Etruscan Wolf Canis etruscus (Canidae, Carnivora) from the Early Pleistocene of Crimea (Taurida Cave)

A V Lavrov; M V Sotnikova; D O Gimranov; J Madurell-Malapeira; A V Lopatin

doi:10.1134/S0012496624701308

Etruscan Wolf Canis etruscus (Canidae, Carnivora) from the Early Pleistocene of Crimea (Taurida Cave)

Dokl Biol Sci. 2024 Oct 11. doi: 10.1134/S0012496624701308. Online ahead of print.

Authors

A V Lavrov¹, M V Sotnikova², D O Gimranov³, J Madurell-Malapeira⁴, A V Lopatin¹

Affiliations

¹ Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia.
² Geological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia.
³ Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Yekaterinburg, Russia. djulfa250@rambler.ru.
⁴ Earth Science Department, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.

PMID: 39400891
DOI: 10.1134/S0012496624701308

Abstract

The cranial and mandibular fragments of the medium-sized canid from the Early Pleistocene locality of Taurida cave (about 1.8-1.5 Ma) in Crimea are described and included in the hypodigm of the species Canis etruscus Forsyth Major, 1877, a common member of the Late Villafranchian fauna of the Circum-Mediterranean region. This species is reported for the first time from the Northern Black Sea region. The discovered evidence reinforce previous published idea regarding the periodically use of the Taurida cave by canids and other large predators as a den and shelter.

Keywords: Canis etruscus; Crimea; Early Pleistocene; Taurida cave; evolution; molars; premolars.