 Reference Base  Thick skin cutters of Siberian frozen mummies—The coevo... |
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Diedrich, C.G., 2021. Thick skin cutters of Siberian frozen mummies—The coevolutionary adaptation of Eurasian Ice Age spotted hyenas. Acta Zoologica 2021: 1-22 - DOI: 10.1111/azo.12366
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| Location: |
Europe - Western Europe |
| Subject: |
Taxonomy |
| Species: |
Fossil |
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Siberian extinct top predators—Ice Age spotted hyenas—are discovered in the permafrost of Yakutia in?between frozen mammoth, rhinoceros, bison or horse carcasses, such as in Mongolia at new open?air sites. Historic described European holotypes and new crania from Siberia, Mongolia, and Europe allow presenting the monophyly of Crocuta reaching back 2.53 Mio years (Late Pliocene). Spotted hyenas coevolved in dental change and body size to their largest guilt, thick?skinned elephants and rhinoceroses. The Late Pleistocene (MIS 5d?3, 113.00–25.000 BP) Crocuta crocuta spelaea (Goldfuss, 1823) is proven to have scavenged Siberian woolly rhinoceros Coeleodonta antiquitatis (Blumenbach, 1799) carcasses. Rhino mummy skins have scavenging signs attributable only to hyenas. Chew cuts of breaking?cutting scissor dentition are found at mummy skins. The last Eurasian hyenas left always similar chew?damaged woolly rhinoceroses’ crania with braincase openings and damaged mandibles, whereas their deep bite scratches are often found on the distal joints of long bones. Strongest rhino bone damage is found at natal den sites (cave or open air), to which hyenas imported guilt to their cubs. The recently known Ice Age spotted hyena palaeobiogeography overlaps exactly with those of woolly rhinoceros and mammoths. All reached Bering Straits.
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