Pleistocene canidae (Mammalia, Carnivora) from the Paleolithic Kudaro caves in the caucasus

Abstract

The analysis of bone assemblages from the Kudaro Paleolithic sites in Southern Ossetia provides a basis for identification of seven species of canids. The Middle Pleistocene fauna contains Canis arnensis kudarensis subsp. nov., C. mosbachensis, C. lunellensis, Vulpes praeglacialis, and V. vulpes, while the Late Pleistocene fauna contains Canis lupus, Cuon alpinus caucasicus, and Vulpes vulpes. Fossil remains of Canis arnensis, C mosbachensis, and C lunellensis represent the latest finds for Eurasia. © Russian Jounal Of Theriology, 2012.