward more tropical and sub-tropical equatorial environments due to global cooli...

The Vârghiș Gorges karst system (Perșani Mountains, Eastern Carpathians) constituted a point of interest for speleologists, paleontologists and archaeologists since the second half of the 19th century. Their efforts succeeded in highlighting the notable archaeological potential of the area, although the actual research results were not always thoro...

The Early Pleistocene is recognized as a time of major global climatic and environmental change, including increasing aridity, significant spread of grasslands, and substantial faunal turnovers and dispersals. Importantly, this is the first time hominins are found in Eurasia. Reconstructing the types of environments that existed during this time is...

(1) Background: Show caves are unique natural attractions and touristic traffic can trigger their degradation within a short time. There are no universal solutions to counter the effects of the touristic impact upon the cave environment and both protection protocols and management plans have to be established on a case-by-case basis. (2) Methods: T...

This paper describes an Early Pleistocene amphibian and squamate assemblage from the Dacian Basin, southern Romania. The fossil sample allows for the identification of a moderately diverse assemblage, which includes representatives of 13 genera of the families Salamandridae (Lissotriton vulgaris, Triturus sp.), Bombinatoridae (Bombina sp.), Hylidae...

In rural areas without centralized water supply systems, inhabitants often use groundwater of unknown quality as drinking water, without understanding the possible negative consequences on their health. Karstic spring waters from Dobrogea region in Romania were assessed for their potential to be used as drinking water source, according to their qua...

Caves often hold valuable palaeoclimate archives including speleothems, fossil remains, and clastic sediments that complement each other. This paper presents a multi-archive interdisciplinary study of an extensive deposit of fossil mammals from the scientific reserve in the Muierilor Cave, Southern Carpathians, Romania. We present two new palaeonto...

The Early Pleistocene of Eurasia is marked by significant climatic, environmental, and faunal shifts and is the time during which Homo first appears in the Eurasian fossil record. To better characterize the environments that were available to these hominins, accurate data regarding the faunal composition of eastern European sites are necessary, as...

The harsh climatic conditions during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) period have been considered the cause of local extinctions and major faunal reorganizations that took place at the end of the Pleistocene. Recent studies have shown, however, that in addition many of these ecological events were associated with abrupt climate changes during the so-...

The harsh climatic conditions during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) period have been considered the cause of local extinctions and major faunal reorganizations that took place at the end of the Pleistocene. Recent studies have shown, however, that in addition many of these ecological events were associated with abrupt climate changes during the so-...

Acest volum este o colecţie de studii interdisciplinare realizate în cadrul proiectului demonstrativ „Platformă digitală integrată pentru valorizarea peisajului cultural din Munţii Buzăului. Studiu de caz: cadrul natural şi monumentele istorice din zona Aluniş-Bozioru”, derulat în perioada ianuarie 2017 - iunie 2018. Principalul obiectiv al proie...

This paper describes the first early Pleistocene freshwater fish assemblage fromthe Dacian Basin, Romania. The fossil sample, consisting mainly of isolated teeth, sup-ports the presence of a rich and taxonomically diverse fish assemblage: 17 taxa wereidentified, belonging to 10 genera of the families Cyprinidae, Salmonidae, Siluridae,Esocidae, and...

The aim of this study was to monitor factors affecting the microorganisms of water bodies in caves and apply the findings to improve their management. Four show-caves in Romania were sampled monthly to obtain an overview of the changes occurring in the fungal and bacterial communities of cave waters in relation to surface and underground impacts. T...

Cultural landscapes, defined by UNESCO as the “combined works of nature and of man” are facing a wide range of aggressive factors and threats, ranging from natural (e.g. extreme weather or landslides) to anthropogenic (air pollution, logging, overgrazing, population) that induce stress to the soil, biota and even the visitors themselves. Although m...

Air microbial pollution in touristic areas poses a risk for both the integrity of an ecosystem and human health. Microbiological monitoring together with environmental parameters monitoring allows for the assessment of the impacts and formulation of sound management decisions to protect humans and ecosystems. Four show caves from the Carpathian Mou...

Figure 1. Location of Stoieni Cave in Mehedinți County, southwestern Romania. The cave "Peștera Seacă din Ogașul Stoienilor", referred to as Stoieni Cave, is located in the Mehedinți Mountains, SW Romania (Fig. 1). It is 50 m long 2 and 8 m deep, and consists of a single passage ending with a 30 m chamber (Fig. 2), where an excavation was conducted...

The first attempt to investigate the collembolan fauna from the Buzau Mountains (Romania).

Figure 1. Location of Stoieni Cave in Mehedinți County, southwestern Romania. The cave "Peștera Seacă din Ogașul Stoienilor", referred to as Stoieni Cave, is located in the Mehedinți Mountains, SW Romania (Fig. 1). It is 50 m long 2 and 8 m deep, and consists of a single passage ending with a 30 m chamber (Fig. 2), where an excavation was conducted...

Until recently, the cave-based Middle Palaeolithic in Romania offered almost exclusively archaeological collections without chronological control, the limited number of radiocarbon samples reported usually lacking a precise archaeological context. In an effort to improve such limitations, we initiated an interdisciplinary research of the archaeolog...

This paper presents the methodology and the results of the implementation of an interdisciplinary research model regarding the characterization of a cultural landscape. This work was focused on 5 rupestral monuments in the Buzău Mountains and is part of a demonstrative project funded by the Program Partnerships in Priority domains PN-III-P2-2.1. I...

The palaeoichnology of the cave bear, Ursus spelaeus, was studied at Urşilor Cave, Apuseni Mountains, Romania, to acquire new data about the ethology and the metrics of this extinct species. Eight stations containing footprints, scratch marks and nests were surveyed using laser scanning to build tridimensional models for several cave bear nests, wa...

Résumé Dans le cadre de cette étude, la chronologie de plusieurs gisements intralœssiques du Paléolithique supérieur et moyen, situés en Moldavie, en Dobrogea et dans la plaine orientale du Danube, a été réexaminée et précisée en s’appuyant sur de nouvelles données chronologiques (dates IRSL sur lœss et dates ESR/U-Th sur dents) ainsi que sur des a...

The authors present the Collembola species collected from the Buzău Land Geopark (Buzău Mountains, Romania). The uniqueness of the Buzău Land Geopark is illustrated by the presence of very rare collembolan species such as Friesea afurcata (Denis, 1926), Deutonura phlegraea (Caroli, 1910), Xenylla welchi Folsom, 1916, Desoria tigrina Nicolet, 1842,...

Our study indicate that subterranean artificial cavities play an important role for the macroinvertebrates community and their conservation and management might enhance and maintain species richness in areas where the native vegetation have been negatively affected by forestry.

Late Pleistocene European cave bears (Ursus spelaeus) have been considered to be largely vegetarian, although stable isotope data (δ13C and δ15N values) from the Romanian Carpathians has suggested considerable dietary variation. Here we evaluate previous and additional adult cave bear isotopic data from four Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3) sites in...

Late Pleistocene European cave bears (Ursus spelaeus) have been considered to be largely vegetarian, although stable isotope data (δ13C and δ15N values) from the Romanian Carpathians has suggested considerable dietary variation. Here we evaluate previous and additional adult cave bear isotopic data from four Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3) sites in...

This paper presents a newly started demonstrative project regarding the implementation and validation of an interdisciplinary research model for the Aluniș-Bozioru (Romania) cultural landscape, with the development of an online interactive digital product. This digital product would provide complementary data about the historical monuments and thei...

Abstract— The selected caves were monitored to establish management plan for speo-tourism. Several aspects were taken in consideration, among these the biology, geology, climatology, geo-morphology, paleontology and archeology of each cave. Our study is the result of several monitoring stages and it evaluates the thermic characteristics of air...

In taphonomy, the study of carnivore modification of fossil bones and the analysis of their dispersion represent the best approach to assessing the extent of bone modification and displacement for a given bone assemblage. Here we analyze the excavated bone deposit from Urşilor Cave, a well-documented and fossil-rich Upper Pleistocene cave bear site...

Muierilor and Urșilor Caves are two representative paleontological sites of Europe as they bear significant MIS 3 cave deposits including fossil remains, sediments and speleothems. Over the last few years, we have conducted a number of paleontological excavation campaigns on both caves aimed at understanding the taphonomic processes that occurred d...

Rodents are valuable taxons of the fossil fauna from the Pleistocene epoch in Europe. Given their chronological value, the small mammals (rodents, insectivores) play an important role in drawing up the biochronostratigrafic scheme of the continental deposits. Due to its specific features, small mammal paleontology can provide relevant information o...

During the paleontological excavation process, that was conducted in Muierilor Cave, (Galbenului Valley, Southern Carpathians), several samples were selected for ancient DNA (aDNA) extraction. The AMS 14C ages from the Muierilor paleontological excavation indicate ca. 30 – 43 ky BP. The selection criteria for samples were as follows: target species...

Spatial distribution analyses of fossil bones are often used in cave taphonomy for i) assessing directly the size of a given fossil population and ii) indirectly, for palaeo-environmental reconstructions. Urşilor Cave from northwestern Romania hosts one of the richest MIS 3 cave bear bone assemblages of Europe, and as the nature of the bone deposit...

New data concerning the bone assemblage from Muierilor Cave (Southern Carpathians) were revealed during a new palaeontological excavation (ca. 9 m2) in the Scientific Reserve (= Bears’ Passage). The accumulation of fossil remains within the excavation is represented mostly by scattered skeletal fragments belonging to cave bears (Ursus spelaeus Rose...

The Ursilor Cave (NW Romania) is a famous cave bear paleontological site hosting an important Late Pleistocene faunal assemblage and subject to systematic excavation works. To better understand the origin of fossil assemblages, the sedimentary history of the cave must be reconstructed. We conducted a series of investigations on various cave deposit...

The Urs¸ ilor Cave (NW Romania) is a famous cave bear paleontological site hosting an important Late Pleistocene faunal assemblage and subject to systematic excavation works. To better understand the origin of fossil assemblages, the sedimentary history of the cave must be reconstructed. We conducted a series of investigations on various cave depos...

The Danube has long been considered a “highway” for the prehistoric hominin colonization of Europe. However, its role in the two most significant episodes of colonization – the first peopling of Europe in the Lower–Middle Pleistocene, and Late Pleistocene colonization by anatomically modern humans – is presently a matter of hypothesis based on the...

a b s t r a c t As a result of multidisciplinary investigations carried out, in the last two decades, the knowledge of the Pliocene and Quaternary stratigraphy from Dacian Basin has increased considerably. New lithostrati-graphic units were revealed, for example: Trajkovo Fm (Romanian), Vlǎdeni Fm, Vânǎtori Fm (Pleisto-cene), and other units have b...

Five samples of clastic sediments from interior cave facies taken in three Slovenian relic caves (Trhlovca, Raci\vska pecina, and a cave in Crnotice Quarry, Classical Karst, SW Slovenia) provided invertebrate fossil remains. Most of them belong to Oribatida but sparse individuals of Cladocera and insects were also identified. They represent the fir...

Five samples of clastic sediments from interior cave facies taken in three Slovenian relic caves (Trhlovca, Račiška pečina, and a cave in Črnotiče Quarry, Classical Karst, SW Slovenia) provided invertebrate fossil remains. Most of them belong to Oribatida but sparse individuals of Cladocera and insects were also identified. They represent the first...

The first two palaeontological excavation campaigns held in 2010 at the Urşilor Cave, Bihor Mountains, Romania brought new information concerning the cave occupation by Ursus spelaeus during the Upper Pleistocene. The excavation is located in the Lower Passageway (Scientific Reserve) and extends over 7 m 2 with the lowest point reached during the c...

Paleontological studies of the mammals from the Upper Pleistocene at Dobrogea are distinct in comparison with other mammal associations from Romania. The paleoenvironment from the last glacial cycle (Wurm) is reconstructed on the basis of the mammal cave fossils discovered in caves at Dobrogea. Research in karst deposits from the last glacial cycle...

Se presenta una revisión de los grandes mamíferos del Plioceno de la cuenca Dácica y la depresión Brasov, Rumania, y se indican las asociaciones faunísticas de los sitios fosilíferos más significativos. Las asociaciones de mamíferos del Plioceno inferior (Rusciniense, MN 14-15) y Plioceno superior (Villafranquiense medio/superior, MN17, MQ1) están...

Se presenta una revisión de los grandes mamíferos del Plioceno de la cuenca Dácica y la depresión Brasov, Rumania, y se indican las asociaciones faunísticas de los sitios fosilíferos más significativos. Las asociaciones de mamíferos del Plioceno inferior (Rusciniense, MN 14-15) y Plioceno superior (Villafranquiense medio/superior, MN17, MQ1) están...

Two bone samples taken from a cave-bear skull discqvered in Pestera de Ia Gura Ponicovei (Danube Gorge, Romania) have been dated by U-series liquid-liquid extraction procedure. They allowed the determination of a minimum age of the cave as well as the minimum age of Danube's fourth terrace at c. 277 ka. This age has been also used to ascertain the...

On the basis of dental material coming from two Middle Pleistocene sites (Subpiatra Quarry near Aiesd, Bihor County and Rotbav-Dealut Tiganilor near Brasov, Brasov County), a new species, Pliomys samsoni n.sp. (Pliomyini, Arvicolidae, Rodentia, Mammalia) is described. In broth sites, P. samsoni n. sp. is associated with primitive Arvicola forms. Ch...