The first evidence of dental abnormalities in the Early Pleistocene Tamanian elephant Archidiskodon meridionalis tamanensis (Proboscidea: Elephantidae) from Sinyaya Balka/Bogatyri locality, Taman Peninsula

Cases of dental abnormalities in the late Early Pleistocene meridionaloid elephant Archidiskodon meridionalis tamanensis Dubrovo, 1964 from the Sinyaya Balka/Bogatyri locality (Taman Peninsula, Krasnodar Territory, Russia) are described for the first time. A total of 231 samples were examined, of which 31 were premolars and 200 were molars. Approximately 8% (totalling 18 specimens) of the dental specimens exhibited signs of abnormality. The most frequent dental abnormality cases were related to atypical wear of the occlusal surface and disorders in the typical dental progression in the jaw, without clear evidence of pathology. Some specimens have curved chewing surfaces formed during the process of functioning. Molars express uneven erasure of the enamel when the plates are strongly erased on one side and much weaker on the other. In several molars, plate displacement at the posterior end was observed, resembling patterns seen in woolly mammoths. The study also documents two notable cases of supernumerary (additional) teeth.