The skeleton of mammoth Mammuthus trogontherii cf. chosaricus Dubrovo, 1966 from terminal Middle Pleistocene of the Lower Volga region (Russia)

Abstract

A skeleton of a male Mammuthus trogontherii cf. chosaricus is described from Chernyi Yar (Lower Volga Region), the type locality of this subspecies. The skeleton was discovered and excavated from clays of the Singil regional straton in 1996. The geological age of the enclosing sediments is estimated as the terminal Middle Pleistocene and correlated with MIS 7-MIS 6. The individual age of the animal is estimated as 57-62 years. The calculated shoulder height of the skeleton is 312 cm. Morphological differences from other forms of Mammuthus and Elephas (Palaeoloxodon) are discussed. The distinctions of dental and postcranial characters of M. trogontherii cf. chosaricus, M. trogontherii trogontherii, and M. intermedius are reviewed. A diagnosis of the subspecies M. t. chosaricus is refined.