Pleistocene Walrus Odobenus rosmarus (L., 1758) Discovered in Northern European Russia (Pechora River)

Abstract

A fragment of a walrus skull of Neopleistocene age was found at a distance of about 340 km from the mouth of the Pechora River. The skull presumably belonged to a mature male Atlantic walrus 13–14 years old. The radiocarbon date of the walrus bone shows an age outside the method’s range (>45 Ka). Nitrogen and carbon isotope data from skull collagen are discussed. The reason for the appearance of the walrus far from the modern sea shore was, presumably, the Rodionovo (Shklov, MIS 7) or boreal Sula (Mikulino, MIS 5e) marine transgression into the area of the latitudinal part of the Pechora River. The relatively good preservation of the bone testifies in favor of the Sula marine transgression. The Rodionovo age of the walrus can be assumed on the basis of the presence of shallow water marine deposits lying between two Middle Pleistocene moraines—Pechora (Dnieper, MIS 8) and Vychegda (Moscow, MIS 6).