Preliminary Studies of Skeletal Remains of Specimen of Felidae Family from Locality «Gora Korolenko», The Amga River, Yakutia
Plotnikov V.V., Pavlov I.S., Klimovsky A.I., Maschenko E.N.
Preliminary results of studies of taxonomic type (genus and species) of the skeleton fragment of the juvenile specimen found in 2008 on the bank of the Amga river (area «Gora Korolenko», Amga District, The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Russia) are presented. The remains of the late Pleistocene animals such as woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) and fossil hare (Lepus sp.) were found in the same layer with the juvenile specimen remains. On the first investigation the skeleton was identified as Lynx (Lynx lynx). In this work the description of the cranial and post-cranial skeleton of the found specimen, as well as anatomical and morphological comparisons with modern lion (Panthera leo) and lynx (Lynx lynx) cubs are carried out. The features of the structure of skulls of P. leo and L.Lynx, manifested in the early stages of individual development are noted. The results of the investigation showed that the found specimen in its anatomical structure is closer to a modern lion cub than to a lynx and may be attributed to the extinct species Panthera spelaea. This is the first finding of almost complete skeleton of the Cave lion cub.
Key words: Panthera spelaea, skull morphology, individual development, Late Pleistocene, juvenile.
Science and Education, 2016, No.3, pp.21-27