North Asian Pliocene-Pleistocene beremendiin shrews (Mammalia, Lipotyphla, Soricidae): a description of material from Russia (Siberia), Kazakhstan, and Mongolia and the paleobiology of Beremendia

Beremendiini is an extinct group of soricine shrews that were widely distributed during the Pliocene and Pleistocene. Their occurrence in China has been investigated, but their presence in North Asian regions has remained poorly studied. This paper analyzes 56 fossil remains of Beremendiini collected from 16 early Pliocene to Early Pleistocene localities in Russia (Siberia), Kazakhstan, and Mongolia and shows the presence of two beremendiin species: Beremendia fissidens and Beremendia minor. North Asian Beremendia considerably varies in size and qualitative characteristics, although most of the different states have been identified in European or Chinese specimens. Through the application of geometric morphometric techniques, mandibular shape analyses reveal similarities between the members of the beremendiin genera Peisorex, Beremendia, and Lunanosorex. Shape analyses and comparisons of mandibular characteristics reveal ‘trophic’ analogies between Beremendia and Blarina members and a n...