On may 29, 2019, senior researcher of the Institute of plant and animal ecology UrRAN, PhD Dmitry Gimranov visited the Yangan-Tau Geopark. The scientist was invited for the purpose of scientific advice on the remains of an ancient megafauna in the Geopark.
The collection of fossil bones of large vertebrates collected on the banks of the river AI and stored in the school Museum of the village of Lagerevo was examined. It is noted that all bones have Pleistocene age and most likely they can be dated to the end of the late Pleistocene, that is 120-10 thousand years ago. It is possible that some bone remains are older than 1 million years. Radiocarbon Dating is necessary for a more detailed age assessment.
A total of 15 bone remains of large vertebrates representatives of mammoth faunal complex were studied. Mammoth bones (Mammuthus primigenius), woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis), great-horned deer (Megaloceros giganteus) and elk (Alces alces) were determined to the species.
The mammoth and the rhino are the typical representatives of the large herbivores of the Pleistocene time. Elk discovery is interesting and important for further scientific research. Now this animal is confined to forest biotopes, and in the late Pleistocene on the territory of the modern Geopark of forest areas was much smaller, so the findings of forest ungulates are extremely interesting for paleoecological analysis. Having studied a representative collection of bone remains of fossil mammals and visually assessed the landscapes of the valley of the river AI it is possible to conclude that the territory of the Geopark is quite promising for the search for new localities of fossil fauna of Pleistocene time.
