On Pliocene faunas with Proboscideans in the territory of the former Soviet Union

In the territory of the former Soviet Union, remains of proboscideans are known in the Pliocene faunas from Moldova to Transbaikalia. They belong to four genera and seven species of four families: Deinotheriidae, Mammutidae, Gomphotheriidae and Elephantidae. During the early Pliocene, mammutid and gomphothere mastodonts prevailed. The first elephantids of the Archidiskodon-Mammuthus lineage dispersed together with other inhabitants of open landscapes in the south of that territory in the middle Pliocene (MN 16). The members of that lineage became widespread in the south of Northern Eurasia beginning from the late Pliocene (MN 17) after 2.5 Ma. Data on faunas with probocideans are analysed and the main proboscidean turnovers are traced.