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A fragmentary maxilla and isolated vertebrae of a viperid snake were found in the Lower Pleistocene deposits of the Taurida cave, Crimean Peninsula. The snake is assigned to Vipera cf. renardi based on the morphology of the maxilla. This is the first unquestionable fossil record of the Vipera ursinii-renardi complex dispersed into Crimea earlier than previously supposed, already in the Early Pleistocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work describes the dentognathic remains of Ursus etruscus Cuvier, 1823 from the recently discovered Taurida cave in central Crimea at the north Black Sea area. The bone-bearing layer of Taurida cave corresponds to the Psekupsian Faunal Assemblage of Eastern Europe and to the Late Villafranchian of Western Europe (ca. 1.8–1.5 Ma). Here, we describe unpublished ursid material unearthed during the excavations performed at the cave in 2020–2021, further comparing it with coeval chronologic and geographic sites around Europe. Our anatomical and biometrical analyses suggest the inclusion of the studied specimens in the hypodigm of the Early Pleistocene medium-sized species Ursus etruscus. The finds of the U. etruscus from the southern part of Eastern Europe provide a link between the western and eastern parts of the species range. Therefore, the finds from Crimea are important for understanding of the morphological diversity and evolution of U. etruscus which is the putative ancestor of both cave bears and brown bears. Furthermore, the study of these remains is also important for understanding the processes of the forming of the large mammal assemblages in the late Early Pleistocene and its relationships with the dispersal of the genus Homo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Khulsanurus magnificus gen. et sp. nov., is described based on a partial skeleton, including cervical and caudal vertebrae, scapulocoracoids, humerus, and pubis from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) Barungoyot Formation at Khulsan locality in Gobi Desert, Mongolia. The new taxon differs from other alvarezsaurids by a combination of characters that include cervicals lacking pleurocoels, carotid processes, and epipophyses, dorsoventrally thick and subtriangular in cross-section transverse process of the anterior caudals, prominent infrapostzygapophyseal fossa on the transverse process of anterior caudals, short and mostly anteriorly directed prezygapophyses of anterior caudals, neural arch of anterior caudal lacking the interzygapophyseal ridges and having a prominent dorsal depression around the anterior end of the neural spine. The new taxon retains a number of plesiomorphic traits: slightly convex posterior centrum condyle of anterior caudals, prominent anterior, and posterior bumps at the neurocentral junction in anterior caudals, neural arch of anterior caudals extending for the entire length of the centrum, and pubic foot and apron. Khulsanurus shares with Shuvuuia the deltopectoral crest of humerus that is continuous with the humeral head. The phylogenetic analysis placed Khulsanurus in the Parvicursorinae in a polytomy with Mononykus, Shuvuuia, Albinykus, and Xixianykus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work describes for a first time a fused fracture of the metacarpals of the medium-sized felid, Lynx issiodorensis, the putative ancestor of all Eurasian extant lynx species. The studied remains, four metacarpals from the same individual, were unearthed from the Early Pleistocene of the Taurida cave (Crimean Peninsula) and studied through computed tomography. These remains exhibit pronounced signs of osteopathology, namely, fracture with displacement of the fifth metacarpal bone fused with the formation of callus and deformation of the bone itself. The pathological process is spread to adjacent metacarpal bones. The likely cause of the injury could be an unsuccessful hunt or an awkward landing from a height. After the injury and in the process of healing the fracture, the studied individual survived with clearly limited hunting abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]