One or Two: How Many Species of the Genus Pyrrhocorax (Passeriformes, Corvidae) Inhabited the Crimea During the Late Pleistocene?

The article provides an overview of bird remains assigned to the genus Pyrrhocorax Tunstall, 1771 from nine cave sites of Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene age within the Crimean Peninsula (Ukraine). A large sample of chough bones from the Emine-Bair-Khosar Cave (722 bones) is processed and the re...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: L. Gorobets, О. Kovalchuk, B. Ridush
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Publishing House "Akademperiodyka" 2023-02-01
Series:Zoodiversity
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ojs.akademperiodyka.org.ua/index.php/Zoodiversity/article/view/427
_version_ 1797404298392371200
author L. Gorobets
О. Kovalchuk
B. Ridush
author_facet L. Gorobets
О. Kovalchuk
B. Ridush
author_sort L. Gorobets
collection DOAJ
description The article provides an overview of bird remains assigned to the genus Pyrrhocorax Tunstall, 1771 from nine cave sites of Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene age within the Crimean Peninsula (Ukraine). A large sample of chough bones from the Emine-Bair-Khosar Cave (722 bones) is processed and the results obtained are presented here for the first time. Re-identification of the remains revealed the presence of the Alpine chough Pyrrhocorax graculus in the studied region instead of two species of the genus Pyrrhocorax as previously believed. The material processed was assigned to an extinct subspecies – Pyrrhocorax graculus vetus – based on a series of measurements taken from various skeletal elements (in particular, coracoideum, humerus, ulna, radius, carpometacarpus, femur, tibiotarsus, and tarsometatarsus). The previous assumptions of the coexistence of two chough species in the Crimea during the Late Pleistocene made it possible to consider climate in this region as relatively warm. Our results indirectly revealed that the climate of the Crimean Peninsula at the verge of the Late Pleistocene and Holocene was rather cool and therefore unsuitable for the red-billed chough.
first_indexed 2024-03-09T02:52:56Z
format Article
id doaj.art-2e6712245e144e2a98ea90f969123b3f
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2707-725X
2707-7268
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-09T02:52:56Z
publishDate 2023-02-01
publisher Publishing House "Akademperiodyka"
record_format Article
series Zoodiversity
spelling doaj.art-2e6712245e144e2a98ea90f969123b3f2023-12-05T08:26:56ZengPublishing House "Akademperiodyka"Zoodiversity2707-725X2707-72682023-02-0157210.15407/zoo2023.02.151427One or Two: How Many Species of the Genus Pyrrhocorax (Passeriformes, Corvidae) Inhabited the Crimea During the Late Pleistocene?L. Gorobets0О. Kovalchuk1B. Ridush2Department of Palaeontology, National Museum of Natural History NAS of UkraineDepartment of Palaeontology, National Museum of Natural History NAS of UkraineDepartment of Physical Geography, Geomorphology and Palaeogeography, Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, UkraineThe article provides an overview of bird remains assigned to the genus Pyrrhocorax Tunstall, 1771 from nine cave sites of Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene age within the Crimean Peninsula (Ukraine). A large sample of chough bones from the Emine-Bair-Khosar Cave (722 bones) is processed and the results obtained are presented here for the first time. Re-identification of the remains revealed the presence of the Alpine chough Pyrrhocorax graculus in the studied region instead of two species of the genus Pyrrhocorax as previously believed. The material processed was assigned to an extinct subspecies – Pyrrhocorax graculus vetus – based on a series of measurements taken from various skeletal elements (in particular, coracoideum, humerus, ulna, radius, carpometacarpus, femur, tibiotarsus, and tarsometatarsus). The previous assumptions of the coexistence of two chough species in the Crimea during the Late Pleistocene made it possible to consider climate in this region as relatively warm. Our results indirectly revealed that the climate of the Crimean Peninsula at the verge of the Late Pleistocene and Holocene was rather cool and therefore unsuitable for the red-billed chough.https://ojs.akademperiodyka.org.ua/index.php/Zoodiversity/article/view/427alpine coughcave sitesbone morphologymorphometryquaternaryeurope
spellingShingle L. Gorobets
О. Kovalchuk
B. Ridush
One or Two: How Many Species of the Genus Pyrrhocorax (Passeriformes, Corvidae) Inhabited the Crimea During the Late Pleistocene?
Zoodiversity
alpine cough
cave sites
bone morphology
morphometry
quaternary
europe
title One or Two: How Many Species of the Genus Pyrrhocorax (Passeriformes, Corvidae) Inhabited the Crimea During the Late Pleistocene?
title_full One or Two: How Many Species of the Genus Pyrrhocorax (Passeriformes, Corvidae) Inhabited the Crimea During the Late Pleistocene?
title_fullStr One or Two: How Many Species of the Genus Pyrrhocorax (Passeriformes, Corvidae) Inhabited the Crimea During the Late Pleistocene?
title_full_unstemmed One or Two: How Many Species of the Genus Pyrrhocorax (Passeriformes, Corvidae) Inhabited the Crimea During the Late Pleistocene?
title_short One or Two: How Many Species of the Genus Pyrrhocorax (Passeriformes, Corvidae) Inhabited the Crimea During the Late Pleistocene?
title_sort one or two how many species of the genus pyrrhocorax passeriformes corvidae inhabited the crimea during the late pleistocene
topic alpine cough
cave sites
bone morphology
morphometry
quaternary
europe
url https://ojs.akademperiodyka.org.ua/index.php/Zoodiversity/article/view/427
work_keys_str_mv AT lgorobets oneortwohowmanyspeciesofthegenuspyrrhocoraxpasseriformescorvidaeinhabitedthecrimeaduringthelatepleistocene
AT okovalchuk oneortwohowmanyspeciesofthegenuspyrrhocoraxpasseriformescorvidaeinhabitedthecrimeaduringthelatepleistocene
AT bridush oneortwohowmanyspeciesofthegenuspyrrhocoraxpasseriformescorvidaeinhabitedthecrimeaduringthelatepleistocene