The objects of the study were fossilised bone remains of tortoises extracted from the soil during excavations in the Binagadi bitumen deposit and suburban summer cottages of Absheron. The material was collected and processed during the period from 2020 to 2023 during expeditionary and laboratory researches. The study of the material revealed a large number of bone fragments. The generic and species affiliation of the discovered bone fragments of tortoises was established. The study of the skeletal remains of tortoises found in the Binagadi bitumen deposit in the Late Pleistocene layer (the Late Dryas) and its comparison with the bones of tortoises found in the Holocene layer (the Middle Subatlantic period) on Absheron allowed assuming that the climate at the end of the Pleistocene was cooler and more humid than in the Holocene. This was indicated by some changes in the morphology of the bony shell of tortoises: a decrease in the indices of the ratio of shell length to its width and height, as well as the width of the shell to its height; changes in the size proportions of some bone plates of the carapace and plastron. All these changes presumably reflect some intensification of the adaptation processes associated with significant climate changes in Azerbaijan in general and in its eastern part particularly during the specified geological period (more than 0.012 million years ago).

Keywords: bitumen deposit, fossil remains, tortoises, morphology, bones, microstructure

REFERENCES

Alekperov AM (1978) Amphibians and reptiles of Azerbaijan. Elm, Baku p 272 (in Russian)

Alekperov AM, Khazatsky LI (1977) Structural features of the Greek tortoise’s shell. Scientific Notes of Azerbaijan State University, Biology Series 4:43–49 (in Russian)

Alizadeh AkA (2024) Current status of paleontological-stratigraphic studies in Azerbaijan. ANAS Transactions, Earth Sciences 1:9–27. https://doi.org/10.33677/ggianas20240100106

Ananyeva NB, Borkin LYa, Darevskij IS et al (1998) Amphibians and reptiles. Encyclopaedia of Russian Nature. ABF, Moscow, p 576 (in Russian)

Bannikov AG, Darevsky SI, Ishchenko VG et al (1977) A Guide to the amphibians and reptiles of the USSR. Prosveshchenie, Moscow, p 416 (in Russian)

Bogachev VV (1938) Discovery of post-Tertiary mammalian fauna in the vicinity of Baku. Priroda 7/8:150 (in Russian)

Bogachev VV (1939) Latest news on the discovery of fossil-bearing layers in the vicinity of Baku. Priroda 1:83 (in Russian)

Burchak-Abramovich NI (1966) A study of the Pleistocene fauna of the Caucasus (Fossil Birds). Proceedings of the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan SSR, Earth Sciences Series 6:38–42

Caroll R (1992) Vertebrate palaeontology and evolution. Tom 1. Mir, Moscow, p 280 (in Russian)

Castanet J, Smirina EM (1990) Introduction to the skeletochronological method in amphibians and reptiles. Annales des Sciences Naturelles, Zoologie 11(4):191–196 (in French)

Chkhikvadze VM (2010) Annotated catalog of Paleogene, Neogene and recent turtles of Northern Eurasia. Georgian National Museum, Bulletin of the Natural Sciences and Prehistory Section 2: 95–111 (in Russian)

Chkhikvadze VM, Tuniev BS (1986) On the systematic position of the modern terrestrial tortoise of the Western Caucasus. Bulletin of the Academy of Sciences of the Georgian SSR 124(3):617–620 (in Russian)

Jafarov RD (1966) The Binagadi fossil vertebrate fauna. Proceedings of the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan SSR, Earth Sciences Series 1:50–56 (in Russian)

Dzerzhinsky FY (2005) Comparative anatomy of vertebrates. Aspect-Press, Moscow, p 320 (in Russian)

Eybatov TM, Zeyniev OA, Mustafaev IM et al (2015) New findings of Anser erythropus L. in Pleistocene Binagadi limestone deposits in Azerbaijan. Proceedings of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences, The Sciences of Earth 1-2:43–47 (in Russian)

Eybatov TM, Gadzhiev DV (2022) Fossil and modern pinnipeds of Azerbaijan. ANAS Transactions, Earth Sciences 1:106-118; https://doi.org/10.33677/ggianas20220100077

Eydlin AL (1971) On certain new possibilities for forensic medical differentiation of human and animal bones. Abstract of a PhD thesis in Medical Sciences. Moscow, p15 (in Russian)

Fritz U, Keller C, Budde M (1996) A new subspecies of the European pond turtle from south-western Spain, Emys orbicularis hispanica subsp. nov. Salamandra 32(3):129–152 (in German)

Fritz U, Hundsdörfer AK, Široký P et al (2007) Phenotypic plasticity leads to incongruence between morphology-based taxonomy and genetic differentiation in western Palaearctic tortoises (Testudo graeca complex; Testudines, Testudinidae). Amphibia-Reptilia 28: 97–121. https://doi.org/10.1163/156853807779799135

Golubovich LL (1991) Current possibilities for forensic identification of individuals using bones exposed to high temperatures. Abstract of a PhD thesis in Medical Sciences, p 48 (in Russian)

Gurtovoy NN, Matveev BS, Dzerzhinsky FY (1978) Practical zoology of vertebrates (Amphibians, Reptiles). Vysshaya Shkola, Moscow, p 406 (in Russian)

Halilov NYu (2003) A journey to the Kirmakinskaya Valley. Newspaper: Vyshka 15, 18 April (in Russian)

Hammer Ø, Harper DAT, Ryan PD (2001) PAST: Paleontological statistics software package for education and data analysis. Palaeontologia Electronica 4(1):1–9

Kartashev NN, Sokolov VE, Shilov IA (2004) Practical course in vertebrate zoology. Aspekt press, Moscow, p 384 (in Russian)

Klevezal GA (2007) Principles and methods of age determination of mammals. KMK Scientific Publications Association, Moscow,  p 283 (in Russian)

Mejen SV, Makridin VP, Stepanov DL (1988) Modern palaeontology. A reference guide. Volume 1. Methods, approaches, issues, and practical applications. Nedra, Moscow, p 540 (in Russian)

Novruzov NE (2016) Biological and morphoecological characteristics of tortoises (Reptilia, Testudines) in the arid regions of eastern Azerbaijan. Abstract of a PhD thesis in Biology, p 20 (in Russian)

Novruzov NE, Taptygova KA, Eybatov TM (2024) New records of arthropod fragments (Arachnida, Insecta) from Late Pleistocene bitumen deposits of the Absheron (Azerbaijan). ANAS Transactions, Earth Sciences  1:145‐157. https://doi.org/10.33677/ggianas20240100116 (in Russian)

Parham JF, Feldman CR, Boore JL (2006) The complete mitochondrial genome of the enigmatic bigheaded turtle (Platysternon): description of unusual genomic features and the reconciliation of phylogenetic hypotheses based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA. BMC Evolutionary Biology 6(11). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-6-11

Pereskholnik SL, Leonteva OA (2014) Testudo zarudnyi: an ancient relict species in the eastern part of the Testudo graeca complex’s range. Second All-Russian Conference ‘Contemporary Problems of Biological Evolution’. Moscow (11–14 March) (in Russian)

Pieh A, Perälä J (2002) Variation amongTestudo graeca Linnaeus, 1758 in eastern North Africa, with a description of a new taxon from Cyrenaica (North-East Libya). Herpetozoa, 15(1/2):3–28 (in German)

Romer A, Parsons T (1992) Anatomy of the vertebrates. Mir, Moscow, p 358 (in Russian)

Rubezhansky AF, Nedilko ES (1972) A new method for the objective assessment of the degree of mineralization of exhumed bone tissue. In: "Physical and technical methods in forensic medicine." Moscow—Stavropol, No 128, p 127 (in Russian)

Serebrovsky PV (1945) Birds of the Binagadi bats. Proceedings of the Natural History Museum of the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan SSR, 1:27–85 (in Russian)

Serebrovsky PV (1948) Birds of the Binagadi brea deposits. Proceedings of the Natural History Museum of the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan SSR, I-II:21–75 (in Russian)

Smirina EM (1989) Methodology for determining the age of amphibians and reptiles based on bone layers. A Guide to the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. Kyiv, p 144–153 (in Russian)

Smirina EM (1994) Age determination and longevity in amphibians. Gerontology 40(2-4):133–146

Titov SV, Smirnov DG, Kurmaeva NM (2011) A Guide to the anatomy of vertebrates. Part 1. The skeleton. Penza, VG Belinsky Penza State Pedagogical University Press, p 78 (in Russian)

Vasilyev VA, Korsunenko AV, Pereshkolnik SL, Mazanaeva LF et al (2014) Differentiation of tortoises of the genera Testudo and Agrionemys (Testudinidae) based on the polymorphism of nuclear and mitochondrial markers. Genetika 50(10):1200–1215 (in Russian)

Velichko AA (2009) Paleoclimates and paleolandscapes of the northern hemisphere’s non-tropical regions: Late Pleistocene–Holocene: Atlas and Monograph. GEOS, Moscow, p 120 (in Russian)

Zagumenov MN (2021) The construction of skeletons in vertebrates. Publishing Center of Udmurt University. Izhevsk, p 54 (in Russian)