Ancient DNA from a 2,700-year-old goitered gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa) confirms gazelle hunting in Iron Age Central Asia

Central Asia has been an important region connecting the different parts of Eurasia throughout history and prehistory, with large states developing in this region during the Iron Age. Archaeogenomics is a powerful addition to the zooarchaeological toolkit for understanding the relation of these societies to animals. Here, we present the genetic identification of a goitered gazelle specimen (Gazella subgutturosa) at the site Gazimulla-Tepa, in modern-day Uzbekistan, confirming hunting of the species in the region during the Iron Age. The sample was directly radiocarbon dated to 2724-2439 calBP. A phylogenetic analysis of the mitochondrial genome places the individual into the modern variation of G. subgutturosa. Our data does represent both the first ancient DNA and the first nuclear DNA sequences of this species. The lack of genomic resources available for this gazelle and related species prevented us from performing a more in-depth analysis of the nuclear sequences generated. Therefore, we are making our sequence data available to the research community to facilitate other research of this nowadays threatened species which has been subject to human hunting for several millennia across its entire range on the Asian continent.

Digit Bones (Acropodium) of Gazella (Gazella subgutturosa); Three-Dimensional Modelling and Morphometry

The present study was conducted to identify morphometric values and to reveal differences between sexes through three-dimensional modeling of digit bones (ossa phalanges) of gazella by using computed tomography images. A total of 14 (7 female, 7 male) adult gazella (Gazella subgutturosa) cadavers were used in the study. The images were extracted by scanning acropodium bones of gazella at 64-detector Multi Detector Computed Tomography (MDCT) in cross section thickness of 0.625mm. Using MIMICS 20.1 program, three-dimensional models of these images were prepared and morphometric measurements were taken. In GLpe and Bd measurements of Phalanx proximalis, a statistically significant difference was established between females and males in terms of the left forelimb internal, the right forelimb internal, the right forelimb external, and the right hindlimb external bones (P<0.05). There was a statistically significant difference between females and males in terms of volume of phalanx proximalis and surface area of the right forelimb internal phalanx proximalis (P<0.001). In GLpe measurements, a statistically significant difference was determined between females and males in terms of the left forelimb internal, the right forelimb internal, the right hindlimb internal, the left forelimb external, the right forelimb external, and the right hindlimb external phalanx media (P<0.05). A statistically significant difference was determined between females and males in terms of the data related to volume and surface areas of the left hindlimb internal the right hindlimb internal, the left hindlimb external, and the right hindlimb external phalanx distalis (P<0.05).

Ecological analysis of helminth fauna of wild artiodactyles (Mammalia: artiodactyla) in Karakalpakstan

The purpose of the research is studying current fauna of helminths in wild artiodactyls and analysis of their ecological relationships with populations of representatives of the Artiodactyla in biogeocenoses of Karakalpakstan.Materials and methods. Wild populations of artiodactyls were studied in 2016–2020 in the ecosystems of the Kyzyl Kum, Ustyurt and the lower reaches of the Amu Darya, including the drained bottom of the Aral Sea. Some killed animals (the saiga, Persian gazelle, and Bokharan deer) seized from poachers, as well as those killed by predators and feral dogs in the sanctuaries and reserves of Karakalpakstan were used to collect helminthological material. Wild boars were examined after shooting during the hunting season. A total of 11 saigas, 13 Persian gazelles, 7 Bokharan deer and 16 wild boars, and 213 fecal samples from these animals were examined. The studies were carried out using generally accepted methods of dissection (Skryabin, 1928; Ivashkin et al., 1971) and ovoscopy of animal feces. For a comparative analysis of helminth fauna of the study animals, we used previously collected (1959–1978) parasites from the wild boar, saiga, Persian gazelle and Bokharan deer in Karakalpakstan.Results and discussion. We have found that the fauna of the Artiodactyla is represented by the following 5 species in the biogeocenosis of Karakalpakstan: Sus scrofa nigripes Blan., Cervis elaphus bactrianus Lydek., Gazella subgutturosa Gueld., Saiga tatarica Linn., and Ovis orientalis arcal Gmel., in which we identified 26 helminth species classified as Cestoda, Trematoda and Nematoda. Cestodes are represented by 6 species, trematodes by 2 species, and nematodes by 18 species. The helminth species composition of the study animals is 14 species in pigs, 11 species in Bokharan deer, 13 species in saigas and 14 species in Persian gazelles. Representatives of the genera Taenia, Echinococcus, Fasciola, Schistosoma, Gongylonema and Setaria are common to these animal species. By nature of the biological cycle, the helminths of the study artiodactyls recorded by us can be divided into two groups: monoxenous and heteroxenous. Monoxenous parasites include representatives of the Trichocephalidae (3 species), Trichostrongylidae (2 species), Dictyocaulidae (2 species), Syphaciidae (1 species), and Ascarididae (1 species), whose life cycles proceed without changing hosts. Eighteen species of representatives of cestodes (6 species), trematodes (2 species) and nematodes (10 species) are developed with the involvement of intermediate hosts.