A New Late Pleistocene Avifauna from Yakutia (Eastern Siberia)

A new fossil avifauna, dated to an unspecified Upper Pleistocene, is reported from the Khondu locality discovered recently in central Yakutia. Based on materials collected in 2023 and 2024, at least 25 bird taxa from the families Phasianidae (Lagopus lagopus), Anatidae (ten species), Podicipedidae (two species), Scolopacidae (five species), Accipitridae (Buteo sp. and Circus sp.), Alaudidae (Eremophila alpestris), and Turdidae (one species) were identified. The fauna is the northernmost representative Pleistocene fossil bird fauna in Eastern Siberia and the second one from Yakutia. The avifauna of Khondu is generally similar to that from Upper Pleistocene layers of the Dyuktai Cave (southeastern Yakutia), but differs in the presence of several species. In particular, the common pochard Aythya ferina was found, indicating more favorable environmental conditions during the formation of the taphocenosis. The presence of arboreal vegetation is inferred from the finds of goldeneye Bucephala clangula remains, including those of subadult individuals. Of particular interest are the finds of two wader species, the ringed plover Charadrius hiaticula and the Far Eastern curlew Numenius madagascariensis. This is the first find of the ringed plover in the Pleistocene of Asia, and the first find of the Far Eastern curlew in the fossil record.