Large mammal faunas from southwestern Siberia of the Plio-Pleistocene boundary and Lower/Middle Pleistocene transition

Rich mammal fossil material from an almost continuous stratigraphic sequence in the Kuznetsk Basin allowed reconstruction of the rather detailed history of Quaternary faunas in Southwestern Siberia. Throughout the Pleistocene, faunas of open landscapes have been forming in the southeastern part of Western Siberia. Elephantidae, Equidae, and Bovidae are the most representative in terms of species number and amount of fossil material. Faunas of Early, Middle, and Late Pleistocene were defined in a stratigraphic section for the first time. The data were the basis for defining the Plio-Pleistocene boundary and the Lower/Middle Pleistocene transition in this region at the ages of 1.8 and 0.86 ma respectively. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.