The first radiocarbon dated steppe polecat (Mustela eversmanii) from the Pleistocene of Poland

The mandible of a steppe polecat was found during excavation in Deszczowa Cave (Częstochowa Upland, southern Poland) in 2011. Direct radiocarbon dating gave an age of 21 920 ± 150 BP (not calibrated), indicating the earliest part of the Last Glacial Maximum (MIS 3/MIS 2). The association of the steppe polecat with other steppe and tundra taxa from the same layer confirms that this species was an element of the widespread steppe-tundra ecosystem in East Europe during Late Pleistocene. There is no evidence of sousliks in the layer with the steppe polecat fossil.