全新世的中国犀类及其地理分布

THE CHINESE RHINOCEROS AND THEIR GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION IN HOLOCENE

全新世的中国犀类有苏门犀和爪哇犀两种。它们的分布区在全新世早期随气候的转暖而向北推进,到最为温暖的全新世中期,其北界达至黄河下游地区。在全新世的晚期犀类分布区又因气候的不断变冷而向南退缩,加之后期人类开发活动的影响。更使其分布区的退缩速度加剧。

Two species of rhinoceros,Didermocerus sumatrensis and Rhinoceros sondaicus,had been certainly confirmed being alive in China in Holocene epoch.In the last glacial epoch about ten thoursand years ago,the distributional rang of rhinoceros began to expand northward from the trophic and subtrophic areas of Asia where they lived in the ice age.By the end of warmest Atlantic climate epoch,that is 3000 years ago,the northern boundary of their distribution had reached the southern part of the North China plain.Later on,the climate changed at least four times with alternative warm and cold periods.However,the climate tendency of changes was get- ting colder.Meawhile,one more important change was the ever-rising and ever-strengthening abilities of human activities and their pressure on natural environment.In addition'the range of agricultural civilization was quickly increased from the north to the seuth.Under the combinative stresses of human activities and colder climate,the rhinoceros' distribution ranges were eontinute- ly shrunk back to the south.Finally they disappeared from China in the early age of that century.