贵州双河洞晚更新世大熊猫化石高度聚集现象及其意义

High fossil aggregation and its significance of giant panda(Ailuropoda melanoleuca)in late Pleistocene in Shuanghe Cave,Guizhou Province

贵州双河洞是亚洲第一长洞,该洞先后分辨出近30多具大熊猫个体化石,是目前世界上发现完整大熊猫化石最多的洞穴。其中一支洞中竖井下方至少聚集了10余具个体化石。以此为研究对象,结合洞道发育形态特征及化石埋藏学特征,初步推测出这些大熊猫深入该支洞内经由竖井跌落并死亡的过程,表明喀斯特洞穴可以为大熊猫提供良好的栖息场所及化石保存环境。选取一例化石表面沉积的碳酸钙样品进行了铀系法测年,表明该个体至少生活在5.1万年前;对另一例个体的牙齿化石进行AMS14C测年,发现其生活在距今2.5万年左右,推断该洞道中大熊猫主要生活在晚更新世时期。

Nearly 30 individual giant panda fossils have been found in Shuanghe Cave in Guizhou,the longest cave in Asia.The number is the largest as for the complete giant panda fossils that have been discovered in the world.At least 10 individual fossils accumulating below the shaft in one branch cave are taken as the research sub⁃jects.Based on the development and morphological characteristics of karst caves and fossil burial characteristics,the process in which these pandas fell from the shaft and died has been preliminarily analyzed and reconstructed.The research findings show that karst caves can provide a good habitat and fossil preservation environment for gi⁃ant pandas.Meanwhile,the uranium dating of a sample of calcium carbonate depositing on the surface of a fossil in⁃dicates that the individual lived at least 51,000 years ago.AMS14C dating has been performed on the fossil teeth of another individual who was found to live about 25,000 years ago.Therefore,it is inferred that the pandas in this cave mainly lived in the late Pleistocene.