The first find of Canadian otter in Pleistocene of Siberia

Krasnoyrsk speleologists discovered Beliy Gorod a new cave near Krasnoyarsk in 2011. The cave get such name by virtue of the white rock mass included the cavern. The first survey of the cavern, imperceptible from outside, gave the several dozen of large bone with Pleistocene preservation and artifact in the form of a Tagar bronze dagger. The typical of Siberia the Pleistocene mammal species were identified: the woolly rhinoceros, bison, cave lion and hyena, bear, wolf, wolverine. Cave taphocoenosis seems unique: the commom in the Yenisei River valley and coasts of Krasnoyarsk reservoir species are scarce in caverns near Krasnoyarsk. The scientific literature refers to subsequently lost cave, discovered by P.S.Proskuryakov in Torgashinsky ridge near Krasnoyarsk in 1893. There were the bones of cave hyena, rhinoceros, mammoth and ungulates. But, the find of Canadian otter from the Beliy Gorod cave was the real paleonthological and zoogeographical discovery. The remains presented by bones from no less than four individuals, died naturally. G.F. Baryshnikov identified the species by the photo of baculum. The Os penis (baculum) of Canadian otter significantly differ from otter''s (Lutra Lutra) by shape and larger size. The origin of Canadian otter is associated with South Eastern Asia. It is one more evidence that land vertebrata migrated across the Bering land bridge, perhaps, in Pliocene - Early Pleistocene time. We present here the morphometric data of the osteological collection, consisted of Canadian otter remains and obtained in Beliy Gorod cave.