New data on distribution of musk ox Ovibos moschatus in the Late Pleistocene in the south-east of Western Siberia and the Minusinsk Depression

Abstract

. New data on the timing of the maximum distribution and diet of Ovibos moschatus in south Siberia in the Late Pleistocene are presented. The southern border of the range of musk ox in the West Siberian Plain during the Karginian time (Denekamp Interstadial, DEN) was located in the Tomsk Ob' River region. During the maximum cooling of the Sartanian time (LGM), the southern boundary of the range was limited by the Minusinsk Depression and the foothill plain of the Altai Mountains. Musk oxen of Tomsk Ob' River region had a normal diet similar to that of Pleistocene musk ox and reindeer, and slightly different from the diet of modern musk ox. The diet of musk ox from the Minusinsk Depression was different from that of both the Pleistocene and modern musk oxen, and it was close to that of horses and woolly rhinos. It is possible that the diet of musk ox from the Minusinsk Depression had higher content of in grass and willow. New data on distribution of musk ox Ovibos moschatus in the Late Pleistocene in the south-east of Western Siberia and the Minusinsk Depression