Gg. Boeskorov, Systematics and distribution of sheep of the genus Ovis (Artiodactyla, Bovidae) in Eastern Siberia and the Far East in the Pleistocene and Holocene, ZOOL ZH, 80(2), 2001, pp. 243-256
The fossil and subfossil Siberian snow sheep, Ovis nivicola and giant (arga
li) sheep O. ammon found, are analyzed. Snow sheep were wide spread in the
late Pleistocene and early Holocene: their range covered most of eastern Si
beria and the Far East and the southern part of western Siberia. The argali
area in Siberia was also larger in that time than nowdays: they inhabited
the southern part of western and eastern Siberia up to the northern Transba
ikal territory and southwestern Yakutia. The most ancient form among the sh
eep inhabiting southern parts of eastern Siberia from the Eopleistocene was
argali-like. The Siberian snow sheep appears to originate from argali-like
sheep at the end of the early Pleistocene or the beginning of the Middle P
leistocene in the mountains of southern Siberia. In the Middle Pleistocene,
O. nivicola started settling to the north and northeast and reached Alaska
by the Bering land bridge. A comparison of fossil remains of O. nivicola f
rom Yakutia and Transbaikal region with the present subspecies O. n. lydekk
eri and O. n. nivicola testifies that the former are similar to the latter.
The fossil snow sheep from the southern part of western Siberia is worth c
onsidering as an independent subspecies (O. nivicola tomensis Gromova 1947)
. The validity of O. ammon fossilis Pavlova 1911, a fossil argali from Tran
sbaikal and Cisbaikal regions, is confirmed. An additional description of t
his species is given.