Late Pleistocene and Holocene remains of carnivorous mammals (Carnivora) from the Bliznets Cave in southern part of the Russian Far East

Abstract

For the first time, the fauna of carnivorous mammals (Carnivora) of the final Pleistocene and Holocene of the southern part of the Russian Far East was studied in detail. The well-preserved paleontological collections from the Bliznets Cave, located in South Sikhote Alin and representing a karst well, were examined. Fourteen species were identified, which are currently found in the region, with the exception of the steppe polecat (Mustela eversmanii) and a small cat similar to the Pallas cat (Otocolobus manul). Two stratigraphic complexes are distinguished. The first, judging by radiocarbon dating (11–12 thousand years), refers to the end of the Late Pleistocene. The remains of small mustelids, including Mustela eversmanii, are found almost exclusively here. The entrance to the cave was small or difficult to access for large mammals, and a bone cluster was formed as a result of the activity of birds of prey (probably owls). The second stratigraphic complex dates from the Holocene. There is no steppe polecat in it, but finds of Pallas cat are recorded. Judging by the composition of the remaining parts of the skeleton, the entrance to the cave increased and whole animals of large and medium size fell down into the cave well, which died there. Our analysis confirms that in the south of the Far East there was a shift of the ranges of the thermophilic species of carnivorous mammals to the south in the cold climatic phases and their movement to the north in warm epochs. In addition, species came from the arid territories of Central Asia (steppe polecat, Pallas cat), which dispersed there during the spread of steppe landscapes in the cold phases of the final Pleistocene and Early Holocene.