Pátek, Levousy a Chlumčany – významné fosiliferní středopleistocénní lokality na pravém břehu Ohře mezi Louny a Libochovicemi [Pátek, Levousy and Chlumčany – important mid-pleistocene localities on the right bank of the Ohře River between Louny and Libochovice]

Due to a complete predominance of non-calcareous fluvial sediments in the Czech Republic, any find of fossil malacofauna is always considered as rare. The present work describes three localities in the Ohře river area, which contain, especially in the case of the Pátek locality, very abundant mid-Pleistocene malacofaunas. They were mainly collected in the floodplain fine-grained loam and back swamp deposits but also in sandy gravels. The molluscan thanatocenoses from localities near the Pátek village indicate the interglacial maximum (with up to 25 forest species s.l.), which developed directly on a 30 m thick river terrace dating back to the period, during which the Ohře river established its present-day easterly course. The fossil molluscs from the Levousy locality come from floodplain loam deposits as well as from the underlying sandy terrace gravels. The species distribution, nevertheless, indicates only a transitional glacial-interglacial period. The somewhat higher morphologic position of the locality, as well as that of another section at Chlumčany, and complete predominance of local late Cretaceous material indicates that the Ohře river did not flow to the east yet during the accumulation of the floodplain deposits with molluscs, but still to the north, towards Bílina. The terrestrial malacofauna from the Chlumčany section came from floodplain marls, particularly from sandy tufa deposits in the alluvium, which contains no forest-biotope elements, but the presence of the species Columella columella – distinct representative of our „coldest“ loess deposits – is an absolute surprise, since the peak of production of the sandy tufa deposits has always been associated with climate optima of the interglacials and of the Holocene.Therefore, the described malacofaunas come from a boundary period, during which the Ohře river did not use its present-day valley (Levousy and Clumčany) yet. Then, from the oldest time span, it took up for the first time its eastward course. Stratigraphy of the localities cannot be determined with a reasonable certainty in regard to the current controversial situation in Pleistocene chronology both in the northern foothills of the Alps and in the area of the „classic“ localities belonging to the continental ice-sheet region in northern Germany (Kovanda 2005a). Altogether 12 mid-Pleistocene species of small mammals were found in thanaotocoenoses at localities Pátek and Levousy. Ostracod assemblages analysis was also undertaken (11 species in 8 samples were determined)