The maximum geographic extension of Late Pleistocene Mammuthus primigenius (Proboscidea, Mammalia) and its limiting factors

摘要

The maximum geographic extension of fully developed woolly mammoth, Mammuthus primigenius, occurred during the last glacial period (MIS 5d-2), i.e. during the 110-14 ka interval. The mapping of the species' widest distribution reveals principal barriers to its expansion that were acting independent of short term environmental fluctuations. The maximum spread of M. primigenius was primarily controlled by the following trans-regional factors: (A) The configuration of inland glaciers; (B) The configuration of high mountain chains; (C) The configuration of semi-deserts and deserts; (D) The configuration of marine shorelines at year-round open water surfaces; (E) The exposure of continental shelf regions; and (F) The replacement of tundra-steppe by extended grasslands. Some of the biogeographic barriers were climate-independent; others were determined by long- or medium-term climatic processes. The effect of Eurasian and North American intra-continental steppes as obstacles to migration has not yet been fully elucidated.