A review of the occurrence of Corbicula in the Pleistocene of North-West Europe

Abstract

Shells belonging to the bivalve genus Corbicula occur commonly in Pleistocene interglacial deposits in NW Europe. These have usually been identified as C. fluminalis, a modern species described from the Euphrates river, although the veracity of this specific attribution remains equivocal. Corbicula has nowadays a southern distribution, and laboratory studies indicate that it is thermophilous. It is also tolerant of brackish water, one of several attributes that make this an effective colonizer.

In NW Europe, Corbicula is known from the Lower Pleistocene but is absent from the Cromerian Complex, occuring again in the three interglacials following the Anglian/Elsterian. It appears to be unknown from the last interglacial, except as derived fossils.