Marina V. Sotnikova

Russian Academy of Sciences | RAS · Institute of Geology

The cranial and mandibular fragments of the medium-sized canid from the Early Pleistocene locality of Taurida cave (about 1.8–1.5 Ma) in Crimea are described and included in the hypodigm of the species Canis etruscus Forsyth Major, 1877, a common member of the Late Villafranchian fauna of the Circum-Mediterranean region. This species is reported fo...

The Great Lakes Depression in northwestern Mongolia contains widespread Late Neogene continental deposits, reaching thicknesses of several hundred metres. The Late Neogene Khyargas Nuur formation (also known as the Khirgis-Nur formation) has a significant biostratigraphic value for Central Asia, as it encompasses a unique palaeontological record an...

The frozen mummy of the large felid cub was found in the Upper Pleistocene permafrost on the Badyarikha River (Indigirka River basin) in the northeast of Yakutia, Russia. The study of the specimen appearance showed its significant differences from a modern lion cub of similar age (three weeks) in the unusual shape of the muzzle with a large mouth o...

The cranial and mandibular fragments of the medium-sized canid from the Early Pleistocene locality of Taurida cave (about 1.8-1.5 Ma) in Crimea are described and included in the hypodigm of the species Canis etruscus Forsyth Major, 1877, a common member of the Late Villafranchian fauna of the Circum-Mediterranean region. This species is reported fo...

The new basal ursine bear, Ballusia zhegalloi n. sp., is described from the Early Miocene Tagay 1 locality (Baikal region, Russia) based on isolated M1. Previously described maxillary fragment with M1-2 from the closely synchronous fauna of Khirgis-Nur I in Mongolia, originally referred to Ballusia elemensis, is here included into the new species....

A study of the association of vertebrates from the Pleistocene deposits of the Taurida karst cave discovered in 2018 in the central Crimea (Belogorsky district, Zuya village) showed its correlation with the Late Villafranchian faunas of the Eastern Mediterranean and an approximate age of 1.8–1.5 Ma.

We describe a vertebrate assemblage from the Pleistocene deposits of the Taurida karst cave discovered in 2018 in central Crimea (Zuya village, Belogorsk raion). The assemblage is correlated with Late Vil-lafranchian faunas of the Eastern Mediterranean and has an approximate age of 1.8-1.5 Ma.

The vertebrate fauna from the cave deposits in Imanai Cave in the Southern Urals (53°02′ N, 56°26′E) has been studied. It contains 715 bones that belonged to at least 11 individuals of fossil lion (Panthera (Leo) ex gr. fossilis-spelaea). It has been established that this is one of the largest Eurasian burial sites of fossil lions. The bones were a...

To study the early stages of wolf domestication, we investigated the remains of large canids from the Yana site. Morphologically they cannot be called dogs, but there are certain indicators of the wolves' relationship with people, favorable to the start of domestication. The sample is dominated by animals with worn, partially missing teeth and vari...

Late Miocene continental deposits overlying the Khersonian marine sediments near the city of Maikop bordering the Belaya River (North Caucasus) yielded a diverse biotic record including palynology, ostracods, fresh-water and terrestrial molluscs, fishes, amphibians and reptiles, birds, and mammals. The obtained data indicate predominantly wooded la...

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Modern Arctic Siberia provides a wealth of resources for archaeological, geological, and paleontological research to investigate the population dynamics of faunal communities from the Pleistocene, particularly as the faunal material coming from permafrost has proven suitable for genetic studies. In order to examine the history of the Canid species...

Clastiс continental deposits near the village of Develi (Manisa, western Turkey) has been shown to contain the Late Miocene (MN12-13) large mammals since the work of Ozansoy (1960). Arslan (1982, 1984), and O.Kaya et al. (1998) contributed to the megamammal material. The small mammal fauna of Develi was first studied in detail by Sen et al. (1989)....

A lion-like pantherine felid is described as Panthera (Leo) fossilis (von Reichenau, 1906) from the late Early Pleistocene sediments of the Kuznezk Basin (Western Siberia, Russia). The find of P. fossilis first recorded in Asia considerably extends current notion of the eastward expansion of the most ancient lions. The Siberian lion is geologically...

Ferinestrix vorax is an extinct mustelid carnivoran of enigmatic relationships, known from a partial mandible and femur collected from the 3.2- and 3.6-Myr-old deposits of Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument, Idaho, USA. Here, we report Ferinestrix rapax sp. nov. based on 80 remains of skull and dentition from a 3.1–3.6-Myr-old deposit of Udunga...

Associations of small and large mammals derived from marine and subaqueous sediments of Maeotian and Pontian regional stages of the Eastern Paratethys from the North-Eastern Sea of Azov and the North Caucasus regions are reviewed. They are correlated with the middle-late Turolian faunas, zones MN12- MN13, from Ukraine and Western Europe. The most r...

Carnivora and Proboscidea from Mousterian layer 11 in the Palaeolithic site Molodovo V (Ukraine, Dniester basin) are revised. It was found that morphologically and metrically the large felid is close to the ancient fossil European lion – Panthera (Leo) fossilis, while the mammoth is related to thin-enamel members of Mammuthus primigenius group.

Carnivora and Proboscidea from Mousterian layer 11 in the Palaeolithic site Molodovo V (Ukraine, Dniester basin) are revised. It was found that morphologically and metrically the large felid is close to the ancient fossil European lion – Panthera (Leo) fossilis, while the mammoth is related to thin-enamel members of Mammuthus primigenius group.

An analysis of the taxonomy and distribution of the Mio–Pliocene and Pleistocene Eucyon-like and Canis-like canids of the tribe Canini of Eurasia was performed, with a description of several fossils from the Late Miocene and Early Pliocene of Asia. The changes in the assemblages of the Canini generally coincided with the most significant Eurasian f...

a b s t r a c t The Carnivora assemblage of the Tamanian faunal unit (1.1–0.8 Ma) from the south of European Russia (Taman' Peninsula and southern shore of the Taganrog Gulf of the Azov Sea) is described. It contains five species: Canis tamanensis, Canis (Xenocyon) lycaonoides, Lutra simplicidens tamanensis, Pachycrocuta brevirostris, and Homotheri...

Lions were the most widespread carnivores in the late Pleistocene, ranging from southern Africa to the southern USA, but little is known about the evolutionary relationships among these Pleistocene populations or the dynamics that led to their extinction. Using ancient DNA techniques, we obtained mitochondrial sequences from 52 individuals sampled...

A new species of the lesser panda, Parailurus baikalicus sp. nov., from the Pliocene of Transbaikalia is described. In contrast to the European taxa P. anglicus and P. hungaricus, it retains a primitive occlusal pattern of M1-M2, with a concave buccal outline, small mesostyle on M1, and undeveloped styles on M2. At the same time, the Transbaikalian...

A new species of the lesser panda, Parailurus baikalicus sp. nov., from the Pliocene of Transbaikalia is described. In contrast to the European taxa P. anglicus and P. hungaricus, it retains a primitive occlusal pattern of M1-M2, with a concave buccal outline, small mesostyle on M1, and undeveloped styles on M2. At the same time, the Transbaikalian...

Without Abstract

A new genus and species of Canidae - Nurocyon chonokhariensis - is described from the Lower Pliocene lacustrine deposits of the Khirgisnur Formation of the Chonokhariakh-1 locality (northwestern Mongolia, the Great Lakes Depression). A well-preserved skull of the new canid demonstrates an unusual combination of primitive and derived features that d...

Well-preserved skulls of Late Pleistocene Panthera spelaea are described from two geographically distant regions of Russia situated in the Russian Plain and Northern Siberia. The resemblance of the studied material with contemporaneous fossil lions from Alaska is established. The cranial morphology of P. spelaea confirms its phylogenetic position w...

A new genus and species of Canidae – Nurocyon chonokhariensis – is described from the Lower Pliocene lacustrine deposits of the Khirgisnur Formation of the Chonokhariakh-1 locality (northwestern Mongolia, the Great Lakes Depression). A well-preserved skull of the new canid demonstrates an unusual combination of primitive and derived features that d...

Carnivores of the Khapry faunal assemblage that is commonly considered as an analogue of the middle Villafranchian West European fauna (Late Pliocene, Zone MN17) were revised. Members of nine Carnivora genera are described in detail, and five of them are first included in the list of assemblage taxa. Carnivores of the Khapry assemblage are represen...

The data on the successions of the Late Miocene - Pliocene mammalian faunas from the territory of the former Soviet Union and Mongolia are summarised. The main characteristics of the MN zone for these territories are given.

Summary Fossil Canidae from Untermassfeld near Meiningen, Southern Thuringia, Germany, are described as Canis mosbachensis Soergel and Canis (Xenocyon) lycaonoides (Kretzoi). Remains of C. mosbachensis (more than 300 specimens) belonging to 15 adult and old individuals are represented by incomplete skulls, mandibles and parts of the postcranial ske...

The presented review of data on large Ruscinian Mammalia from different areas of the former Soviet Union shows that in most localities this fauna correlates with the second half of MN Zone 14 and with MN Zone 15. Single finds in the south of West Siberia are attributed to the initial Ruscinian. The boundary between zones is marked by quantitative c...

This research is focused on biostratigraphic and palaeomagnetic correlations of Upper Cenozoic mammalian localities of Central Asia in the territory of Tadjikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and southern Kazakhstan. The absence of the lithological markers and absolute dates emphasizes the true importance of using bio-magnetic evidence for stratigraphy...

The Pleistocene Boundary and the Beginning of the Quaternary presents the results of a forty-year international program to establish a precise definition for the most important boundary in geologic time – the beginning of the modern age of glacial climates. This book, the final report of International Geological Correlation Project 41, describes th...

Stratigraphic succession and position in the magnetochronological scale have been established for 22 reference localities of the Ruscinian mammals situated on the territory of the former Soviet Union (FSU). The oldest faunas (beginning of the MN 14) occur in Western Siberia. In the European part of the former Soviet Union the oldest faunas are corr...

Aim of the paper is to give a comprehensive view of the mammalian faunas of villafranchian age discovered in many localities of the Asiatic part of former USSR in order to correlate them with contemporaneous western Europe - particularly Italian - local faunas. The typical genera for early, middle and upper Villafranchian are reported together with...

A new species, Machairodus kurt eni is described from the late Miocene locality Kalmakpai in eastern Kazakhstan (USSR). Other Vallesian and Turolian species of Ma chairodu s in the USSR are discussed. Evolutionary changes appear to have taken place in the genus Machairodus during the Turolian. In the morphology of the dentition, M. kurteni is inter...

New data on mammalian fauna from sections from Obigarm and Zil'fi made it possible to clarify the age of the deposits enclosing the fauna and to compare this fauna with the Kuruksay fauna from southern Tadzhikistan, which is considered to be Middle Villafranchian. In a geological sense this is the Kuruksay formation. According to palaeomagnetic dat...

Different stages may be identified in different orders; boundaries between these stages do not always coincide in time. The most important boundaries in the history of mammals are noted: 1) between the Early and Late Pliocene (the lower boundary of the Villafranchian); 2) on the boundary between the Neogene and the Anthropogene (lower boundary of t...