Late Pleistocene horse Equus (Equus) ferus (Perissodactyla, Equidae) from the Cis-Baikal and Transbaikalia

Abstract

The paper presents morphological examination of caballoid horse remains (Equus (Equus)) from the Baikal region. The study area stretches from Angara river basin up to western Transbaikalia. Fossil material was dated to the second half of the Late Pleistocene, from Kargin Interstadial to the Late Glacial. In all 18 upper and lower jaws, 34 isolated teeth, 37 metacarpal and 56 metatarsal bones were measured. Comparative analysis of horse remains from the Cis-Baikal area, Transbaikalia, and contemporaneous material from the south of Eastern Europe, the Ural Mountains, Western and North-Eastern Siberia revealed marked intraspecific variation in the Late Pleistocene horses. Observed size variation in skeletal elements reflects temporal and regional variation in horse body size. Multivariate analysis showed that despite the significant size variation between local populations, fossil horses were homogeneous in their morphology. Relative proportions of metacarpal and metatarsal bones remained constant through the Late Pleistocene. Horse remains from the Cis-Baikal area and Transbaikalia were attributed to Equus ferus – a circumpolar species in the Late Pleistocene. Przewalski’s horse (Equus przewalskii) differs from fossil horses by the relative proportions of the limb bones. Based on morphometric analysis we can conclude that E. przewalskii did not inhabit the Baikal region during the Late Pleistocene.