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Ursus Arctos L., 1758, Ursidae, Carnivora, Mammalia) from the Pleistocene in Yakutia Boeskorov, G

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Ursus Arctos L., 1758, Ursidae, Carnivora, Mammalia) from the Pleistocene in Yakutia Boeskorov, G University of Groningen New Data on Large Brown Bear (Ursus arctos L., 1758, Ursidae, Carnivora, Mammalia) from the Pleistocene in Yakutia Boeskorov, G. G.; Baryshnikov, G. F.; Tikhonov, A. N.; Protopopov, A. V.; Klimovsky, A. I.; Grigoriev, S. E.; Cheprasov, M. Yu.; Novgorodov, G. P.; Shchelchkova, M. V.; van der Plicht, J. Published in: Doklady Earth Sciences DOI: 10.1134/S1028334X19060242 IMPORTANT NOTE: You are advised to consult the publisher's version (publisher's PDF) if you wish to cite from it. Please check the document version below. Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Publication date: 2019 Link to publication in University of Groningen/UMCG research database Citation for published version (APA): Boeskorov, G. G., Baryshnikov, G. F., Tikhonov, A. N., Protopopov, A. V., Klimovsky, A. I., Grigoriev, S. E., Cheprasov, M. Y., Novgorodov, G. P., Shchelchkova, M. V., & van der Plicht, J. (2019). New Data on Large Brown Bear (Ursus arctos L., 1758, Ursidae, Carnivora, Mammalia) from the Pleistocene in Yakutia. Doklady Earth Sciences, 486(2), 617-622. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1028334X19060242 Copyright Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). The publication may also be distributed here under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, indicated by the “Taverne” license. More information can be found on the University of Groningen website: https://www.rug.nl/library/open-access/self-archiving-pure/taverne- amendment. Take-down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. ISSN 1028-334X, Doklady Earth Sciences, 2019, Vol. 486, Part 2, pp. 617–622. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2019. Russian Text © The Author(s), 2019, published in Doklady Akademii Nauk, 2019, Vol. 486, No. 6. GEOLOGY New Data on Large Brown Bear (Ursus arctos L., 1758, Ursidae, Carnivora, Mammalia) from the Pleistocene in Yakutia G. G. Boeskorova,b,*, G. F. Baryshnikovc, A. N. Tikhonovc, A. V. Protopopovb, A. I. Klimovskyb, S. E. Grigorievd, M. Yu. Cheprasovd, G. P. Novgorodovd, M. V. Shchelchkovae, and J. van der Plichtf Presented by Academician A.F. Alimov March 29, 2017 Received May 5, 2017 Abstract—New finds of brown bear (Ursus arctos L., 1758) fossil remains from the territory of Yakutia, namely, skulls and mandibular bones, have been investigated. The new finds are exceptionally large: most dimensions of these specimens exceed those of the present-day brown bears of Yakutia and even the maximal parameters of the largest individuals of the present-day Eurasian subspecies U. a. beringianus and U. a. pisca- tor. Analysis of various data showed that giant brown bears had inhabited northern Yakutia during the Kargin- ian interstadial in the Late Pleistocene. DOI: 10.1134/S1028334X19060242 The brown bear (Ursus arctos L., 1758) is a wide- tocene and the beginning of the Late Pleistocene, and spread species that inhabits the forest zone of Yakutia the small U. arctos ssp. bear of a size similar to that of [1]. The association with forest habitats explains why the modern Yakutian brown bear replaced it at the end U. arctos Pleistocene finds are rare in the northern part of the Pleistocene [5]. of Eastern Siberia, where open tundra–steppe and A very large U. arctos skull (ММ 7774; Table 1) was steppefied landscapes prevailed during the Pleistocene found in 2002 on the shore of Yana Bay [7]. Radiocar- [2–5]. bon dating performed at the University of Kiel (Ger- many) showed that the age of the skull was 42640 + The most ancient Pleistocene U. arctos remains 870/–790 years (KIA-32 836). This was the first evi- found in Yakutia date from the beginning of the Mid- dence of the presence of a large brown bear form on dle Pleistocene [5, 6]. A large bear similar to U. a. kami- the territory of Yakutia in the Karginian time of the ensis is supposed to have existed in the area at the Late Pleistocene. above-mentioned time, whereas a smaller U. a. priscus inhabited the area during the end of the Middle Pleis- New fossil remains of several exceptionally large brown bear individuals discovered in 2015‒2016 in northern Yakutia are described in this article. The a abbreviations used are as follows: IDPMG, Institute of Institute of Diamond and Precious Metals Geology, Diamond and Precious Metals Geology, Siberian Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Yakutsk, 677007 Russia Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences; AS, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia); MM, b Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Yakutsk, 677007 Russia Mammoth Museum of the Research Institute for Applied Ecology of the North, Ammosov Northeast- c Institute of Zoology, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, 199034 Russia ern Federal University (all in Yakutsk, Russia); MB, Betenkyos settlement museum (Yakutia); SM, Closed d Research Institute for Applied Ecology of the North, Ammosov Northeastern Federal University, Yakutsk, Joint-Stock Company Severnyi Mir (Moscow, Rus- 677013 Russia sia). The material consisted of U. arctos skulls and e Institute of Natural Sciences, Ammosov Northeastern mandibular branches (Figs. 1, 2). Federal University, Yakutsk, Russia All finds described were derived from adult individ- f Centre for Isotope Research, University of Groningen, uals, probably males. They are only slightly mineral- Groningen, NL-9747 the Netherlands ized, as is characteristic for bone remains from the *e-mail: [email protected] Yakutian permafrost of the Karginian‒Sartanian 617 618 BOESKOROV et al. Table 1. Skull sizes in the fossil and modern Ursus arctos Yakutia Amur area Kamchatka Late Pleistocene Adult males of the present time [5] Yana Yana Bay U. a. Indigirka River basin U. a. ssp. U. a. piscator River shore beringianus Measurements, mm Ulakhan Yunyugen Uyandina River, Oguruokha Orto-Stan n = 66 n = 8 n = 9 Creek SM River River [7] MM no. MM no. AS no. No. 1 No. 2 limit limit limit 1845 7774 8004 Хm± Хm± Хm± Condylobasal 374 398 433 360 421 285–356 331.5–400.2 329–384 length 320.05± 2.15 368.53± 8.53 369.82± 6.00 Length 138.3 142.2 (alv.) 149 136.5 149.4 120–144 125–150 124–149 of the upper 131.04± 0.95 134.90± 2.01 136.22± 2.46 dentition (С–М2) Cheek tooth 83.6 80.8 (alv.) 85 82.5 80.6 63–82.7 73–83.5 67.2–84.2 4 2 length (Р –М ) 71.87± 0.47 78.24± 1.33 75.97± 1.83 Zygomatic width – 252 283 – 288 185–231 206–246.6 226–265 209.05± 1.43 228.71± 6.17 245.44± 5.90 М2 length 42.8 36 (alv.) 37.1 40.6 37.3 29–41 36.2–43 33.4–43 34.62± 0.28 39.35± 0.94 37.40± 0.91 time. The bone surface color varies from yellowish time, was found a year earlier. The sable and brown light brown to dark brown. The ММ 1661 mandibular bear, which are forest species, apparently migrated far branch is mineralized to a higher degree, and its color north during the Karginian thermochrone, as the is dark brown to almost black, this being characteristic areas with tree vegetation expanded [9]. of more ancient bones, which date to the Middle The MM 1845 skull (Fig. 1d) also seems to date Pleistocene and the beginning of the Late Pleistocene. from the Karginian time, since radiocarbon dating of Bear remains from the Uyandina, Oguruokha, and mammalian bones from the Yunyugen location Yunyugen rivers originate from Upper Pleistocene yielded a series of values in the range of 36 300– sediments and occur together with the remains of typ- 47 600 years ago (n = 5), this being indicative of bone ical mammals of the mammoth fauna, the mammoth accumulation during this interstadial [10]. Mammuthus primigenius (Blum.), the steppe bison Bison priscus (Boj.), and the cave lion Panthera spelaea The MM 1661 mandibular bone (Fig. 2c) from the (Goldfuss) [8–11]. The age of the largest bear skull Irelyakh Siene River is apparently of a more ancient from the Uyandina River (SM 1/1) was >45 000 years, age, as is evident from strong mineralization of the as shown by the results of analysis performed at the specimen and the presence of remains of several Early University of Groningen (Netherlands) (GrA-65241). and Middle Pleistocene species (Olerian fauna) at the The degree of preservation of this skull and other same location [10, 11]. remains of brown bears (3‒4 individuals in total) The diagnostic features of the finds enable confi- found in the area, along with the composition of dent attribution to U. arctos [6]. accompanying fauna remains, allow for the conclu- Many sizes of fossil brown bear remains exceed the sion that the taphocenosis in question was formed corresponding sizes of the modern U. arctos from during the Karginian interstadial (25‒60 (65) thou- Yakutia. The total jaw length and the c1–m3 dentition sand years ago), when special conditions for the death length in MB 145 noticeably exceeded those of the and burial of mammoth fauna mammals were formed dental bones of modern Yakutian males and were close [4, 5, 12]. to those of the Kamchatka bears (Table 2). The AS 8004 skull (Fig. 1c; Table 1) was found in SM 1 and AS 8004 are particularly notable among 2015 in the same outcrop where a skull of sable (Martes the new finds, since the sizes of these specimens are zibellina (L.), radiocarbon age >45 000 years, speci- exceptionally large, with most measurements far men GrA-62462), apparently from the Karginian exceeding those of the modern brown bears from DOKLADY EARTH SCIENCES Vol.
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