The Late Pleistocene megafauna of the Chulym River basin, southeastern West Siberian Plain: chronology and stable isotope composition

Abstract

New data were obtained for the Chulym River basin in the southeastern part of the West Siberian Plain, one of the understudied parts of Siberia in terms of age and composition of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes for Late Pleistocene megafauna. The 14C dates from the Sergeevo outcrop, the most complete section of Late Quaternary deposits in the region, are mostly greater than ~30 550 bp. Other localities yielded 14C values in the range from >44 500 to ~19 300 bp. The finite date of ~42 270 bp for the Khozarian steppe elephant (Mammuthus trogontherii chosaricus) from Asino is intriguing because previously it was not detected in the Late Pleistocene of Siberia after the last interglacial (Marine Isotope Stage 5e), ~115 000–130 000 years ago. Stable isotope data show both similarities and differences compared to the pre‐Last Glacial Maximum megafaunal species in other parts of Siberia.

Zoning of Desert, Steppe, Steppe-Forest and Forest Ecosystems By Carbon And Nitrogen Isotope in Mongolia and Western Transbaikalia

“…In biogeographic, paleogeographic and paleontological (zooarchaeological) studies, the stable isotope ( 13 С/ 12 С, 15 N/ 14 N) analysis is widely used for reconstruction of diet, landscape and climatic conditions for the growth of plant food resources and animal habitat, including disappeared animals (Bocherens et al 1991;Fernandez et al 1991;Fizet et al 1995;Germonpre and Lbova 1996;Bocherens et al 1996;Koch 1998;Bocherens 2003;Palmqvist et al 2003;Barberena et al 2009;Drucker et al 2010;Drucker et al 2011;Di Matteo et al 2013;Britton et al 2013;France et al 2014;Krylovich et al 2020;Skippington et al 2021;Kradin et al 2021;Kuzmin et al 2021;Kuzmin et al 2023).…”