Annotation of the results obtained in 2020
A new concept of the evolution of ostriches and their closest relatives in the Neogene and Pleistocene of the Old World has been developed, the temporal and geographical distribution of individual forms has been established, the history of the formation of modern species has been reconstructed. Based on the study of fossil eggshells and bone remains, the following picture of the evolution of the group was revealed: the oldest representatives of ostriches appear in the fossil record in the early Miocene of Africa (about 21 million years ago) and may be related by their origin to this region and epoch. In the Middle Miocene (about 15 million years), these forms reached northern Africa and penetrated into Eurasia, where a little later (at the end of the Middle Miocene, 12-11 million years) they received a wide geographical distribution - representatives of this line were found, in particular, in the Middle Miocene of Mongolia and India. At the beginning of the Late Miocene (about 11-9 million years), an intensive diversification of ostriches is noted in the Anatolian region, which led to the formation of several forms with various types of shells and the appearance of large-sized forms. The phylogenetic line of the giant ostriches Pachystruthio is historically associated with the Late Miocene ostriches of Transcaucasia. Later (in the Pliocene and especially in the early Pleistocene, 1.6-1.2 million years ago), these birds, characterized by an extraordinary massive skeleton, will become widespread in Eurasia - from central Europe to China. This lineage also includes the giant bird P. dmanisensis, recently found in the Crimean cave of Taurida, which is the largest bird in the Northern Hemisphere. Evolution in a different phylogenetic line led to the formation of medium-sized ostriches with an intermediate shell type - these forms in the Late Miocene were most widespread in Eurasia, from Iberia to China. Short-toed ancestors of modern species originate from medium-sized Late Miocene ostriches with an intermediate type of eggshell - for the first time a shell similar to the modern one appears in the Late Miocene of the western Black Sea region (Moldova, northern Romania). In the early Pliocene, these short-toed ostriches entered Africa, where they replace the ancient lines that existed there. These populations have survived to the present day as the Somali ostrich S. molybdophanes. The common ostrich (S. camelus) is the result of an independent subsequent introduction of non-specialized Eurasian descendants into Africa in the Pleistocene (possibly in several waves). It is shown for the first time that modern southeastern Europe (the region of the northern and northwestern Black Sea coast) during periods of climate drying in the Late Miocene was not only populated by newcomers from ancient Asian foci of open landscapes, but also was an area of noticeable evolution and diversification of all groups of vertebrates. The developed hypothesis connects the evolutionary significance of this geographical area, first of all, with the localization of the border between biomes here: forest and open savanna-like landscapes. The fluctuation of this boundary in time and space, accompanied by the spatial differentiation of plant associations, led, according to the developed hypothesis, to the formation of mosaic biotopes and fragmentation of ancestral vertebrate populations - this is seen as the main reason for the observed autochthonous evolution. At the same time, an unexpected evolutionary potential of autochthonous forms was noted, associated with their so-called "euadaptive" nature (slowly formed and therefore highly coordinated adaptations). A new subspecies of the fossil European water buffalo from the Late Pleistocene of the Moscow region (about 12.8 thousand years ago) has been described. This is the northernmost finding of buffalo in Northeastern Europe, as well as the latest, and is the first time evidence of the existence of this thermophilic species in relatively northern “cold-loving” mammoth faunas (earlier this species was considered extinct by the end of the Late Pleistocene). The concept of dispersion and evolution of water buffaloes in Europe was developed, according to which these animals penetrated into the Ponto-Caspian region from Asia on the border of Villafrancian and Galerian (somewhat earlier than 1 million years ago), where they continued to exist until the end of the Late Pleistocene. The appearance of the buffalo Bubalus murrensis in Western and Northeastern Europe in the Middle and Late Pleistocene corresponds to the historical episodes of the expansion of this species during the periods of relatively warm climates. The extinction of the species at the border of the Pleistocene and Holocene is associated with local instability of the paleoenvironment, global climate changes, and also, probably, with the increased activity of Paleolithic hunters.

 

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Annotation of the results obtained in 2018
New forms of vertebrates from a number of localities of the Miocene-Pleistocene age of the northern and eastern Black Sea region are found and described. The finds of these forms significantly expand the previous understanding of the biota and ecosystems of the Late Cenozoic of Eastern Europe. In the early Pleistocene locality of the Tavrida cave in the central Crimea remains of giant flightless birds, previously unknown for the territory of our country, were found and described. In size, the giant Crimean bird (Pachystruthio dmanisensis) was significantly larger than the modern ostrich and was comparable in weight to the extinct Madagascar aepyornis. The reconstructed weight (over 400 kg) indicates that it was one of the largest birds ever lived on Earth (the third largest after the largest aepyornis and Miocene Australian dromornithids) and the only truly giant bird in Europe. In terms of weight, Pachystruthio was significantly superior, in particular, to giant moas. Some other previously known bones from the Early Pleistocene of Georgia and Hungary, previously described as "giant ostriches", are referred to Pachystruthio dmanisensis. However, attempts to reconstruct the weight of these birds prior to our work has not been undertaken. The wide distribution of Pachystruthio in the early Pleistocene of Eastern Europe indicates that this was apparently a typical component of the biocenoses of the time when this territory was inhabited by the first representatives of the genus Homo. Undoubtedly, these birds should have been a source of meat, feather, fluff and eggshell for ancient people. A new species of fossil giant frogs of the genus Latonia (Anura: Alytidae) from the Late Miocene locality of Wolf's Balka (Northern Caucasus, MN 11) is described. Latonia caucasica Syromyatnikova et Roček, 2018 is the first reliable discovery of giant frogs in Russia. From the Late Miocene of the North Caucasus, a representative of the genus Palaeobatrachus fossil water frogs is described - this is the most eastern find of paleobatrachids in Europe. The inclusion of the last three trunk vertebrae in the Caucasian Palaeobatrachus in the sacral region shows that these frogs had an extreme degree of adaptation to water conditions already in the late Miocene. Filling the gap in the distribution of paleobatrahid, the Caucasian discovery allows us to reject the recent hypothesis about the Asian migration of these frogs to Europe in the late Miocene. Remains of reptiles (Anduidae, Varanidae and Amphisbaenia) are described from the Late Miocene of Solnechnodolsk (Stavropol Territory): Anguis cf. rarus and Ophisaurus cf. spinari, which were not previously known for this region and age. Varanids, being quite thermophilic animals, suggest that the average annual temperature in the area of Solnechnodolsk in the Late Miocene did not fall below 15 ° C. The remains of large mammals from the location of Fortep'yanka 2 in the North Caucasus (Adygea Republic) are described. The presence of a small deer of the genus Euprox from the tribe Dicrocerini of the subfamily Muntiacinae and a small bovine Protragocerus from the tribe Boselaphini of the subfamily Bovinae is shown. The presence of representatives of these genera, together with early hipparions, made it possible to clarify the age of the terrestrial fauna of vertebrates from the consolidated section on the Fortep'yanka 2. The ruminant association indicates the preservation of a rather humid environmental conditions and indicates that the Fortep'yanka fauna is older than 11.2 million liters. Reconnaissance fieldwork was carried out on sections of Late Cenozoic continental sediments on the r. Belaya, in the area between the city of Maykop and the city of Belorechensk - a number of vertebrate locations promising for further development were discovered.

 

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Annotation of the results obtained in 2019
A variety of fossil Late Miocene reptiles of the North Cis-Сaucasia was studied. The first find of the fossil cobra for the territory of Russia and the Northern Black Sea Region is described – the record represents a large Miocene species that completely disappeared in Western and Central Europe, but persisted in the refugium on the eastern borders of the range in Eastern Europe. The vertebra from the locality of Solnechnodolsk belonged to the fossil species Naja romani and represents the latest find of this Miocene species in the fossil record. The large size of the cobra from Solnechnodolsk in comparison with the more ancient finds of this species indicates a gradual increase in body weight in the Naja romani lineage during the Miocene. In combination with the presence of a fossil monitor lizard, the existence of a cobra in the terminal Miocene of Solnechnodolsk indicates the presence of warm subtropical climatic conditions. The remains of fossil lizards from the Late Miocene of Solnechnodolsk, a key locality of the Neogene herpethofaunas, illustrating the transition from archaic early Neogene communities to modern type associations, are described. Lizards from Solnechnodolsk are represented by a series of well-preserved bones indistinguishable from modern trilinear lizards that inhabit the eastern Mediterranean, Western Asia and the North Caucasus. This is the first record of the presence of this or morphologically close species already in the terminal Miocene of Eastern Europe. Long-tailed skinks from the Mabuyidae group, one of the largest among the modern diversity of skinks (up to 12% of species), but not previously presented in the pre-Quaternary fossil record, are also common in the fauna of the locality. Well-preserved diagnostic fragments are very close to Heremites vittatus, a species that is now widespread in the southern and southeastern parts of the Mediterranean, but in the fossil state, like the genus Heremites as a whole, was not previously known. Our data indicate the existence of this phylogenetic line already in the Late Miocene and provide a reliable basis for the calibration of molecular clocks. For the first time, the presence of a fossil buffalo in the Pleistocene on the Russian Plain is recorded. A description of the unique Late Pleistocene fossil skull of a buffalo of about 12.8 thousand years, found back in 1939 in the vicinity of Kolomna in the Moscow region, is published. This find is only the third evidence of the existence of buffaloes in the European part of Russia in the Pleistocene, while the two previous finds belonged to the southern borders of the region (Taman Peninsula, Crimea). This finding indicates the invasion of buffaloes into the central part of the Russian Plain about 13 thousand years ago due to mild climatic conditions and the existence of numerous river and lake systems and suitable plant communities (including riverine broad-leaved forests). New finds of ruminant mammals (Artiodactyla, Ruminantia) from the recently discovered and poorly studied location of Fortepianka-2 in the North Caucasus (Republic of Adygea) have been published. A comprehensive bio-chronological analysis of the fauna made it possible to clarify the age of the terrestrial fauna of Fortepianca and reconstruct the natural environmental conditions. Joint presence of Euprox sp. and Protragocerus sp. with hipparion S. nagriensis indicates the Early Wallisian age of the fauna (10.7–9.8 million years ago). The association of ruminants Euprox – Protragocerus, as well as the presence of a beaver, indicate the preservation of rather humid environmental conditions. Analysis of new materials on cetaceans from the Late Miocene Polevoe locality in the northwestern Caucasus (Republic of Adygea) made it possible to judge the presence in this locality of a significant accumulation of skeletal elements of several individuals of this cetacean species buried in the reef thickness. The position of the skeletons in the osseous stratum indicates the absence of prolonged transport and allows this taphocenosis to be attributed to cetacean ejection fields - a very rare phenomenon for the fossil record and poorly studied for cetacean fossils. Findings from Polevoe indicate a case of mass ejection of young Zygiocetus nartorum onto a sandbank formed by bioherm reefs. This is a rare case when ejected whales buried very quickly. The study of seal coprolites collected during field work organized in the framework of this project in the late Miocene locations of the North Caucasus and Crimea showed the prospect of studying such material using X-ray microtomaging methods and showed the predominance of fish in the diet of fossil Miocene seals of eastern Paratethys. A revision of the rich fossil diversity of small phasianid birds (Galliformes: Phasianidae) of the Late Cenozoic (Miocene-Pleistocene) of Eastern Europe revealed the presence of several species and genera instead of previously recognized single taxon Plioperdix pontica. In the most ancient Miocene layers there are extinct representatives of bamboo partridges from the genus Bambusicola, now inhabiting southern Asia. In the early Pliocene, the most common primitive quail Plioperdix pontica dominate, which at the end of the Pliocene and the beginning of the Pleistocene are replaced by several more poorly studied forms of small pheasants. The morphological diversity of the Late Cenozoic pheasant, whose remains are common in many localities of fossil fauna of terrestrial vertebrates, allows the use of this group of birds for biochronological interregional correlations.

 

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