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The skull fragment of muskox Ovibos moschatus (Artiodactyla, Bovidae) obtained from Chasha River bed alluvium near the Buryn (Sumy Region, North-Eastern Ukraine) is described here in detail. It belongs to a young male, and presumably dates back to Late Pleistocene. This new find slightly extends the known Ukrainian range of the species to the east. Taxonomic attribution of extinct muskox and dispersal of Ovibos moschatus within the territory of Ukraine during the Late Pleistocene are also discussed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents analytical results of the study of numerous freshwater fish fossils from almost 40 localities in the territory of southeastern Europe. It has been established that freshwater fishes can be regarded as parastratigraphic group suitable for biostratigraphic studies. Ten ichthyofaunal assemblages have been distinguished and characterized in the paper. These assemblages represent successive developmental stages in freshwater fish communities within southeastern Europe during the late Miocene, Pliocene and Pleistocene. Indices of evolutionary transformations (extinction rate, origination rate, taxonomic rotation) for ichthyofaunal assemblages have been calculated, and their trend is discussed herein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents analytical results of the study of adaptatiogenesis within the family Arvicolidae (Mammalia, Rodentia) based of morphological changes of the most functional characters of their masticatory apparatus -- dental system -- through time. The main directions of the morphological differentiation in parallel evolution of the arvicolid tooth type within the Cricetidae and Arvicolidae during late Miocene and Pliocene were identified and substantiated. It is shown that such unique morphological structure as the arvicolid tooth type has provided a relatively high rate of evolution of voles and a wide range of their adaptive radiation, as well as has determined their taxonomic and ecological diversity. The optimality of the current state of this group and evaluation of evolutionary prospects of Arvicolidae were presented and substantiated here as a phenomenon in their evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper deals with results of the study of porgy fish (Sparidae) remains from the upper Miocene, lower and upper Pliocene, and the lower Pleistocene of Ukraine. Isolated molariform teeth were assigned to Pagrus cinctus, Pagrus sp., as well as to Sparidae? gen. et sp. indet. These findings expand our knowledge of the species composition of the Late Cenozoic fish assemblages of Southeastern Europe and force partially reconsider conclusions formulated earlier about their environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new species of pikeperch from the Upper Miocene strata of Ukraine (Egorovka 2 locality, MN 12) is described in the paper. Extinct species Sander svetovidovi sp. n. differs from the Miocene and recent taxa of the genus Sander by the configuration of the quadrate bone, form and sizes of the lateral condyle and also presence of additional double crista on the anterior inferior edge of quadratum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new fossil species Perca neopleistocenica Kovalchuk, sp. n. from Southern Ukraine is described. It differs from other species of the genus by width and configuration of praeoperculum, and also by quantity of cogs on the posterior edge of os praeoperculare [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]