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The saiga antelope in Magdalenian Art. The saiga antelope is the size of a goat. It is perfectly adapted to an and climate and can also endure heat and cold. Its large nose has a cavity in which inhaled cold or warm air is adapted to body temperature. Today the saiga antelope lives in the arid steppes of Central Asia, first of all in Kazakhstan. In historical times, its range extended westwards to the Ukraine. In especially dry and cold periods of the Palaeolithic, the animal was found as far west as Brittany and Cantabria. With 22 representations at 16 sites the saiga antelope was only seldom depicted in the Magdalenian. This corresponds to its minor importance as a hunted animal. Only at Moulin Neuf and other sites in the Gironde region was the saiga antelope a frequent prey. Most of the sites with representations of the saiga delivered only a few or no bones of the animal. Chronologically, the representations cover the timespan from Middle (Moulin Neuf. Enlene) to Final (Peyrat, Limeuil) Magdalenian. During the first part of the Middle Magdalenian (Magd. III), the saiga antelope was an element of the fauna in Southwestern Europe, but the animal was known until the end of Magdalenian. (C) 2009 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.