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An ancient bison from the mouth of the Rauchua River (Chukotka, Russia)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Irina V. Kirillova
Affiliation:
National Alliance of Shidlovskiy “Ice Age”, Ice Age Museum, 119 building, Mira pr., Moscow, 129223, Russia
Oksana G. Zanina
Affiliation:
Institute of Physicochemical and Biological Problems of Soil Science, ul. Institutskaya 2, Pushchino, Moscow region, 142290, Russia
Olga F. Chernova
Affiliation:
A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky pr. 33, Moscow, 119071, Russia
Elena G. Lapteva
Affiliation:
Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Vos'mogo Marta 202, Yekaterinburg, 620144, Russia
Svetlana S. Trofimova
Affiliation:
Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Vos'mogo Marta 202, Yekaterinburg, 620144, Russia
Vladimir S. Lebedev
Affiliation:
Zoological Museum of Moscow State University, B. Nikitskaya 6, 125009, Moscow, Russia
Alexei V. Tiunov
Affiliation:
A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky pr. 33, Moscow, 119071, Russia
Andre E.R. Soares
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA
Fedor K. Shidlovskiy
Affiliation:
National Alliance of Shidlovskiy “Ice Age”, Ice Age Museum, 119 building, Mira pr., Moscow, 129223, Russia
Beth Shapiro
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA UCSC Genomics Institute, University of California Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA

Abstract

An incomplete carcass of an extinct bison, Bison ex gr. priscus, was discovered in 2012 in the mouth of the Rauchua River (69°30′N, 166°49′E), Chukotka. The carcass included the rump with two hind limbs, ribs, and large flap of hide from the abdomen and sides, several vertebrae, bones of the forelimbs and anterior autopodia, stomach with its contents, and wool. The limb bones are relatively gracile, which is unusual in bison, and a SEM study of the hair microstructure suggests higher insulating capacity than in extant members of the genus. Additionally, mitochondrial DNA analyses indicate that the Rauchua bison belonged to a distinct and previously unidentified lineage of steppe bison. Two radiocarbon dates suggest a Holocene age for the bison: a traditional 14C date provided an estimate of 8030 ± 70 14C yr ВР (SPb-743) and an AMS radiocarbon date provided an age of 9497 ± 92 14C yr BP (AA101271). These dates make this the youngest known bison from Chukotka. Analysis of stomach contents revealed a diet of herbaceous plants (meadow grasses and sedges) and shrubs, suggesting that the early Holocene vegetation near the mouth of the Rauchua River was similar to that of the present day: tundra-associated vegetation with undersized plants.

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University of Washington

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