A 75,000-y-old Scandinavian Arctic cave deposit reveals past faunal diversity and paleoenvironment

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 122; no. 32; p. e2415008122
• Main Authors: Walker, Samuel J., Boilard, Aurélie, Henriksen, Mona, Lord, Edana, Robu, Marius, Buylaert, Jan-Pieter, Beijersbergen, Liselotte M. Takken, Halvorsen, Lene Synnøve, Cintrón-Santiago, Adriana M., Onshuus, Emma Katrin, Cockerill, Christopher Alan, Ujvari, Gabor, Palcsu, László, Temovski, Marjan, Maccali, Jenny, Linge, Henriette, Olsen, Jesper, Aksnes, Sverre, Bertheussen, Anastasia, Lygre, Ola, Alsos, Inger G., Dalén, Love, Star, Bastiaan, Hufthammer, Anne Karin, van Kolfschoten, Thijs, Lauritzen, Stein-Erik, Lødøen, Trond Klungseth, Boessenkool, Sanne
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States National Academy of Sciences 12.08.2025
• Subjects: Animals; Arctic Regions; Biodiversity; Biological Sciences; Bone and Bones - chemistry; Bone composition; Bones; Caves; Climate change; Environmental conditions; Fauna; Flora; Fossils; Freshwater ice; Geologic Sediments - analysis; Glacial periods; Glaciers; Global warming; Ice Cover; Norway; Paleontology; Phylogeny; Sea ice; Sediments; Taxa; Thorium; Uranium; Arctic Regions; Norway; Arctic region; ancient DNA; Weichselian; bulk-bone metabarcoding; paleozoology; Europe
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2415008122

During the last glacial period (~118 to 11.7 ka), the Arctic has been characterized by a major redistribution of flora and fauna as a consequence of extreme climatic fluctuations, with associated glacial advances and retreats, sea-level changes, and shifting sea ice extent. In the high-latitude regions of Northern Europe that are currently subject to rapid climate warming, we lack a comprehensive understanding of faunal biodiversity in the last glacial period due to the extreme rarity of preserved organic remains. Here, we present a stratified sediment deposit with a diverse faunal composition preserved in a bone-bearing layer in Arne Qvamgrotta, part of the Storsteinhola cave system (68.10° N 16.38° E) in Northern Norway. Chronological analyses of sediments and bones including radiocarbon, optically stimulated luminescence, uranium–thorium, and phylogenetic dating place the faunal assemblage in Marine Isotope Stage 5a (MIS 5a, Odderade interstadial, ~85 to 71 ka). Combining comparative osteology and bulk-bone metabarcoding, we identify 46 taxa, including mammals, birds, and fish, with several species not previously found in Fennoscandia. The fauna implies a nonanalogous cold-adapted coastal community, with close proximity to sea ice and nearby freshwater bodies. Mitogenome analyses of a subset of taxa identify extinct lineages which attest to a lack of habitat tracking and the absence of a local refugium during the subsequent fully glaciated periods. This faunal record demonstrates long-term faunal dynamics and coastal environmental conditions during MIS 5a in the European Arctic.