Historiya i pouti rasseleniya sourkov (Marmota) [Histoire et dispersion des marmottes (Marmota). History and dispersal of marmots (Marmota)].

Résumé

There are confirmations of R. Hoffmann’s (1968) hypothesis about 2 waves, of marmots dispersal : 1) in Pliocene and 2) in Pleistocene-Holocene. In the second wave M. bobac bobac migrated to Europe during the cold epoch (Zimina, Gerasimov, 1971) but perhaps earlier the same process took part in the east, in Siberia and Mongolia. Ancestors of modern M. b. sibirica, M. b. kastschenco, M. camtschatica migrated (possible in warm epoch) to north and east. They, as the fossil M tologoica, M. nekipelovi (Erbaeva, 1970), developed also from eastern variants of "pro-bobac" and in late Pleistocene migrated to nortg-eastern Siberia and formed M. c. camtschatica and M. c. bunge. These forms adapted to short summer and freezen grounds. V.I. Kapitonov (1978) is right to believe the Bargousin marmot is separate species, but mean while I named this form as M. bobac doppelmayri. Also"pro-bobac" (his descendants M. b. baibacina, M. b.centralis and others) and M. caudata were more ancient between mountainous central-asiatic marmots. Maybe it’s possible that Pleistocenic"pro-bobac" had been pressed by red marmot. As a result of this pressing modern ancestors of ancient"pro-bobac" obtained the red marmot’s fleas Ceratophyllus lebedewi (on the east Tien-Shan- O. dolabris) on the lose part of red marmot’s areal. Fleas and other parasites help to understand the history and past migrations of modern marmots. The flea Oropsylla silantiewi on the alaskan marmot M. broweri gives the good example of its asiatic origin and its migration to Alaska across the Beringian mainland.