An ancient bison from the mouth of the Rauchua River (Chukotka, Russia)

Abstract

An incomplete carcass of an extinct bison, Bison ex gr. priscus, was discovered in 2012 in the mouth of the Rauchua River (69°30′N, 166°49′E), Chukotka. The carcass included the rump with two hind limbs, ribs, and large flap of hide from the abdomen and sides, several vertebrae, bones of the forelimbs and anterior autopodia, stomach with its contents, and wool. The limb bones are relatively gracile, which is unusual in bison, and a SEM study of the hair microstructure suggests higher insulating capacity than in extant members of the genus. Additionally, mitochondrial DNA analyses indicate that the Rauchua bison belonged to a distinct and previously unidentified lineage of steppe bison. Two radiocarbon dates suggest a Holocene age for the bison: a traditional 14 C date provided an estimate of 8030 ± 70 14 C yr ВР (SPb-743) and an AMS radiocarbon date provided an age of 9497 ± 92 14 C yr BP (AA101271). These dates make this the youngest known bison from Chukotka. Analysis of stomach contents revealed a diet of herbaceous plants (meadow grasses and sedges) and shrubs, suggesting that the early Holocene vegetation near the mouth of the Rauchua River was similar to that of the present day: tundra-associated vegetation with undersized plants.

Fossil and genomic evidence constrains the timing of bison arrival in North America

“…We aligned mitochondrial genomes from the 35 ancient bison described above with previously published mitochondrial genomes from 10 present-day American bison (33,34), an ancient Siberian bison (35), and 4 yaks (Bos grunniens). We then created two datasets for phylogenetic analysis: one comprising the complete mitochondrial genome (full dataset), and another limited to only those sites in the mitochondrial genome in which we were able to call a consensus base for the Snowmass bison (reduced dataset).…”

Past climate changes, population dynamics and the origin of Bison in Europe

“…priscus disappeared from the fossil record of Western Europe at the end of the Pleistocene, around 12-10 kya, and relict populations of B. priscus seem to have survived until the beginning of the middle Holocene (7-6 kya) in Siberia (e.g., [13,14]). In Europe, B. priscus is believed to have been replaced at the end of the Pleistocene or during the Holocene by the morphologically (eidonomically) distinguishable wisent B. bonasus [2,10,15,16].…”

Metapodials of ancient bison (Bison priscus) of northeast Russia: “stress markers,” sex and withers height

“…The northeast Yakutian specimens are numerous, whereas the Chukotka MP-collection consists of fewer selected specimens, collected in 2011. MT of the bison frozen corpse from Rauchua River, № F-3246 (Kirillova et al 2015), was specifically extracted for this study. The majority of MP belonged to different individuals, except for two pairs.…”

“…Specimen F-3246/15 belongs to an adult early Holocene bison (most probably, female) from the Rauchua River with an age-at-death from 5-6 to 7-8 years (Kirillova et al 2015). That age appears to be quite sufficient for a buttress development, but the buttressing is absent.…”