Morphometric and genetic analyses of diversity of the Lena horse (Equus lenensis Russanov, 1968; Mammalia: Equidae)

Spasskaya N.N., Pavlinov I.Ya., Sharko F.S., Boulygina E.S., Tsygankova S.V., Nedoluzhko A.V., Boeskorov G.G., Mashchenko E.N.

P. 82-95

A pilot study of E. lenensis was carried out based on a small sample using a) standard morphometrics of the axial skull, mandible, the upper and lower cheek teeth; b) geometric morphometrics of the enamel crown patterns of the 1st upper and lower molars; c) molecular phylogenetic analysis with the complete mitochondrial genome sequencing. A certain morphological heterogeneity of E. lenensis by mostly dental and partly cranial characters was revealed. The study shows a necessity to reconsider species allocation of some records of Pleistocene horses in North East Siberia, and to carry out large-scale comprehensive revision of these materials using new approaches.DOI: 10.15298/rusjtheriol.20.1.09

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