Late Pleistocene large mammal faunas from the Urals

Abstract

The 121 local faunas of large mammals from Late Pleistocene sites of the South (56–51°N), Middle (59–56°N) and North (64–59°N) Urals have been studied. All local faunas were combined into eight chronological groups on the basis of radiocarbon dates and the evolutionary level of rodents present in them. On the basis of species composition analysis of the faunas, three chronological complexes have been distinguished: Mikulino, Early–Middle Valdai and Late Valdai. The first is characterized by the presence of Hystrix vinogradovi and Ursus thibetanus; the second, by the presence of a large form of horse ( Equus ( E.) cf. latipes), Crocuta crocuta, Ursus spelaeus and U. savini; the third, by the presence of a small horse ( E. uralensis) and absence of U. spelaeus, U. savini and C. crocuta. The latter two complexes were represented by three geographical variants: southern (South Urals), northern (North Urals) and transitional (Middle Urals). Differences between theriocomplexes are related to changes in morphology and areas and extinctions of a series of species. The existence of chronological theriocomplexes and their geographical variants was determined by chronological and geographical change in structure of paleophytocoenoses. It should be noted that the role of human in changes of chronological complexes and species extinctions in the Late Pleistocene has not been demonstrated in the Urals. In the Urals U. savini probably became extinct at the end of the Middle Valdai, C. crocuta at the beginning of the last glacial maximum (LGM), U. spelaeus at the end of the LGM, Coelodonta antiquitatis at the beginning of the Preboreal and Megaloceros giganteus at the middle of the Atlantic.