very much detailed info and skull and tooths pics on:
quarter.ginras.ru/personal/sotnikova/docs/sotnikova2006a.pdfOur study is based on new material of P. spelaea from
Upper Pleistocene deposits of two geographically
distant regions situated in the Russian Plain and
Northern Siberia. Cranial remains have been recently
excavatedfrom the Russian Plain in the Upper
Palaeolithic site of Avdeevo, Kursk Region, and in the
Smolensk Region. In Northern Siberia, new finds of P.
spelaea have originatedfrom the Duvannyi Yar section
andfrom the bank of Kondakovka Creek; both sites
namedare in the Kolyma River Basin in Eastern Siberia
Duvannyi Yar is known as a rich mammalian faunal
site associatedwi th the yedoma-type sediments. The
studied skull (IPBPS-1) was found at a height of
28m above the level of the Kolyma River (Gubin,
pers. commun., 2003). Apart from our study of cranial
material, two other skulls of cave lion, YGI 3190/1
andYGI-639 7, have been described by Baryshnikov
andBoesk orov (2001) from the Duvannyi Yar
section. Both were also obtainedfrom yedomatype
sediments, which are correlated with the second
part of the Late Pleistocene. The skull YGI-6397
has been radiocarbon dated to 36.000 yr B. P. (GIN-
8327).
Our reportedmaterial s are best representedby the
nearly complete skulls belonging to three adult individuals
from the Smolensk, Kondakovka and Duvannyi
Yar localities. There are also partial cranial remains and
upper teeth from the Avdeevo site.
3. Systematic description
Order Carnivora Bowdich, 1821
Family Felidae Fisher, 1817
Genus Panthera Oken, 1816
Panthera spelaea (Goldfuss, 1810)
Referredspecimen s: GIN-1123, Smolensk area, a
complete skull with partly damaged teeth and missing
bilateral I1-2, P2, left P4 andM 1, (Fig. 2A,B). IPBPS-1,
Duvannyi Yar locality, Kolyma River Basin, a nearly
complete skull with partly broken zygomatic arches,
palate, nasal, andbasiocc ipital regions, left canine,
bilateral I1-2, P2, M1, andright P4 are missing, other
teeth are damaged (Fig. 2C,D). K-1 (private collection),
bank of Kondakovka Creek, Kolyma River Basin,
complete skull with partly broken nasal bones
(Fig. 3A–D). GIN/AV86-12, Avdeevo locality, Kursk
region, right P4 (Fig. 3E).
Age: Late Pleistocene.
Description: According to the sizes of the upper canines
all studied skulls derive from males (Table 1). Their basal
cranial lengths range within limits known for male skulls
of Eurasian P. spelaea (Fig. 4; Tables 2 and3 ).
The principal cranial characters foundin both
European andNorthern Siberian samples are wide
muzzle, especially over the canines andP2 roots,
relatively short facial part, short andwid e nasals,
rounded openings of the incisive foramina, sharply
pointedposterior tip of the frontal process of maxillary
bone, linear configuration of the zygomatic-maxillary
suture, moderately arched zygoma, relatively elongated
postorbital or cranial portion, narrow intertemporal
region andbrainca se, slightly inflatedbulla, widely
separatedpos terior lacerate andco ndyloid foramina,
posteriorly expanded paroccipital processes, and large
andlate rally widened mastoidproc esses.
Among the tooth characters the most significant are:
incisors with well-developed lingual cingulum, upper
canines with slight lateral compression, upper carnassial
lacking or with slightly developed small cingular
preparastyle, large parastyle, andprotocon e bulge
having the clear trendto lose the protocone cusp
(Fig. 3D,E, Figs. 5D,E and6D,E ).
Please, about this recognized facts, return to
Pleistocene-Holocene Border Extinctions thread.
