Climate affects habitat, food availability, and the movement and sustainability of all life. In this work, we apply Indigenous and Western scientific methods, including genomics and isotope profiling, on fossils from across Beringia to explore the effect of climate change on horses. We find that Late Pleistocene horses from Alaska and northern Yukon are related to populations from Eurasia and crossed the Bering land bridge multiple times during the last glacial interval. We also find deeply divergent lineages north and south of the American ice sheets that genetically influenced populations across Beringia and into Eurasia. As climate warmed and horses entered the ice-free corridor connecting Beringia and midcontinental America, restricted mobility and food availability impeded population growth. Our combined Western and Indigenous framework offers critical guidance for wildlife conservation amid ongoing climate change.

The dietary preferences of Late Pleistocene cave lions in the mammoth steppe have been investigated using carbon and nitrogen isotopes of bone collagen. This study based on a review of published data and newly measured ones covers a wide area from Western Europe to Alaska and shows that reindeer was a preferred prey for most analyzed specimens, with some individuals in Western Europe and possibly in Urals showing a preference for cave bears as prey. The scattering of the isotopic data suggests a solitary way of life for cave lions, and competition with other predators such as cave hyena and brown bear, maybe less marked in Eastern Siberia where hyena was absent.

In the evolution of proboscideans, the emergence of dwarf and semi-dwarf forms occurred repeatedly, on various territories and at various times, due to a lack of resources caused by geographic isolation on the islands and landscape isolation on the mainland. Despite a significant amount of information on the island forms of mammoths and elephants, the question of the association between a decrease in the body size and morphological changes in the dental system remains controversial. According to some data, the formation of dwarf forms was accompanied by a unidirectional decrease in the number of dental plates (NDP) of the tooth and thickening of the enamel. According to other data, changes in the dental system on the islands were mosaic in nature; that is, the NDP could decrease, remain unchanged, or even increase. Taking into account the importance of the NDP as a diagnostic tool for species identification of proboscidean taxa and the absence of a consensus on the stability of a trend towards a decrease in the NDP from tall continental ancestors to island dwarf descendants, we (1) summarize data on the finds of small teeth of mammoths from the Mammuthus genus with a reduced NDP in the localities in northern Eurasia, (2) present new radiocarbon dates, and (3) consider the NDP as a characteristic of developing dwarfism in continental mammoths. The study of small teeth of the last generation of M. primigenius from the coastal part of northeastern Siberia and a comparison with data from other regions demonstrated that the posterior sections of cheek teeth in mammoths are the most variable and represent a reduction complex. For woolly mammoth, the reduction primarily affects that part of the crown that became more complex by the gradual addition of the plates during phyletic evolution in the Middle–Late Pleistocene. A rapid loss of evolutionary achievements of the ancestral forms due to reduction is not a unique peculiarity of the woolly mammoth teeth, and was also traced in other mammals. The similarity of the reduction complexes of cheek teeth in proboscideans and rodents of the Arvicolinae subfamily was demonstrated; it can be traced by a decrease in the number of serially homologous elements of the crown: plates in proboscideans and pairs of prisms in arvicolines. A comparison of the NDP with the size of the M. primigenius teeth allowed us to make the assumption that a decrease in the NDP while maintaining other species-specific peculiarities of the tooth can be used as a criterion for separating semi-dwarf and small individuals of the woolly mammoth. The size of continental mammoths decreased most intensively during warmer intervals, when significant transformation of landscapes and a reduction in resource space occurred.

In 1810, G.A. Goldfuss was the first to identify the bones of a cave lion discovered in the Zoolithenhöhle cave (Germany), naming it Felis spelaea. But it was prehistoric man who first described it in numerous parietal and movable representations. Since the beginning of the 19th century, scientific knowledge of the cave lion Panthera (Leo) spelaea has progressed steadily, establishing its leonine character. Numerous discoveries led to paleontological studies of deposits throughout Eurasia, often in caves and linked to prehistoric sites. In the 20th century, this research benefited from the emergence of new dating methods, the development of palynology and the isotopic biochemistry of collagen. As the species' range became better defined, it expanded to include the whole of Eurasia and even North America. Finally, the 21st century is marked by the development of paleogenetics and the multiplication of synthetic studies, in many countries, while benefiting from a diffusion largely facilitated by Internet exchanges and the use of English. Phylogeny of the Felidae and understanding of the origins of Panthera spelaea are progressing rapidly. Today's knowledge makes it possible to envisage a true paleobiology of this extinct species.

In the evolution of proboscideans, the appearance of dwarf and semi-dwarf forms occurred repeatedly, in different territories and at different times, due to a lack of resources caused by geographic isolation on islands and by landscape isolation on the mainland. Despite a significant amount of information on the insular forms of mammoths and elephants, the question of the relationship between a decrease in body size and morphological changes in the dental system remains a matter of debate. Some data show that dwarfism was accompanied by a decreasing number of plates (lophs) and by tooth enamel thickening. Other data show that changes in the dental system on the islands indicate that the number of plates could either decrease or remain unchanged, or even increase. Taking into account the importance of the number of plates as a diagnostic feature in the species identification of proboscidean taxa and the lack of a consensus on the stability of the trend towards a decrease in the number of plates from large continental ancestors to insular dwarf descendants, we (1) summarize the data on the records of small tooth-mammoths of the genus Mammuthus with a reduced number of plates in sites across northern Eurasia, (2) provide new radiocarbon dates, and (3) consider the number of plates as a possible sign of dwarfization in continental mammoths. The small teeth of the last generation of M. primigenius from the coastal part of northeastern Siberia and a comparison with data from other regions show that the posterior sections of mammoth cheek teeth are the most variable and represent a reduction complex. For the woolly mammoth, reduction primarily affects that part of the crown which became more complex by the gradually increasing number of plates during the phyletic evolution in the Middle to Late Pleistocene. The rapid loss of the evolutionary achievements through reduction is not a unique feature of woolly mammoth teeth. This has been observed in other mammals as well. Similar reduction complexes are observed for the cheek teeth of proboscideans and rodents of the subfamily Arvicolinae, as is shown by a decrease in the number of serially homologous crown elements: plates in proboscideans and pairs of prisms in voles. A comparison of the number of plates with the size of the teeth of M. primigenius suggests that a decrease in the number of dental plates, while retaining other specific features of the tooth, can be used as a criterion for separating semi-dwarf and small specimens of the woolly mammoth. The largest decrease in size of mainland mammoths is observed during warming periods, which also showed significant transformations of landscapes in a reduction of available resources.

The grey wolf ( Canis lupus ) was the first species to give rise to a domestic population, and they remained widespread throughout the last Ice Age when many other large mammal species went extinct. Little is known, however, about the history and possible extinction of past wolf populations or when and where the wolf progenitors of the present-day dog lineage ( Canis familiaris ) lived 1 – 8 . Here we analysed 72 ancient wolf genomes spanning the last 100,000 years from Europe, Siberia and North America. We found that wolf populations were highly connected throughout the Late Pleistocene, with levels of differentiation an order of magnitude lower than they are today. This population connectivity allowed us to detect natural selection across the time series, including rapid fixation of mutations in the gene IFT88 40,000–30,000 years ago. We show that dogs are overall more closely related to ancient wolves from eastern Eurasia than to those from western Eurasia, suggesting a domestication process in the east. However, we also found that dogs in the Near East and Africa derive up to half of their ancestry from a distinct population related to modern southwest Eurasian wolves, reflecting either an independent domestication process or admixture from local wolves. None of the analysed ancient wolf genomes is a direct match for either of these dog ancestries, meaning that the exact progenitor populations remain to be located.

Mammal remains preserved in the permafrost zone often bear traces of postmortem transformations, reflecting aspects of the palaeoenvironment and the processes that took place during the accumulation of host sediments. Multidisciplinary studies including radiocarbon dating, infrared spectroscopy, and microfossil analyses and grain size of infilling sediments from remains allow recognition of their stratigraphical and palaeogeographical origins and facilitate reconstructions of taphonomic pathways and the pre‐burial environments. Here, as exemplified by skulls of woolly rhinoceros, cave lion, and ancient bison, some distinct features of postmortem changes such as nonpyrogenic charring and vivianite encrustation indicate that the remains have undergone a complex range of burial processes in aerobic and anaerobic conditions in the Pleistocene landscapes of Arctic northeastern Russia. We hypothesize that these processes were mainly confined to the warmer intervals in the Late Pleistocene.

Brown bears are one of the few large carnivore species that survived the final Pleistocene wave of extinctions, perhaps in part owing to their wide ecological plasticity, variety of forms and polyphagia. Although the brown bear has become a well‐studied system, many questions remain regarding the ecological, trophic and genetic diversity throughout their distribution. For example, knowledge about Asiatic Russian brown bears from the Late Pleistocene arctic tundra steppe, an ecosystem with no analogue in modern times, is sparse. Here we compared diets, morphometry and genetic affinities of Late Pleistocene bears based on broadly sampled subfossil remains from Asiatic Russia. Collecting sites included the Ural Mountains, the lower reaches of the Irtysh River, the upper reaches of the Ob River, the Altai Mountains of western Siberia, the Indigirka–Kolyma Lowlands and northwestern Chukotka. An extremely large bear specimen from the middle Indigirka (41 090 14 C a BP) that lived in landscapes of treeless shrubs and wet meadows had a diet composed principally of large herbivorous mammals. A bear from western Chukotka (25 880 14 C a BP), much smaller in size, had a diet close to that of modern brown bears. These two Late Pleistocene NE Russian brown bears may comprise a previously undiscovered, but extinct, genetic lineage. At the end of the Pleistocene (MIS 3 and MIS 2), the brown bears from the Ob River Valley and Urals lived in periglacial forest‐steppes and those from the southern Urals in conditions of periglacial steppe. Brown bears from the Ob River valley and Urals, as well as ancient Altai bears, were characterized by a varied diet, from polyphagia to vegetarianism. In living brown bears, the proportions of different dietary foods are primarily related to food availability, which depends on the geographical zone and climatic conditions. We conclude that the same was true for Late Pleistocene brown bears of NE Siberia.

We studied 63 woolly rhinoceros skulls from the northeast of Russia (northwestern Chukotka, northeastern Yakutia) housed in the collection of the “Ice Age” Museum-Theatre, Moscow. Both sexual dimorphism and size/shape variability of woolly rhinoceros skulls are explored using univariate and multivariate statistics for the first time. Peculiarities of the variability, which are probably related to gender, are expressed in (1) different sets of skull variables the variability of which does not depend on “general size” variations and (2) differences in skull allometry in males and females. The structure of morphological variability is discussed. Statistically significant morphological heterogeneity is detected within the male and female samples. This is shown to be the consequence of the presence of two size groups that are not related to individual age. Based on published radiocarbon dates, it is hypothesized that there was a decrease in skull size in the woolly rhinoceros is at the end of megainterstadial (MIS) 3 to the early Last Glacial Maximum MIS 2 in northeastern Asia. To test this hypothesis, new radiocarbon dates of the studied specimens are needed.

Uncertain chronology and data scarcity have impeded realistic reconstructions of megafauna extinctions in the Late Pleistocene in several key regions of the Northern Hemisphere such as Beringia. This region was a refuge for several plants, animals during the extremely cold period of the Late Pleistocene in high Arctic latitudes. The woolly rhinoceros was one of the most widespread members of the megafauna in the Asiatic part of the region (West Beringia) between similar to 60 and 14 cal ka BP. This study is based on statistical analyses of 20 newly obtained and 110 previously published radiocarbon dates. We found three large "waves" in the woolly rhinoceros range changes separated between themselves by the cold climatic Heinrich events (H2 and H4). The chronology of the woolly rhinoceros was overlaid on data of environmental changes obtained basing on 504 generalized early published pollen spectra throughout the species range and, separately, outside the range - in the east of the West Beringia realm and in East Beringia. In general, milder environmental conditions of MIS3 (57-29 ka BP) were more favourable for the woolly rhinoceros than the harsh conditions of the Last Glacial Maximum (similar to 29-15 cal ka BP) in MIS2. We have concluded that the feed base was unlikely the main limiting factor in the distribution of woolly rhinoceros in Western Beringia, and other ecological factors (temperature/precipitation) determined the species range and its oscillation over the MIS3-MIS2 stages. Based on summarizing available data and this research, we have proposed that there were sets of different reasons that prevented the woolly rhinoceros migration to the east of Beringia in different periods of the Late Pleistocene. Abrupt woolly rhinoceros extinction in Beringia between 15 and 14 cal ka BP coincided with the Bolling warming and the Older Dryas cooling. The ecological situation just before the extinction, associated with climate warming, moisture increasing and shrub tundra expansion in West Beringia, was qualitatively different from previous cases of the species range degradations in the second half of the Late Pleistocene. This multi-proxy study of woolly rhinoceros chronology provide a new basis for further understanding of its population history, demography, and biology in Beringia before its extinction. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Bering Land Bridge (BLB) last connected Eurasia and North America during the Late Pleistocene. Although the BLB would have enabled transfers of terrestrial biota in both directions, it also acted as an ecological filter whose permeability varied considerably over time. Here we explore the possible impacts of this ecological corridor on genetic diversity within, and connectivity among, populations of a once wide-ranging group, the caballine horses (Equus spp.). Using a panel of 187 mitochondrial and eight nuclear genomes recovered from present-day and extinct caballine horses sampled across the Holarctic, we found that Eurasian horse populations initially diverged from those in North America, their ancestral continent, around 1.0-0.8 million years ago. Subsequent to this split our mitochondrial DNA analysis identified two bidirectional long-range dispersals across the BLB ~875-625 and ~200-50 thousand years ago, during the Middle and Late Pleistocene. Whole genome analysis indicated low levels of gene flow between North American and Eurasian horse populations, which probably occurred as a result of these inferred dispersals. Nonetheless, mitochondrial and nuclear diversity of caballine horse populations retained strong phylogeographical structuring. Our results suggest that barriers to gene flow, currently unidentified but possibly related to habitat distribution across Beringia or ongoing evolutionary divergence, played an important role in shaping the early genetic history of caballine horses, including the ancestors of living horses within Equus ferus.

The remains of the extinct Merck’s rhinoceros ( Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis (Jäger 1839)), well studied in Western Europe, are rare in Russia. However, thanks to the work of a number of researchers, the geography of the finds and the reconstructed range of the species have been significantly expanded. The time of the optimal existence of Merck’s rhinoceros in Yakutia is now recognized as the Middle Pleistocene; the latest finds, dating from the beginning of the late Pleistocene, are known from the southeast of Western Siberia. We provide new radiocarbon dates for the root of a tooth and bone tissue from a previously unstudied lower jaw of the Merck’s rhinoceros from Altai (AltR), whose taxonomic identity we confirm using genomic analysis. Both dates provide an age estimate of around 40 thousand years, which corresponds to the Karginsky time (MIS 3), and are the youngest for the species on the territory of Russia. The pollen spectrum from the soil filling the bone canal characterizes plant communities of open landscapes with forest areas on the upland or in the floodplain, and reflects either local features of the environment or communities of the cold stage within the Karginsky interstadial. A second Merck’s rhinoceros from the Chondon River (ChR), in extreme northeast Yakutia, was determined by previous researchers to have lived either 45–70 thousand years ago or during the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene. Considering what habitats were available in the region, we propose that the ChR could have lived during the last—Kazantsevo—interglacial (MIS 5e) or later. Both finds, AltR and ChR, extend the temporal range of the species existence.

Only five species of the once-diverse Rhinocerotidae remain, making the reconstruction of their evolutionary history a challenge to biologists since Darwin. We sequenced genomes from five rhinoceros species (three extinct and two living), which we compared to existing data from the remaining three living species and a range of outgroups. We identify an early divergence between extant African and Eurasian lineages, resolving a key debate regarding the phylogeny of extant rhinoceroses. This early Miocene (∼16 million years ago [mya]) split post-dates the land bridge formation between the Afro-Arabian and Eurasian landmasses. Our analyses also show that while rhinoceros genomes in general exhibit low levels of genome-wide diversity, heterozygosity is lowest and inbreeding is highest in the modern species. These results suggest that while low genetic diversity is a long-term feature of the family, it has been particularly exacerbated recently, likely reflecting recent anthropogenic-driven population declines.

The purpose of the data paper was to introduce into scientific literature the results of scientific work carried out for the third edition of the 'Red Data Book of the Komi Republic'. The article reflects methodological approaches to the formation of a list of rare and in need of protection species and describes the corresponding datasets published in GBIF.Information about 7,187 occurrences of 438 rare species and infraspecies included in the third edition of the 'Red Data Book of the Komi Republic' have been published.

A pioneer comprehensive study of several diminutive last‐generation woolly mammoth teeth (M3) found on the coast of the East Siberian Sea between the mouths of the Alazeya and Malaya Kuropatoch'ya rivers was conducted. Two teeth belonged to one individual. These teeth have a similar lamellar frequency and enamel thickness as teeth of Mammuthus primigenius Blumenbach. The molar crowns from the lower Alazeya region are similar in size to those of the small Late Pleistocene–Holocene mammoths from Wrangel Island. However, the number of plates (17–19, excluding talons) is much lower than that in the teeth of typical Late Pleistocene M. primigenius (23–25). The age data of the examined teeth are beyond the limits of the 14C dating method (>45 000 years BP). Nevertheless, palaeobotanical data allow correlation of the enclosing sediments with the warm Kazantsevo Interglacial (Eemian, MIS 5e) and reconstruction of the average annual temperature, which was warmer than present‐day temperatures. These conditions are confirmed by the δ18O isotopes from the structurally bound carbonate in tooth enamel. The ancient landscape was wetter and more forested than modern landscapes. The diminution of M3 size and loss of posterior plates were a result of the overall decrease in body size, likely in response to landscape change and narrowing of resource space. Mammoths from the lower Alazeya region demonstrate a stage of significant size reduction, although the dwarfing was not finalized. Their teeth are the oldest amongst the small teeth found in west Beringia.

Ancient DNA has significantly improved our understanding of the evolution and population history of extinct megafauna. However, few studies have used complete ancient genomes to examine species responses to climate change prior to extinction. The woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) was a cold-adapted megaherbivore widely distributed across northern Eurasia during the Late Pleistocene and became extinct approximately 14 thousand years before present (ka BP). While humans and climate change have been proposed as potential causes of extinction [1-3], knowledge is limited on how the woolly rhinoceros was impacted by human arrival and climatic fluctuations [2]. Here, we use one complete nuclear genome and 14 mitogenomes to investigate the demographic history of woolly rhinoceros leading up to its extinction. Unlike other northern megafauna, the effective population size of woolly rhinoceros likely increased at 29.7 ka BP and subsequently remained stable until close to the species' extinction. Analysis of the nuclear genome from a similar to 18.5-ka-old specimen did not indicate any increased inbreeding or reduced genetic diversity, suggesting that the population size remained steady for more than 13 ka following the arrival of humans [4]. The population contraction leading to extinction of the woolly rhinoceros may have thus been sudden and mostly driven by rapid warming in the Bolling-Allerod interstadial. Furthermore, we identify woolly rhinoceros-specific adaptations to arctic climate, similar to those of the woolly mammoth. This study highlights how species respond differently to climatic fluctuations and further illustrates the potential of palaeogenomics to study the evolutionary history of extinct species.

Nine species of Orchidaceae were studied through fieldwork in July 2018 in the integrated nature reserve Pizhemskiy (middle-course Pechorskaya Pizhma River catchment, Komi Republic): Coeloglossum viride (L.) Hartm., Corallorhiza trifida Châtel., Cypripedium calceolus L., C. guttatum Sw., Dactylorhiza fuchsii (Druce) Soó, Epipactis atrorubens (Hoffm.) Besser, Gymnadenia conopsea (L.) R. Br., Listera cordata (L.) R. Br., and L. ovata (L.) R. Br. Data on their distribution and phytocoenotic affiliations in this territory are provided. L. ovata was found in this protected area for the first time. Point maps of the orchids’ distribution in the surveyed part of the Middle Timan were compiled. Mostof the studied plant populations are confined to calcareous rock outcrops in the valley of the Pechorskaya Pizhma River. A total of 35 coenopopulations of seven orchid species were studied during the expedition. Orchids were found to be well adapted to the environmental conditions of the Middle Timan as evidenced by the relatively high abundance of the coenopopulations, successful reproduction, and conformance of ontogenetic spectra to specific biological characteristics. The main limiting factor for the reproduction of orchids is the short growing season. Early-summer frosts damage flower buds, especially in early flowering species (C. calceolus, C. guttatum), while late-summer frosts lead to the formation of damaged reproductive shoots in E. atrorubens. It can be concluded from the research results that the Pizhemskiy Nature Reserve is a unique area where habitats of such rare and vulnerable plants as orchids are preserved in their original state, offering good conditions for sustainable existence of their populations.

Dogs were the first domestic animal, but little is known about their population history and to what extent it was linked to humans. We sequenced 27 ancient dog genomes and found that all dogs share a common ancestry distinct from present-day wolves, with limited gene flow from wolves since domestication but substantial dog-to-wolf gene flow. By 11,000 years ago, at least five major ancestry lineages had diversified, demonstrating a deep genetic history of dogs during the Paleolithic. Coanalysis with human genomes reveals aspects of dog population history that mirror humans, including Levant-related ancestry in Africa and early agricultural Europe. Other aspects differ, including the impacts of steppe pastoralist expansions in West and East Eurasia and a near-complete turnover of Neolithic European dog ancestry.

The remains of a Holocene extinct steppe bison, Bison priscus Bojanus 1827, that died 9.5 thousand years ago, were discovered on the Rauchua River (Chukotka, Russia) in 2012. Sample F-3246 yielded ancient DNA and, when compared to other extant and extinct Bison lineages, clustered outside the known bison genetic diversity, suggesting that this bison represented a divergent and heretofore unknown lineage of extinct bison. While this conclusion is supported by a morphological analysis of sample F-3246, additional examples of this divergent bison phenotype and genotype are required in order to understand its position in bison evolutionary history. Here, we assemble complete mitochondrial genomes from 26 additional ancient Bison samples from northern Siberia, aiming to improve the knowledge of the evolutionary history and geographic range of the Rauchua bison lineage. Surprisingly, we did not identify the Rauchua haplotype in any of the newly tested bison, including those discovered from the Rauchua River locality. Nonetheless, additional mitochondrial genomic data from Siberian bison, and a new high-coverage mitogenome recovered from the original Rauchua bison (F-3246), confirm the existence of the deeply divergent Glade and shed new light on the evolutionary history of bison during the Pleistocene to Holocene transition in Siberia.