The present phylogeographic pattern of red deer in Eurasia is not only a result of the contraction of their distribution range into glacial refugia and postglacial expansion, but probably also an effect of replacement of some red deer s.l. mtDNA lineages by others during the last 50 000 years. To better recognize this process, we analysed 501 sequences of mtDNA cytochrome b, including 194 ancient and 75 contemporary samples newly obtained for this study. The inclusion of 161 radiocarbon-dated samples enabled us to study the phylogeny in a temporal context and conduct divergence-time estimation and molecular dating. Depending on methodology, our estimate of divergence between Cervus elaphus and Cervus canadensis varied considerably (370 000 or 1.37 million years BP, respectively). The divergence times of genetic lineages and haplogroups corresponded to large environmental changes associated with stadials and interstadials of the Late Pleistocene. Due to the climatic oscillations, the distribution of C. elaphus and C. canadensis fluctuated in north–south and east–west directions. Some haplotypes dated to pre-Last Glacial Maximum periods were not detected afterwards, representing possibly extinct populations. We indicated with a high probability the presence of red deer sensu lato in south-eastern Europe and western Asia during the Last Glacial Maximum.

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skeletons or even their articulated fragments are rare. Occasionally, the remains represent postcranial skeletons (Shpansky, unpublished data). In the West Siberian Plain, only three relatively complete articulated bison skeletons have been discovered to date. These include records in the sites of Vladimirskaya mine (Tom River, Kemerovo Region), Grigorievka Village (Irtysh River, Pavlodar Region), and Krasniy Yar Village (Ob River, Tomsk Region; Fig. 1). The burial in the Vladimirskaya mine was described by P.M. Ryzhkov (1927). The skeleton was located in diagonally layered alluvial sands at a depth about 6 m and comprised 34 bones, including a skull fragment and both mandibular rami. The two other finds have not been published yet (apart from morphological analysis of * Corresponding author 1 Note that two different sites with the name "Krasniy Yar" are mentioned in this paper. To avoid confusion, here and further in the text, the exact location of the site is specified in brackets.

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