Study of the remains of the southern elephant Archidiskodon merdionalis gromovi in alluvial deposits of the lower reaches of the Ural River (Zhaiyk)

Abstract

Relevance. The first scientific data on the remains in the region of Western Kazakhstan in the Pleistocene period date back to the 18th century. According to the literature data, the presence of large animal fossils in the Ural (Zhaiyk) River has been known since Pallas’ journey (1786), when it was first established that the bones of the first bison and mammoths were often washed out from the banks of the Ural (Zhaiyk) River. The well-preserved remains of elephants make it possible to determine the systematic state of the finds. A lot of work has been done on fossil elephants of the Eurasian mammoth line, including the analysis of those adjacent to the Ural River (Zhaiyk).During the excavation of a quarry in the lower reaches of the Ural (Zhaiyk) river, a fossil skeleton of an elephant Archidiskon merdionalis gromovi was discovered. Reconstruction and study of the found bones confirmed that the find is an almost complete skeleton of an elephant belonging to the genus Archidiskodon.The purpose of the research is to take measurements of all found bones and identify the individual age of specimens of Archidiskodon merdionalis gromovi in the territory of Western Kazakhstan according to surveys from the locality of the village of Yaik. Reseacrh methodology. The article describes the specific location in the lower reaches of the Ural River (Zhaiyk) of the skeleton of the southern elephant Archidiskodon merdionalis gromovi. Measurements of all the found bones were taken and the bones found from other localities were compared. Results. Due to lack of material, there are no precise criteria for determining the individual age of A. meridionalis specimens based on tooth development, wear generation, succession, and wear stages. However, these data have been collected for modern elephants and successfully used to determine the age of the southern elephant Archidiskon merdionalis gromovi in the lower Ural River (Zhayik), which should be between 28 and 32 years old. According to the diameter of the cross section of the tusk (216 mm), the nature of the change of teeth, the average size of the long bones of the limbs, and the degree of their fusion with the epiphyses, we believe that A. meridionalis can be unambiguously identified. Conclusions. The studied skeleton of A. meridionalis of the southern elephant Archidiskon merdionalis gromovi in the lower reaches of the Ural River (Zhaiyk) includes most of the large postcranial bones (except for the distal bones of the limbs, sternum, and caudal vertebrae). This is the second discovery of an almost complete A. meridionalis skeleton found in the region, a rare event in the history of fossil elephant paleontology.