See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262698534 Early and Middle Pleistocene of Northern Eurasia Chapter · December 2013 DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-444-53643-3.00249-1 CITATIONS READS 16 1,055 2 authors: I. A. Vislobokova Alexey Tesakov Russian Academy of Sciences Russian Academy of Sciences 99 PUBLICATIONS 1,635 CITATIONS 165 PUBLICATIONS 2,916 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Integrated approach to characterize the structural setting and the related fossil geothermal system along the northeastern boundary of the Quaternary Denizli Basin View project Entwicklung der Fauna und Flora im Oligozän und Miozän der Mongolei (FWF-Projekt: P-10505-GEO) View project All content following this page was uploaded by I. A. Vislobokova on 30 May 2018. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. This article was originally published in the Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science published by Elsevier, and the attached copy is provided by Elsevier for the author's benefit and for the benefit of the author's institution, for non-commercial research and educational use including without limitation use in instruction at your institution, sending it to specific colleagues who you know, and providing a copy to your institution’s administrator. All other uses, reproduction and distribution, including without limitation commercial reprints, selling or licensing copies or access, or posting on open internet sites, your personal or institution’s website or repository, are prohibited. For exceptions, permission may be sought for such use through Elsevier's permissions site at: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/permissionusematerial Vislobokova I., and Tesakov A. (2013) Early and Middle Pleistocene of Northern Eurasia. In: Elias S.A. (ed.) The Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science, vol. 4, pp. 605-614. Amsterdam: Elsevier. © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Author's personal copy Early and Middle Pleistocene of Northern Eurasia I Vislobokova , Paleontological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia A Tesakov , Geological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia ã 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Introduction Mammal Assemblages of Northern Eurasia Early Pleistocene: Gelasian, Middle Villafranchian, Late The best represented vertebrate records in the early and middle Villanyian, MN17 Pleistocene of Northern Eurasia are mammalian and they are summarized in this article. The data from Russia and neigh- The Khaprovian (Khapry) mammal assemblage and its boring countries of the former USSR are very important for the analogs understanding of the history of Late Cenozoic biota. The terri- This stage is well documented in the northern Black Sea region, tory was a prime area of origin and evolution of taxa and of peri-Azov area, Siberia, and Central Asia. The mammal com- dispersals of some mammals to Western Europe, Africa, North munities superficially resembled those of modern Africa or America and China, and vice versa. The configuration of Asia southern Asia by the presence of proboscideans, equids, rhi- was close to that of the present day but differed through the noceroses, giraffids, and various antelopes, but differed periodic existence of the Bering land bridge, connecting Siberia considerably from them in species composition. These assem- and Alaska. The reorganization of the biota went through blages are characterized by the first appearance and subseq- climatic and environmental changes; its main trends and uent wide distribution of the elephant Archidiskodon gromovi phases are very pronounced there. (¼ A. meridionalis gromovi in Titov, 2008, ¼ Mammuthus gro- The key stages in the history of Pleistocene mammals in this movi of Lister and Sher, 2001). In contrast to Russian paleon- territory were first recorded by Gromov (1948) who defined tologists, most researchers refer this species to the genus the faunal assemblages for Eastern Europe and named them by Mammuthus, mainly based on the tooth structure (Lister and their type localities or regions. Regional complexes were later Sher, 2001), although Archidiskodon is retained here. Other defined in the Caucasus, Siberia, Transbaikalia, and Central features of the fauna include the presence of the bear Ursus Asia. The data on the ages of the assemblages and their com- etruscus and the rhinoceros Stephanorhinus sp., the rapid positions were considerably enriched thanks to many subse- diversification and wide distribution of stenonid horses, quent researchers and new discoveries. In addition to large the presence of diverse canids (Eucyon, Nyctereutes, Canis), two mammals, a detailed biochronology based on small mammals saber-toothed cats Homotherium crenatidens and Megantereon has appeared in the last decades. At present, early and middle cultridens, the camel Paracamelus, the large-sized comb-antlered Pleistocene mammal remains are known from many localities deer Eucladoceros and the elk (¼ moose) Libralces, and other of Northern Eurasia. The age of the localities has been estab- extinct forms. In Northern Eurasia, there were three paleozoo- lished by a combination of geological and paleontological geographic subareas: European-Siberian, Mediterranean, and methods (including the first appearance of index taxa, as well Central Asian (Vangengeim and Pevzner, 1991; Vislobokova as the evolutionary levels of dominant forms and of some et al., 1995)(Figure 1). The global cooling witnessed at about phyletic lineages), paleoclimatic data and correlation. Paleo- 2.6 Ma (indicated in the territory by the glaciations of the magnetic data also help to distinguish more precisely the age of Caucasus and Pamir, the most ancient loess formation in early Pleistocene sites, whereas the glacial–interglacial succes- Tadjikistan, Uzbekistan, etc.) caused a decrease in humidity sion provides further important markers for age determination. in temperate latitudes and in Central Asia (Dodonov, 2002), The beginning of the Pleistocene is currently set at 2.6 Ma where animals adapted to open woodlands and grasslands (the Gauss–Matuyama magnetic reversal), the early–middle became dominant. Some taxa have North American ancestry, Pleistocene boundary at 0.78 Ma (the Brunhes–Matuyama immigrating during periods of low sea level prior to the start magnetic reversal), and the middle–late Pleistocene boundary of the Pleistocene, such as the camels, Hipparion and Eucyon at 0.126 Ma, according to the International Commission on inthelateMiocene,andEquus, Canis,andMegantereon in the Stratigraphy in 2009. However, the Geological Surveys of Pliocene (Vislobokova et al., 2003). A number of thermophilous Russia and Ukraine have until recently retained the Pliocene– herbivores (mastodons, giraffids, and others), typical of Pliocene Pleistocene boundary in its former position at 1.8 Ma. In 2012 times, were gradually replaced by forms adapted to cooler cli- the Russian Stratigraphic Committee voted to lower the base of matic conditions and possessing more advanced herbivorous the Quaternary to 2.58 Ma. The position of the lower boundary adaptations. The data on herbivorous taxa (elephants, horses, of the Pleistocene and its divisions have thus been repeatedly ruminant Artiodactyla, voles, etc.) are of great value for biochro- changed over the last decades and it must be appreciated that nology and paleoenvironmental reconstruction because their the published names of particular stratigraphical units often tooth structure yields clearly recognizable signals in wear patterns, refer to different time slices. hypsodonty, etc. The increase in diversity of herbivore taxa was The early and middle Pleistocene in Northern Eurasia accompanied by considerable changes in the carnivore guild. currently include the following mammal assemblages: At this time, an extensive European-Siberian part of the Khaprovian, 2.6–2.2 Ma; Psekupsian, 2.2–1.2 Ma; Tamanian, Palearctic was inhabited by the elephant Archidiskodon gromovi, 1.2–0.8 Ma; Tiraspolian, 0.8–0.4 Ma; Singilian and Khasarian, the rhinoceros Elasmotherium, and large Equus livenzovensis 0.4–0.126 Ma. and small Equus sp., together with other animals adapted to 605 Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science, (2013), vol. 4, pp. 605-614 Author's personal copy 606 VERTEBRATE RECORDS | Early and Middle Pleistocene of Northern Eurasia 60Њ 70Њ 80Њ 80Њ 70Њ 60Њ Њ 50Њ 50 40Њ Њ 40 30Њ 30Њ Њ Њ Њ Њ Њ Њ Њ Њ Њ 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 0 1250 2500 km 123 Figure 1 Early Pleistocene paleozoogeographic subareas and main localities: (1) European-Siberian subarea; (2) Central Asian subarea; (3) Mediterranean subarea. savanna-like conditions (the wolves of the Canis etruscus group, Don River near Rostov-on-Don and Taganrog. They come from the hyena Pliocrocuta, the saber-toothed cat Homotherium cre- the lower part of the Khapry alluvium recorded in sand pits natidens , the cheetah Acinonyx, the camel Paracamelus, the an- and natural outcrops. The large mammals were represented by telope Gazellospira, the bison-like Leptobos, and others), along Anancus arvernensis alexeevae, the horses Hipparion moritorum, with forest and ecotonal animals (the bear Ursus etruscus and Equus (Allohippus) livenzovensis, and a small Equus sp., the rhi- the deer Eucladoceros and Libralces). Most of these mammals noceroses Stephanorhinus ex gr. megarhinus-kirchbergensis and were found in common with those from the Middle Villafran- Elasmotherium