Researchers have explored a cave in Khakassia, in southern Siberia, which researchers believe was, for a long time, the lair of hyenas. “It is probably the largest hyena den in Asia,” reads a statement posted on the website of the Institute of Geology and Mineralogy VS Sobolev.
In total, paleontologists collected around 400 kg of bones, including two complete hyena skulls that were sent to Yekaterinburg.
Called Ineiskaya, the cave was untouched by humans for about 42,000 years and contained a vast amount of bones that belonged to different species of predators and prey from the Pleistocene epoch such as mammoths, rhinos, bison, deer, bears, foxes, wolves, gazelles and horses that inhabited the region at the time. Investigators also found remains of toads, toads, birds, fish.
“According to the remains of the Merck rhinoceros, it was possible to establish the date: 42 thousand years. In addition, the discoveries will also tell us about the flora and fauna of that time, what animals ate, what the climate was like in this area. We will also get important information from coprolites [fezes fossilizadas]”, reveals Dmitry Gimranov, a researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences.
According to the statement, the fact that the cave is a den of hyenas is confirmed by at least two facts: all the bones found there are gnawed and there are also several bones in anatomical order.
The findings will help to understand how hyena offspring grew, what they ate, how their baby teeth changed and “much more”, he concludes.
2023-07-04 15:00:27
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