Late Pleistocene Felidae remains (Mammalia, Carnivora) from Geographical Society Cave in the Russian Far East

G.F. Baryshnikov

Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RAS, 2016, 320(1): 84–120 · https://doi.org/10.31610/trudyzin/2016.320.1.84

Full text

Abstract

Fossil remains of felids from Geographical Society Cave and neighboring localities (Tigrovaya Cave, Malaya Pensau Cave, and Letuchiya Mysh Cave) in the Russian Far East are found to belong to four species: Panthera tigris, P. spelaea, P. pardus, and Lynx lynx. In Geographical Society Cave, the felid fossils are confined to deposits of the warm stage of the Late Pleistocene (MIS3). The simultaneous presence of Panthera tigris and P. spelaea seems to be unusual, the tiger remains being numerous whereas those of the cave lion are scant. There are differences between the Late Pleistocene tiger and the recent tiger in dental characters. P. tigris, most probably, migrated twice to Russian Far East from southern regions: in interstadial MIS3 and, subsequently, in the Holocene.

Key words

evolution, Felidae, Late Pleistocene, Palaeolithic cave sites, Russian Far East

Submitted November 11, 2015 · Accepted March 10, 2016 · Published March 24, 2016

References

Argant A., Argant J., Jeannet M. and Erbajeva M., 2007. The big cats of the fossil site Château Breccia Northern Section (Saône-et-Loire, Burgundy, France): stratigraphy, palaeoenvironment, ethology and biochronological dating. Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg, 259: 121–140.

Barnett R., Shapiro B., Barnes I., Ho S.Y.W., Burger J., Yamaguchi N., Higham G., Wheeler H.T., Rosendahl W., Sher A.V., Sotnikova M., Kuznetsova T., Baryshnikov G., Martin L., Harington R., Burns J. and Cooper A. 2009. Phylogegraphy of lions (Panthera leo ssp.) reveals three distinct taxa and a late Pleistocene reduction in genetic diversity. Molecular Ecology, 18: 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2009.04134.x

Barry J.C. 1987. Large carnivores (Canidae, Hyaenidae, Felidae) from Laetoli. In: Leakey M.D. and Harris J.M. (Eds). Laetoli. A Pliocene site in Northern Tanzania. Clarendon Press, Oxford: 235–258.

Barycka E. 2008. Middle and Late Pleistoicene Felidae and Hyaenidae of Poland. Warszawska Dzukarnia Naukowa, Warszawa, 228 p. (Fauna Poloniae, New Series, 2).

Baryshnikov G.F. 2011. Pleistocene Felidae (Mammalia, Carnivora) from Paleolithic site in Kudaro caves in the Caucasus. Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RAS, 315(3): 197–226.

Baryshnikov G. 2014. Late Pleistocene hyena Crocuta ultima ussurica (Mammalia, Carnivora, Hyaenidae) from the Paleolithic site in Geographical Society Cave in the Russian Far East. Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RAS, 318(3): 197–225.

Baryshnikov G. 2015a. Late Pleistocene Canidae remains from Geographical Society Cave in the Russian Far East. Russian Journal of Theriology, 14(1): 65–83. https://doi.org/10.15298/rusjtheriol.14.1.03

Baryshnikov G. 2015b. Late Pleistocene Ursidae and Mustelidae remains (Mammalia, Carnivora) from Geographical Society Cave in the Russian Far East. Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RAS, 319(1): 3–22. https://doi.org/10.15298/rusjtheriol.14.1.03

Baryshnikov G.F. and Boeskorov G.G. 2001. The Pleistocene cave lion, Panthera spelaea (Carnivora, Felidae) from Yakutia, Russia. Cranium, 18(1): 7–24.

Boeskorov G.G. and Baryshnikov G.F. 2013. Late Quaternary Carnivora of Yakutia. Saint-Petersburg, Nauka, 199 p. [In Russian].

Boule M. 1906. Les grande chats des caverns. Annales de Paléontologie, 1: 69–95 + 4 tabl.

Buckley-Beason V.A., Johnson W.E., Nash W.G., Stanyon R., Menninger J.C., Driscoll C.A., Howard J., Bush M., Page J.E., Roelke M.E., Stone G., Martelli P.P., Wen C., Ling L., Duraisingam R.K., Lam P.V. and O’Brien S.J. 2006. Molecular evidence for species-level distinctions in clouded leopards. Currant Biology, 16: 2371–2376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2006.08.066

Burger J., Rosendahl W., Loreille O., Hemmer H., Eriksson T., Gütherstrüm A., Hiller J., Collins M.J. Wess T. and Alt K.W. 2004. Molecular phylogeny of the extinct cave lion Panthera leo spelaea. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 30: 841–849. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2003.07.020

Driesch A., von den. 1976. A guide to the measurement of animal bones from archaeological sites. Peabody Museum Bulletin, 1: 1–136.

Diedrich C.G. 2013. Late Pleistocene leopards across Europe e northernmost European German population, highest elevated records in the Swiss Alps, complete skeletons in the Bosnia Herzegowina Dinarids and comparison to the Ice Age cave art. Quaternary Science Reviews, 76: 167–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.05.009

Driscoll C.A., Yamaguchi N., Bar-Gal G.K., Roca A.L., Luo S., Macdonald D.W. and O’Brien S.J. 2009. Mitochondrial phylogeography illuminates the origin of the extinct Caspian tiger and its relationship to the Amur tiger. PLoS ONE, 4(1): e4125. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0004125

Ersmark E., Orlando L., Sandoval-Castellanos E., Barnes I., Barnett R., Stuart A., Lister A. and Dalén L. 2015. Population Demography and Genetic Diversity in the Pleistocene Cave Lion. Open Quaternary, 1(4): 1–15. https://doi.org/10.5334/oq.aa

Freudenbeg W. 1914. Die Säugethiere des älteren Quartärs von Mitteleuropa. Geologische und Palaeontologische Abhandlungen, Neu Folge, 12 (4–5): 435–670 + 20 Taf.

Gromova V. 1950. Determination key to mammals of USSR based on postcranial bones. Part 1. Determination key based on long bones. Trudy Komissii po isucheniyu chetvertichnogo perioda, 9: 1–240 + Atlas. [In Russian].

Gromova V. 1960. Determination key to mammals of USSR based on postcranial bones. Part 2. Determination key based on tarsal bones. Trudy Komissii po isucheniyu chetvertichnogo perioda, 16: 1–118. [In Russian].

Hemmer H. 1967. Wohin gehört ‘Felis’ palaeosinensis Zdansky, 1924 in systematischer Hinsicht? Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie Abhandlungen, 129: 83–96.

Hemmer H. 1968. Der Tiger – Panthera tigris palaeosinensis (Zdansky, 1924). In: Jungpleistozän Japans. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Monatshefte, 10: 610–618.

Hemmer H. 1971. Fossil mammals of Java II. Zur Fossilgeschichte des Tigers (Panthera tigris(L.)) in Java. Proceedings of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen. Ser. B, 74: 35–52.

Hemmer H. 2011. The story of the cave lion – Panthera leo spelaea (Goldfuss, 1810) – a review. Quaternaire, Hors-série, 4: 201–208.

Hertler C. and Volmer R. 2008. Assessing prey competition in fossil carnivore communities – a scenario for prey competition and its evolutionary consequences for tigers in Pleistocene Java. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 257: 67–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2007.09.004

Hooijer D.A. 1947. Pleistocene remains of Panthera tigris (Linnaeus) subspecies from Wanhsien, Szechwan, China, compared with fossil and recent tigers from other localities. American Museum Novitates, 1346: 1–17.

Johnson W.E., Eizirik E., Pecon-Slattery J., Murphy W.J., Antunes A., Teeling E. and O’Brien S.J. 2006. The late Miocene radiation of modern Felidae: a genetic assessment. Science, 311: 73–77. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1122277

Kahlke R.-D. 1994. Die Entstehungs-, Entwicklungs- und Verbreitungsgeschichte des oberpleistozänen Mammuthus-Coelodonta-Faunenkomplexes in Eurasien (Großsäuger). Abhandlungen der Senckenbergischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft, 546: 1–164.

Kaplanov L.G. 1948. Tiger. Manchurian deer [Izyubr]. Moos. Materialy k poznaniyu fauny i flory SSSR, izdavaemye Moskovskim obscchestvom ispytatelei prirody. Novaya Seriya, Otdel zoologicheskiy, 14: 1–128. [In Russian].

King L.M. and Wallace S.C. 2014. Phylogenetics of Panthera, including Panthera atrox, based on craniodental characters. Historical Biology, 26(6): 827–833. https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2013.861462

Kitchener A.C. and Dugmore A.J. 2000. Biogeographical change in the tiger, Panthera tigris. Animal Conservation, 3: 113–124. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2000.tb00236.x

Koenigswald R. von. 1933. Beitrag zur Kenntnis der fossilen Wirbeltiere Javas. Wetenschappelijeke Mededeelingen van den Dienst van den Mijnbouw in Nederlandsch Indië, 23: 1–184.

Kurtén B. 1968. Pleistocene mammals of Europe. Weidenfeld ans Nicolson, London, 317 p.

Kuzmin Y.V., Baryshnikov G.F., Timothy J., Orlova L.A. and Plicht J. van der. 2001. Radiocarbon chronology of the Pleistocene fauna from Geographic Society Cave, Primorye (Russian Far East). Current Research in the Pleistocene, 18: 106–108.

Louys J. 2014. The large terrestrial carnivore guild in Quaternary Southeast Asia. Quaternary Science Reviews, 96: 86–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.06.014

Luo S.-J., Kim J.-H., Johnson W.E., Walt J. van der, Martenson J., Yuhki N., Miquelle D.G., Uphyrkina O., Goodrich J.M., Quigley H.B., Tilson R., Brady G., Martelli P., Subramaniam V., McDougal Ch., Hean S., Huang S.-Q., Pan W., Karanth U.K., Sunquist M., Smith J.L. and O’Brien S. 2004. Phylogeography and Genetic Ancestry of Tigers (Panthera tigris). PLoS Biol, 2(12): e442. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0020442

Luo S.-J., Kim J.-H., Johnson W.E., David Smith J.L. and O’Brien S.J. 2010. What Is a Tiger? Genetics and Phylogeography. In: R. Tilson and Ph.J. Nychus (Eds.). Tigers of the World. Second Edition. Academic Press, London, Burlington, San-Diego: 35–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-8155-1570-8.00003-7

Marciszak A., Schouwenburg Ch. and Darga R. 2014. Decreasing size process in the cave (Pleistocene) lion Panthera spelaea (Goldfuss, 1810) evolution – A review. Quaternary International, 339–340: 245–257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.10.008

Matiushkin E.N. 1974. Large carnivores and scavengers in middle Sikhote-Alin Mountains. Bulleten’ Moskovskogo obshchestva ispytatelei prirody. Otdel biologishcheskii, 79(1): 5–21. [In Russian].

Matiushkin E.N. 1991. Hunt means and behavior near prey in Amur tiger. Bulleten Moskovskogo obshchestva ispytatelei prirody. Otdel biologishcheskii, 96(1): 10–27. [In Russian].

Mazák J.H. 2010. What is Panthera palaeosinensis? Mammal Review, 40: 90–102. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2907.2009.00151.x

Mazák J.H., Christiansen P. and Kitchener A.C. 2011. Oldest known pantherine skull and evolution of the tiger. PLoS ONE, 6(10): e25483. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0025483

Okladnikov A.P., Vereshchagin N.K. and Ovodov N.D. 1968. Discovery of cave Paleolithic in Prorskii Territory. Vestnik Akademii nauk, 10: 54–63. [In Russian].

Park S.J. 1988. The palaeenvironmental changes and macromammal evolution during the Pleistocene in East. Asia. Korean Journal of Quaternary Research, 2 (1): 51–86.

Pecon-Slattery J., Pearks Wilkerson A.J., Murphy W.J. and O’Brien S.J. 2004. Phylogenetic assessment of introns and SINEs within the Y chromosome using the cat Family Felidae as a species tree. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 21(12): 2299–2309. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msh241

Pei W.C. 1934. On the Carnivora from Locality 1 of Choukoutien. Palaeontologica Sinica, Series C, 8(1): 1–166 + XXIV Pls.

Pei W.C. 1936. On the mammalian remains from Locality 3 at Choukoutien. Palaeontologica Sinica, Series C, 7(5): 1–120.

Pei W.C. 1940. The Upper Cave fauna of Choukoutien. Palaeontologica Sinica, New Series C 10: 1–84 + 7 Pls.

Qiu Z-X. 2006. Quaternary environmental changes and evolution of large mammals in north China. Vertebrata PalAsiatica, 4: 109–132.

Rueness E.K., Naidenko S., Trosvik P. and Stenseth N.C. 2014. Large-Scale Genetic Structuring of a Widely Distributed Carnivore – The Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx). PLoS ONE, 9(4): e93675. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0093675

Ryabinin A. 1918. Fossil lions of Ural and Volga River basin. Trudy Geologicheskogo komiteta, 168: 1–24 + 5 tabl. [In Russian with French summary].

Sabol M. 2011. Masters of the lost world: a hypothetical look at the temporal and spatial distribution of lion-like felids. Quaternaire, Hors-serie, 4: 229–236.

Sabol M. 2014. Panthera fossilis (Reichenau, 1906) (Felidae, Carnivora) from Za Hájovnou Cave (Moravia, the Czech Republic): a fossil record from 1987–2007. Acta Musei Nationalis Pragae, Ser. B, Hist. Nat., 70(1–2): 59–70. https://doi.org/10.14446/AMNP.2014.59

Sakamoto M. and Ruta M. 2012. Convergence and divergence in the evolution of cat skulls: temporal and spatial patterns of morphological diversity. PLoS ONE, 7(7): e39752. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0039752

Sotnikova M.V. and Foronova I.V. 2014. First Asian record of Panthera (Leo) fossilis (Mammalia, Carnivora, Felidae) in the Early Pleistocene of Western Siberia, Russia. Integrative Zoology, 9: 517–530. https://doi.org/10.1111/1749-4877.12082

Sotnikova M. and Nikolskiy P. 2006. Systematic position of the cave lion Panthera spelaea (Goldfuss) based on cranial and dental characters. Quaternary International, 142–143: 218–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2005.03.019

Stremme H. 1911. Die Säugetiere mit Ausnahme der Proboscidier. In: L. Selenka and M. Blanckenhorn (Eds.) Die Pithecanthropus-Schichten auf Java. Geologische und paläontologische Ergebnisse der Trinil-Expedition. Leipzig: 82–150.

Stuart A.J. and Lister A.M. 2014. New radiocarbon evidence on the extirpation of the spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta (Erxl.)) in northern Eurasia. Quaternary Science Reviews, 96: 108–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.10.010

Uphyrkina O., Johnson W.E., Quigley H., Miquelle D., Marker L., Bush M. and O’Brien S.J. 2001. Phylogenetics, genome diversity and origin of modern leopard, Panthera pardus. Molecular Ecology, 10: 2617–2633. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.0962-1083.2001.01350.x

Vangengeim E.A. 1961. Palaeontological basis for stratigraphy of Anthropogene sediments in north of Eastern Siberia. Trudy Geologicheskogo instituta AN SSSR, 48: 1–183. [In Russian].

Vereshchagin N.K. 1971. The cave lions of Holarctics. Trudy Zoologicheskogo instituta AN SSSR, 49: 123–199. [In Russian].

Wei L., Wu X. and Jiang Zh. 2009. The complete mitochondrial genome structure of snow leopard Panthera uncia. Molecular Biology Reports, 36(5): 871–878. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-008-9257-9

Werdelin L. 1981. The evolution of lynxes. Annales Zoologici Fennici,18: 37–71.

Werdelin L. and Levis M.E. 2005. Plio-Pleistocene Carnivora of eastern Africa: species richness and turnover patterns. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 144: 121–144. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.2005.00165.x

Wilting A., Courtiol A., Christiansen P., Niedballa J., Scharf A.K., Orlando L., Balkenhol N., Hofer H., Krammer-Schadt S., Fickel J. and Kitchener A.C. 2015. Planning tiger recovery: Understanding intraspecific variation for effective conservation. Science Advances, 1: e140017. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1400175

Yudin V.G. and Yudina E.V. 2009. The Tiger of the Far East of Russia. Vladivostok: Dalnauka. 485 p. [In Russian].

Yu L. and Zhang Y.P. 2005. Phylogenetic studies of pantherine cats (Felidae) based on multiple genes, with novel application of nuclear β-fibrinogen intron 7 to carnivores. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 35: 483–495. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2005.01.017

Zdansky O. 1928. Die Säugetiere der Quartärfauna von Chou-K’ou-Tien. Palaeontologica Sinica, Series C, 5(4): 1–146 + XVI Pls.