Reevaluation of the unusual bovid skull from Lunnaya Cave, Karabi karst plateau, Crimea (SE Ukraine)

A partial bovid skull, from the karst deposits of Lunnaya Cave (Karabi karst plateau, Crimea) is re-examined. The subfossil find of unknown age, was retrieved by local cavers from Simferopol, and was allocated to the late Pleistocene Eurasian musk-ox: Ovibos moschatus (Zimmermann, 1780). Most recently, a reexamination of the specimen was possible, and a detailed analysis indicates an appurtenance to the water-buffalo (Bubalus bubalis (Kerr, 1792)), with some morphological disorders caused by Hydrocephalus, an inherited malformation sporadically recorded in extant bovids. However the skull was reported from below a thick flowstone crust, the age of the specimen is not older than 7th to 10th century A.D. (or even younger), when the domesticated form appear in SE Europe including the Crimean peninsula. Probably due to its disease, the animal was killed by a sharp axe-like tool and dropped into the cave. In this respect, late Pleistocene musk-ox finds are still missing from the Crimean theriofauna, their Southern range in the area, being limited to Zhytomyr-Kiev-Chernigov regions in Northern Ukraine.Частичный череп бовида из карстовых отложений пещеры Лунной (плато Караби, Крым) был подвергнут повторному исследованию. Субфоссильная находка неизвестного возраста, был найдена местными спелеологами из Симферополя, и была определена как позднеплейстоценовый евразийский овцебык: Ovibos moschatus (Zimmermann, 1780). Совсем недавно стала возможна повторная экспертиза образца, и его детальный анализ указывает на принадлежность черепа водяному буйволу (Bubalus bubalis (Kerr, 1792)), с некоторыми морфологическими нарушениями, вызванными гидроцефалией – врожденным уродством, спорадически отмечающимся у ныне живущих бовид. Несмотря на что, описываемый череп, как сообщалось, был извлечен из-под толстой натечной коры, возраст образца не древнее, чем VII-X ст. н.э. (или даже еще моложе), когда одомашненная форма появляется в юго-восточной Европе, в том числе на Крымском полуострове. Вероятно из-за его болезни, животное было убито острым подобным топору инструментом и сброшено в пещеру. Исходя из этого, позднеплейстоценовые находки мускусного быка все еще отсутствуют в Крымской териофауне, а его наиболее южная граница распространения ограничена Черниговско-Житомирско-Киевским регионом в Северной Украине.Частковий череп бовіда з карстових відкладів печери Місячної (плато Карабі, Крим) був підданий повторному дослідженню. Субфосильна знахідка невідомого віку, була знайдена місцевими спелеологами із Сімферополя, і була визначена як піздньоплейстоценовий євразійський вівцебик: Ovibos moschatus (Zimmermann, 1780). Зовсім нещодавно стала можливою повторна експертиза зразка, і його детальний аналіз указує на приналежність черепа водяному буйволу (Bubalus bubalis (Kerr, 1792)), з деякими морфологічними порушеннями, спричиненими гідроцефалією – вродженою вадою, що спорадично спостерігається й у тих бовід, що живуть нині. Незважаючи на те, що описуваний череп, як повідомлялося, був вилучений з-під товстої натічної кори, вік зразка не давніший, ніж VII-X ст. н.е. (або навіть ще молодше), коли одомашнена форма з’являється в південно-східній Європі, зокрема на Кримському півострові. Ймовірно через її хворобу, тварина було вбита гострим подібним до сокири інструментом і скинута в печеру. Виходячи з цього, піздньоплейстоценові знахідки мускусного бика все ще відсутні в кримській теріофауні, а його найбільш південна межа поширення обмежена чернігівсько-житомирсько-київським регіоном у Північній Україні

New approach on the Saiga antelopes (Saiga tatarica/borealis; Bovidae) from the Late Pleistocene and Holocene of Crimea (SE Ukraine)

The present paper is a short review of the knowledge regarding the fossil saiga antelopes from the Pleistocene and Holocene of Crimea, in the context of the general taxonomic and phylogenetic problems in question. According to the newly discovered paleontological material from the Crimean Mountain cave-sites, a new point of view is considered

A new azhdarchid pterosaur from the Late Cretaceous of the Transylvanian Basin, Romania: Implications for azhdarchid diversity and distribution

We describe a new taxon of medium-sized (wing span ca. 3 m) azhdarchid pterosaur from the Upper Cretaceous Transylvanian Basin (Sebeş Formation) of Romania. This specimen is the most complete European azhdarchid yet reported, comprising a partially articulated series of vertebrae and associated forelimb bones. The new taxon is most similar to the Central Asian Azhdarcho lancicollis Nessov but possesses a suite of autapomorphies in its vertebrae that include the relative proportions of cervicals three and four and the presence of elongated prezygapophyseal pedicles. The new taxon is interesting in that it lived contemporaneously with gigantic forms, comparable in size to the famous Romanian Hatzegopteryx thambema. The presence of two distinct azhdarchid size classes in a continental depositional environment further strengthens suggestions that these pterosaurs were strongly linked to terrestrial floodplain and wooded environments. To support this discussion, we outline the geological context and taphonomy of our new specimen and place it in context with other known records for this widespread and important Late Cretaceous pterosaurian lineage

Anatomy of Romanian dromaeosaurid Balaur.

100 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 26 cm.The Hațeg Island fauna of the terminal late Cretaceous (ca. 71-65 million years ago) of Romania is one of the most unusual dinosaur assemblages in the global fossil record. It has long been recognized that many herbivorous dinosaurs from the Hațeg fauna were dwarfed, morphologically aberrant, and/or primitive relative to mainland contemporaries, and these taxa are often considered examples of the so-called island effect: the evolutionary phenomenon by which island-dwelling species are often dwarfed and anatomically modified. Very little, however, is known about the carnivorous dinosaurs that inhabited Hațeg Island, and it is unclear whether they were also dwarfed, aberrant, or primitive. In 2009, the discovery of the first substantially complete theropod from the late Cretaceous of Europe, the holotype of the Romanian dromaeosaurid Balaur bondoc, provided the first clear glimpse at an island-dwelling carnivorous dinosaur. Here we describe and figure this remarkably preserved skeleton in detail. We provide detailed descriptions and photographs of individual bones, and make extensive comparisons with other dromaeosaurids (and other derived coelurosaurian theropods). This monographic description provides further evidence that Balaur is an unusual derived dromaeosaurid, closely related to Velociraptor, with a remarkably modified hand and foot skeleton, including a stocky and heavily fused distal hind limb, a double set of hyperextensible pedal claws, and a fused and atrophied hand, which are otherwise unknown among derived coelurosaurian theropods. We present an updated diagnosis of Balaur based on additional preparation of the holotype, comparisons with other dromaeosaurids, and careful consideration of postmortem crushing. Histological techniques demonstrate that both the holotype and a referred specimen of Balaur, which is approximately 50% larger than the holotype and from a separate locality, belong to mature individuals. Therefore, we remove the referred specimen from Balaur bondoc and conservatively consider it Balaur sp. We present an updated assessment of the phylogenetic relationships of Balaur based on a comprehensive new coelurosaurian cladistics dataset, which corroborates the close relationship between Balaur, Velociraptor, Deinonychus, Adasaurus, and Saurornitholestes. We review the fossil record of European late Cretaceous theropods and show that other specimens from the late Cretaceous of Romania (including the holotype of Elopteryx), France, and Hungary either do not belong to Balaur (due to the lack of Balaur autapomorphies) or cannot be compared to Balaur because of a lack of overlapping material. Finally, we discuss the biogeographic history of European terminal Cretaceous dinosaur faunas and comment on the extreme morphological specializations of Balaur. We conclude that the phylogenetic position of Balaur, a derived dromaeosaurid closely related to late Cretaceous Laurasian taxa, is inconsistent with previous hypotheses of long-term geographic endemicity of the Romanian island faunas, but argue that the aberrant Bauplan of Balaur is similar to that seen in some living and recently extinct mammals and thus likely due to the "island effect.