Mustela palerminea (Mustelidae, Carnivora) from the Early Pleistocene of Crimea.

The mandibles of two individuals of Mustela palerminea (Petenyi, 1864) are described  from the Lower Pleistocene deposits of the Taurida cave in Crimea (Late Villafranchian, 1.8-1.5 Ma). This extinct mustelid species was a typical representative of the Villafranchian faunas of Europe. It is the first record of M. palerminea in Russia.

Mustela strandi (Mustelidae, Carnivora) from the Early Pleistocene of Crimea.

The dentary of Mustela strandi Kormos, 1934 is described from the Lower Pleistocene deposits (Late Villafranchian, 1.8-1.5 Ma) of the Taurida cave in Crimea. It is the first finding of M. strandi in Russia. This extinct mustelid species is rarely found in the Lower and Middle Pleistocene of Central Europe.

Finding of Molars of the Archaic Vole Lasiopodomys (Stenocranius) Gregaloides (Hinton, 1923) (Mammalia, Rodentia, Cricetidae) in the Late Pleistocene of the Southern Urals.

A total of 1250 lower first molars (m1) of voles (Arvicolini) were studied from Late Pleistocene deposits (the radiocarbon dates from rodent bones: 17 100 ± 50 IGANAMS-9117; 13 255 ± 60 IGANAMS-9116) of the Imanay Cave (southern Urals, 53°02' N, 56°26' E). Of these, 24 m1 of voles of the subgenus Stenocranius were found to have broadly connected triangles T4 and T5 (Pitymys-Rhombus) at the base of the anteroconid. This structure is characteristic of lower m1 of Lasiopodomys (Stenocranius) gregaloides (Hinton, 1923) from faunas of the second half of the Early Pleistocene and the first half of the Middle Pleistocene. Molars with such morphology have not been found so far in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene locations of Europe and the Urals.

Evidence of Toxocara Eggs in Pachycrocuta brevirostris (Gervais, 1850) Coprolites from the Pleistocene of Taurida Cave (Crimea).

Coprolites of the hyena Pachycrocuta brevirostris from the Lower Pleistocene (Upper Villafranchian) of Taurida Cave (Crimea) were studied. One of the three hyena coprolites contained helminth eggs. These eggs were assigned to Toxocara sp. based on their size and morphology. Toxocariasis was evidently a very common infestation among extinct hyena species. The find of toxocara in P. brevirostris coprolite from the Taurida Cave is the earliest evidence of roundworm infestation in P. brevirostris.

First Data on Non-occlusal Surface Incisor Microwear of Cave Bears from the Urals.

The microwear of the non-occlusal surface of incisors (I1, I2) of the small cave bear (Ursus ex gr. savini-rossicus) and Ural cave bear (Ursus kanivetz) from the Pleistocene of the Middle and South Urals is analyzed and compared. Qualitative characteristics of incisor microwear have been shown to be different in these species. In the small cave bear, coarser lesions on the non-occlusal surface of the incisors are observed. Considering the specificity of microwear of non-occlusal tooth surfaces, the data obtained suggest differences in trophic specialization of the species. studied.

Early Pleistocene Lynx issiodorensis (Felidae, Carnivora) from the Taurida Cave, Crimea.

The cranial and mandibular remains of two adult individuals of Lynx issiodorensis (Croizet et Jobert, 1828) are described from the Early Pleistocene locality of the Taurida cave (Crimea, Late Villafranchian, 1.8-1.5 Ma). This lynx species was a typical representative of the Villafranchian fauna of the Eastern Mediterranean. A high craniological variability of L. issiodorensis is noted.

Pleistocene foxes (Vulpes, Canidae, Carnivora) from the Taurida Cave, Crimea.

A mandible fragment and four isolated teeth of the fossil foxes, Vulpes alopecoides (Del Campana, 1913), Vulpes cf. vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) and Vulpes sp., are described from the Early Pleistocene locality of Taurida cave (Crimea, Late Villafranchian, 1.8-1.5 Ma). Based on the size and morphological features, a mandible fragment and two M1 are attributed to V. alopecoides. The structure of m1 of Vulpes cf. vulpes is similar to that of V. vulpes and V. alopecoides, but the size greatly exceeds the size limits for the latter species. Although m1 of Vulpes sp. fits the size of the lower carnassials of V. alopecoides, its morphology is definitely unique among the Early Pleistocene representatives of the genus Vulpes.

New Data on the Distribution of the Small Cave Bear (Ursus ex gr. savini-rossicus) in the Urals.

The lower molar (m1) of cave bears from Late Pleistocene localities of the Urals was studied employing the methods of traditional morphometry and geometric morphometrics. On the basis of the size and shape variation of m1, the small cave bear (Ursus ex gr. savini-rossicus) was found to have been a part of the faunas from the caves Skazka, Viasher, Dynamitnaya, Chudesnitsa, and Chernye Kosti. The small cave bear presence in faunas from the Medvezhya, Makhnevskaya Ledyanaya, Asha 1, Ignat'evskaya, and Barsuchii Dol caves was confirmed as well. The species range of the small cave bear encompassed the Northern, Middle, and Southern Urals in the Late Pleistocene. The ranges of the small cave bear and cave bear (Ursus kanivetz) overlapped from the beginning (marine isotope stage 5e) to the middle (middle marine isotope stage 3) of the Late Pleistocene.

A New Mass Burial of Cave Bears (Carnivora, Ursidae, Ursus kanivetz, Vereshchagin, 1973) from the Middle Urals.

Remains of a cave bear were studied from a new locality in the Prokoshev Cave in the Middle Urals (58°13´ N, 58°12´ E). Bones from all regions of the skeleton are present, bones are intact and without traces of human or animal activity. They all belong to the cave bear (Ursus kanivetz Vereshchagin, 1973). An AMS radiocarbon date of 53 375 ± 765 BP, IGANAMS-8632, was obtained from an adult mandible. The bones belonged to at least 18 individuals, including 4 individuals aged about one year, 1 aged about two years, 1 aged about three years, and 12 individuals over four years of age. Three skulls belonged to males and seven skulls belonged to females. The analysis has shown that the taphonomic type of this locality is a "mass burial." This is the first "mass burial" of the cave bear in the Urals, found in situ, untouched by humans.

Giant Hyena Pachycrocuta brevirostris (Hyaenidae, Carnivora) from the Lower Pleistocene of Taurida Cave, Crimea.

The dental remains of a giant hyena Pachycrocuta brevirostris (Gervais, 1850) from the Early Pleistocene locality of the Taurida cave (Crimea, Late Villafranchian, 1.8-1.5 Ma) are described. This species was a typical representative of the Villafranchian fauna of the Eastern Mediterranean. The Taurida cave was occasionally used by hyenas and other carnivorans as a den and retreat.

New Data on the Holocene Mammal Fauna of the Ustyurt Plateau.

Analysis of mammalian species composition has been performed for eight archaeological sites on the Ustyurt plateau. They date to the range from the middle Subboreal to the middle Subatlantic. The modern species composition of large mammals formed by the end of the Middle Holocene (Subboreal 2) and did not change until the early 20th century. The ungulate species composition and ratio on the plateau showed geographical variation and changed over time. Boars were always rare or absent in the north of Ustyurt. The structure of the ungulate fauna in the north of Ustyurt changed over time. Onager numbers in this area increased and saiga numbers decreased in the middle of the Late Holocene. Significant geographical differences in the structure of ungulate fauna were recorded in the middle of the Late Holocene. The numbers of onagers, goitered gazelles, and argali were higher, whereas the numbers of saigas were lower in the south of Ustyurt than in the north.

First Finding of Etruscan Bear (Ursus etruscus, Ursidae, Carnivora) in the Crimea (Taurida Cave, Early Pleistocene).

A fragment of a bear skull with partially preserved dentition is descibed from the Lower Pleistocene deposits of the Taurida cave (Crimea). The presence of P1-P3, the structure of P4, and sizes of the cheek teeth enable the identification of the specimen as Ursus etruscus Cuvier, 1823. The new find is the first in Crimea and the entire Russia and is of great interest due to rarity of this species in the Pleistocene of Eastern Europe.

The First Find of Merck's Rhinoceros (Mammalia, Perissodactyla, Rhinocerotidae, Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis Jäger, 1839) Remains in the Russian Far East.

Enamel macro- and microstructure has been studied in the teeth of Merck's rhinoceros (Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis Jäger, 1839), woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis Blumenbach, 1799), and rhinoceroses from the Tetyukhinskaya (44°35' N, 135°36' E) and Sukhaya (43°09' N, 131°28' E) caves in southern Primorye. The teeth from the caves were identified as the teeth of Merck's rhinoceros. Radiocarbon dating and accompanying animal species enabled the dating of Merck's rhinoceros remains to the Late Pleistocene (marine isotope stages 5-2). These finds mark the extreme eastern boundary of the Merck's rhinoceros species range in the Late Pleistocene. The living range reached the Pacific Ocean coast during a certain time interval within this epoch. This was due to the abundance of tree and shrub vegetation in the area during the Late Pleistocene.

Saber-Toothed Cats (Carnivora, Felidae, Machairodoninae) from the Lower Pleistocene of the Taurida Cave, Crimea.

This paper describes the maxillaries of adult specimens of saber-toothed cats Homotherium crenatidens (Fabrini, 1890) and Megantereon sp. from the Taurida Cave (Crimea, Late Villafranchian; age, 1.8-1.5 Ma). We discuss the morphometric variability in the morphology of the upper carnassials and the length of the С1-Р3 diastema.

The Taurida Cave, a New Locality of Early Pleistocene Vertebrates in Crimea.

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 Villafranchian faunas of the Eastern Mediterranean and has an approximate age of 1.8-1.5 Ma.

A Mass Burial of Fossil Lions (Carnivora, Felidae, Panthera (Leo) ex gr. fossilis-spelaea) from Eurasia.

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 accumulated due to the natural death of animals inside the cave. The age and sex estimations have shown that at least six adult males and five adult females died there. According to the accompanying fauna, radiocarbon, geochemical, and mineralogical analyses and archaeological finds, the interval of the lion bone accumulation is determined as the first half to middle of Late Pleistocene (OIS 5-3).

A Finding of the Red Squirrel (Rodentia, Sciuridae, Sciurus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758) and Forest Dormouse (Rodentia, Gliridae, Dryomys nitedula Linnaeus, 1778) in the Pleistocene of the Southern Urals.

The study deals with a new sample of the mammalian fossils from the Pleistocene deposits of the Ignatievskaya Cave in Southern Urals (54°53' N, 57°46' E). Among the rodent fossils, the teeth of red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) and forest dormouse (Dryomys nitedula) have been identified. The enamel differentiation quotient (SDQ) of the water vole teeth matches the Arvicola terrestris species from locations of the end of Middle and Late Pleistocene (oxygen isotope stages, OIS 6 and OIS 5-2, respectively). The high SDQ value for the water vole and the presence of the squirrel and dormouse in the fauna allow dating the finding near the end of the Middle Pleistocene and beginning of the Late Pleistocene (OIS 6 and OIS 5e, respectively). The widespread open and forest landscapes were inhabited by this fauna.

First Finding of a Representative of Giant Mustelids of the Genus Eomellivora (Carnivora, Mustelidae) in Russia (Tuva, Upper Miocene).

In the late Miocene deposits in the Taralik-Cher locality (Tuva Republic), fossil remains of a giant mustelid of the genus Eomellivora Zdansky, 1924 have been found. This finding is the first reliable evidence of the Eomellivora inhabiting the modern Russia. Teeth of the Eomelliovra from Taralik-Cher are similar in size to those of E. wimani and E. piveteaui from the late Miocene in Eurasia. The morphology of teeth of the material from Tuva is most similar to that of E. ursogulo; therefore, it is considered a small form of Eomellivora ursogulo. The described finding expands the understanding of diversity, variability, and distribution of representatives of the genus Eomellivora in Asia during the late Miocene.