红崖子三趾马动物群的首次发现及其对青藏高原隆起的意义

THE FIRST DISCOVERY. OF THE HONGYAZI HIPPARION FAUNA AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE FOR UPHEAVAL OF THE QINGHAI-XIZANG PLATEAU

青藏高原是举世瞩目的地方,中一新生代以来,青藏高原的隆起,尤为中外地学界所关注。近年来,我国地学工作者对青藏高原的研究取得了可喜的成果。1983—1984年笔者等在参加青海省南部祁连山主脊地区的地质科学考察时,于青藏高原北侧大哈尔腾河中游的红崖子的上第三系上新统红层中首次发现了较丰富的三趾马动物群化石。本文仅以这批化石为依据,结合其岩相特征,对高原隆起问题作一探讨。

This Paper introduced a survey of the Hongyazi Hipparion fauna’s fossils and the bearing-fossil strata-the Hougyazi formation briefly that gathered from Hongyazi area of the Akesei Kazak nationality autonomous couuty of Gansu Province by authors et al. 1983-1984.Hipparion platyodus, Chiloterium sp., Samotherium sp., Palaeotragus microdon, Gazella gaudryi etc.in the Hongyazi fauna are the major members of the Nor-hern China Hipparion fauna. Therefore authors consider that the Hongyazi Hipparion faunaapp roaches with the Northern China Hipparion fauna.Having onsidered fossils of the other kinds geological age of the Hongyazi formation should belong to Pliocene of the Neogene. According to the characteristics of rock facies, the palaeogeographic en-ivronment where the Hongyazi fauna lived has been discussed preliminarily in this papeer, and this fauna has been considered as a mixed type in which each forest animal and grassland animal occupies a certain proportion.Finally, according to the altitudes (500 to 1,000 meters) of the Northern China Hipparion fauna we calculated that Hongyazi area which is situated in the northern border of the Qinghai-Xizang plateau has risen about 2,700 meters since Pliocene.