Lasiopodomys brandti in Pleistocene of Transbaiklia and adjacent territories: Distribution area, evolutionary development in context of global and regional events

Abstract

The fluctuations of the past habitat area of Late Cenozoic Brandt's vole in Transbaikalia in context of global and regional events are reviewed on the basis of analysis of their modern and past distributions in Central Asia, in particular in China, Mongolia and in Russia (Transbaikalia). A close similarity in dental pattern was observed in extinct and extant taxa. Morphotypes recognized in M1 reflect the tendency in morphological evolution of teeth during the Pleistocene. Moreover, the variability in teeth size of extinct Lasiopodomys brandti, most likely due to climatic and environmental changes, is traced during the Pleistocene. Brandt's vole was a significant element of the Late Pleistocene faunal assemblages, useful for paleoenvironmental analysis and faunal succession. L. brandti is a remarkably homogeneous and morphologically conservative form, most likely originating in North China.