Early Pleistocene Caniformia from Palan-Tyukan (Azerbaijan)

Abstract

The Early Pleistocene site of Palan-Tyukan (MNQ18, ca 1.85 Mya) is located in Transcaucasia, northwestern Azerbaijan. In total, more than 300 mammalian bones were collected there by M.V. Sablin in 1986 and 1990. The remains were laid close to each other in a 25 m2 lens-like accumulation, in a stratum of normally magnetized (the upper part of the Olduvai subchron) yellowish-grey Lower Apsheron loams. No any excavations have been carried here out since. The present study is based on the analysis of the Caniformia remains. The occurrence of raccoon dog in Palan-Tyukan provides knowledge about the Eurasian stratigraphic range of this taxon: it represents one of the latiest records of the species Nyctereutes megamastoides (Pomel, 1842) in all of Europe. The bear tooth (was found earlear by N.A. Lebedeva nearby) is ascribed here to the species Ursus etruscus Cuvier, 1823. The taxonomic scenario of the Plio-Pleistocene tribe Galictini of Eurasia is intricate and has been debated since the beginning of the last century. The dispute arose mainly due to the scantiness and the sparse nature of their fossil record. The main conclusion about the Pannonictis nestii (Martelli, 1906) remains from Palan-Tyukan was reached after a detailed morphological and metrical analysis. Palearctic badger remains were assigned to the species Meles thorali Viret, 1950 – the ancestor of the European and Asian badgers. The occurrence of M. thorali in Palan-Tyukan represents one of the latiest records of the species. The otter material from Palan-Tyukan is here referred to Lutraeximia cf. umbra Cherin et al., 2016. A Caniformia community of the Palan-Tyukan presents evidence of the wider variety of environments ranging from wooded areas with bodies of water to scrub and even savanna landscape in a relatively humid subtropical climate. The fauna of Palan-Tyukan is an important biostratigrafic reference fauna for mammal zonation in Europe. New discoveries can also help to clarify the taxonomic status of many of these extinct forms.