Deer Remains (Megaloceros giganteus, Cervus elaphus sibiricus, Alces cf. alces) from Late Pleistocene Alluvial Deposits of the Chumysh and Chik Rivers (Altai Krai and Novosibirsk Region)
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This article analyzes 492 bone remains of Megaloceros giganteus, 680 remains of Cervus elaphus sibiricus, and 253 remains of Alces cf. alces of the Karginsky period (MIS 3) from the alluvial deposits of the Chumysh and Chik Rivers. In addition to data from the literature, the evidence of these three species from the sites of the Middle Pleistocene (Bibikha, MIS 6–8), Initial Late Pleistocene (Krasny Yar, Taradanovo, MIS 5), and large collections of bones of the Holocene and modern moose and red deer were used for comparison. It was established that the body size of giant deer remained virtually unchanged during the Middle and Late Pleistocene, and Holocene. M. giganteus of Europe was on average 3.3 % smaller. The largest representatives of C. elaphus sibiricus lived in the south of Western Siberia during the Karginsky period; slightly smaller ones lived in the Middle and Initial Late Pleistocene. In the Holocene, and especially in the modern times, the body size of red deer decreased significantly (by 8 and 12.2 %, respectively). The body size of moose remained almost unchanged during the Middle and Late Pleistocene. The moose of the Holocene and of our time noticeably decreased in size (by an average of 2 and 3 %, respectively).
Language: English
Subfield: Paleontology
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7208746211