Morphometric and genetic analyses of diversity of the Lena horse (Equus lenensis Russanov, 1968; Mammalia: Equidae)

Abstract

A pilot study of E. lenensis was carried out based on a small sample using a) standard morphometrics of the axial skull, mandible, the upper and lower cheek teeth; b) geometric morphometrics of the enamel crown patterns of the 1st upper and lower molars; c) molecular phylogenetic analysis with the complete mitochondrial genome sequencing. A certain morphological heterogeneity of E. lenensis by mostly dental and partly cranial characters was revealed. The study shows a necessity to reconsider species allocation of some records of Pleistocene horses in North East Siberia, and to carry out large-scale comprehensive revision of these materials using new approaches. How to cite this article: Spasskaya N.N., Pavlinov I.Ya., Sharko F.S., Boulygina E.S., Tsygankova S.V., Nedoluzhko A.V., Boeskorov G.G., Mashchenko E.N. 2021. Morphometric and genetic analyses of diversity of the Lena horse (Equus lenensis Russanov, 1968; Mammalia: Equidae) // Russian J. Theriol. Vol.20. No.1. P.82–95. doi: 10.15298/rusjtheriol.20.1.09.