The Tunggurian Age was nominated in 1984, and the Second National Commission on Stratigraphy of China formally suggested establishing the corresponding chronostratigraphic unit, the Tunggurian Stage, based on the Tung...The Tunggurian Age was nominated in 1984, and the Second National Commission on Stratigraphy of China formally suggested establishing the corresponding chronostratigraphic unit, the Tunggurian Stage, based on the Tunggurian Age in 1999. The name of this stage comes from a lithostratigraphic unit, the Tunggur Formation, and the stratotype section is located at the Tunggur tableland, 15 km southeast of Saihan Gobi Township, Sonid Left Banner, Inner Mongolia. The Tunggurian Age is correlated to the Astaracian of the European land mammal ages, and they share the same definition of the lower boundary at the base of the paleomagnetic Chron C5Bn.1r with an age of 15.0 Ma. In the Tairum Nor section on the southeastern edge of the Tunggur tableland, this boundary is situated within the successive deposits of reddish-brown massive mudstone of the lower part of the Tunggur Formation, with a distance of 7.6 m from the base of the grayish-white sandstones in the middle part of the section. The Tunggurian is approximately correlated to the upper part of the marine Langhian and the marine Serravallian in the International Stratigraphical Chart. The Tunggurian Stage includes two Neogene mammal faunal units, i.e. NMU 6 (MN 6) and NMU 7 (MN 7/8). The Tairnm Nor fauna from the Talrnm Nor section corresponds to NMU 6, and the Tunggur fauna (senso stricto) from the localities on the northwestern edge of the Tunggur tableland, such as Platybelodon Quarry, Wolf Camp and Moergen, corresponds to NMU 7. Among the Middle Miocene mammalian faunas in China, the Laogou fauna from the Linxia Basin, Gansu, the Quantougou fauna from the Lanzhou Basin, Gansu, the Halamagai fauna from the northern Junggar Basin, Xinjiang, and the Dingjiaergou fauna from Tongxin, Ningxia correspond to NMU 6.展开更多
The Lower Pliocene of the Linxia Basin in Gansu Province is one of only a few representative sections for the Early Pliocene sedimentary records in northern China, and even in East Asia. Recently,abundant mammalian fo...The Lower Pliocene of the Linxia Basin in Gansu Province is one of only a few representative sections for the Early Pliocene sedimentary records in northern China, and even in East Asia. Recently,abundant mammalian fossils were found from the base of red clays of the Lower Pliocene Hewangjia Formation at Duikang in Guanghe County within this basin. Previously, the Pliocene mammals were sparsely found in China, and most were collected from fluvial and lacustrine deposits in the eastern Loess Plateau. Mammals from the widely distributed Pliocene Hipparion Red Clay are less in number.The known fossils from Duikang include 20 species and belong to the Shilidun Fauna. Their faunal components are similar to the Early Pliocene Gaozhuang Fauna from Ynshe, Shanxi. On the other hand, some taxa from Duikang have not been found in the Gaozhuang Fauna, are slightly more primitive in evolutionary level, and appeared mainly in the Late Miocene. As a result, the age of the Duikang fossils may be slightly earlier than that of the Gaozhuang Fauna and closer to the lower boundary of the Piiocene. The Duikang fossiliferons bed is 0.8 m above the top of the Late Miocene Linshu Formation, and the first occurrence of the three-toed horse Hipparion pater can be regarded as a biostratigraphical marker of the Miocene/Pliocene boundary. In conclusion, Duikang is an ideal candidate locality to establish as the stratotype of the lower boundary of the Chinese terrestrial Pliocene.展开更多
The distal extremity of a rhinocerotid humerus from the upper part of the Dingqing Formation at the Lunbori locality in Baingoin County,northern Tibet,is the first mammalian fossil found in Cenozoic deposits of the Lu...The distal extremity of a rhinocerotid humerus from the upper part of the Dingqing Formation at the Lunbori locality in Baingoin County,northern Tibet,is the first mammalian fossil found in Cenozoic deposits of the Lunpola Basin.The medial condyle of the distal trochlea of the humerus specimen from Lunbori gradually contracts from medially to laterally.The margin of the medial surface of the medial condyle is not prominent,the well-developed medial epicondyle strongly extends posteriorly,and is divided from the articular facet of the medial condyle by a groove;all of which are characteristic for the Rhinocerotidae.The medial condyle is wide at the bottom and narrow at the top.The medial collateral ligament fossa is relatively shallow,and the medial collateral ligament tubercle is very weak.The medial part of the upper margin of the medial condyle smoothly connects to the bony surface above,but there is no clear boundary between them.All of these characteristics are identical with those of Plesiaceratherium.These comparisons imply that the Lunbori specimen is closest to Plesiaceratherium gracile in the Shanwang Fauna from Linqu,Shandong Province,in size and morphology.Thus,its age is suggested to be the late Early Miocene(Shanwangian Age),about 18-16 Ma.Discovery of the rhinocerotid fossil suggests that the upper part of the Dingqing Formation deposited in the Neogene.While adjusting to paleo-temperatures of the Early Miocene,a paleo-ecosystem reconstruction indicates that the paleo-elevation was close to 3000 m in the Lunpola Basin during this time.展开更多
Although the modern Indian and Javan rhinos have a single horn on their noses,the extinct one-horned rhino Elasmotherium was a source for the legendary unicorn,because the latter had a very long horn on its forehead a...Although the modern Indian and Javan rhinos have a single horn on their noses,the extinct one-horned rhino Elasmotherium was a source for the legendary unicorn,because the latter had a very long horn on its forehead and lived with the prehistoric human beings who drew its images on cave paintings.Elasmothere rhinos first appeared in South Asia in the Early Miocene,but the origin of Elasmotherium has been unclear.All other elasmotheres have a weak or strong nasal horn,whereas Elasmotherium seems to lose the nasal horn of its ancestors and to get a huge frontal horn apparently abruptly.Here we report the first discovered skull of Sinotherium lagrelii from the Late Miocene red clays in the Linxia Basin,northwestern China.This skull has an enormous nasofrontal horn boss shifted posteriorly and a smaller frontal horn boss,which are connected to each other,indicating an intermediate stage for the single frontal horn of Elasmotherium.Morphological and phylogenetic analyses confirm that Sinotherium is a transitional taxon between Elasmotherium and other elasmotheres,positioned near the root of the giant unicorn clade and originated in a subarid steppe.The posteriorly shifted nasal horn has a more substantial support and the arched structure of the nasofrontal area is an adaptation for a huge horn.展开更多
The skull and mandible of a Late Miocene fossil pig,Chleuastochoerus,are compared morphologically with those of extant pigs and peccaries,and subjected to a functional analysis.The presence of a rostral bone in the sk...The skull and mandible of a Late Miocene fossil pig,Chleuastochoerus,are compared morphologically with those of extant pigs and peccaries,and subjected to a functional analysis.The presence of a rostral bone in the skull and relatively strong rostral muscles indicates that Chleuastochoerus possessed considerable digging ability,though the relatively narrow occipital surface and the shortness of the skull would have restricted the range of motion through which the skull could be swung.The distinctive pre-zygomatic plate and over-canine arch-niche may have played a role in protecting the skull and canines during digging.The massive masticatory muscles,reconstructed based on well-developed parietal and zygomatic crests,would have enabled the mouth to close quickly and contributed to moving the mandible both longitudinally and laterally.The configuration of the cranio-mandibular joint and its relatively high position show clearly that Chleuastochoerus was capable of both crushing and grinding movements during mastication.The comparatively simple structure of the crown surfaces of the cheek teeth suggests that the food of Chleuastochoerus may have been softer than that of extant suids.The diet of Chleuastochoerus is postulated to fall between those of true forest pigs and open habitat pigs,and the habitat of Chleuastochoerus to be relatively humid forest edge or nearby areas of open steppe.展开更多
基金This work is supported by the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZCX2- YW-120)the National Commission on Stratigraphy of China+1 种基金the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2006FY120300, 2006CB806400)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40232023).
文摘The Tunggurian Age was nominated in 1984, and the Second National Commission on Stratigraphy of China formally suggested establishing the corresponding chronostratigraphic unit, the Tunggurian Stage, based on the Tunggurian Age in 1999. The name of this stage comes from a lithostratigraphic unit, the Tunggur Formation, and the stratotype section is located at the Tunggur tableland, 15 km southeast of Saihan Gobi Township, Sonid Left Banner, Inner Mongolia. The Tunggurian Age is correlated to the Astaracian of the European land mammal ages, and they share the same definition of the lower boundary at the base of the paleomagnetic Chron C5Bn.1r with an age of 15.0 Ma. In the Tairum Nor section on the southeastern edge of the Tunggur tableland, this boundary is situated within the successive deposits of reddish-brown massive mudstone of the lower part of the Tunggur Formation, with a distance of 7.6 m from the base of the grayish-white sandstones in the middle part of the section. The Tunggurian is approximately correlated to the upper part of the marine Langhian and the marine Serravallian in the International Stratigraphical Chart. The Tunggurian Stage includes two Neogene mammal faunal units, i.e. NMU 6 (MN 6) and NMU 7 (MN 7/8). The Tairnm Nor fauna from the Talrnm Nor section corresponds to NMU 6, and the Tunggur fauna (senso stricto) from the localities on the northwestern edge of the Tunggur tableland, such as Platybelodon Quarry, Wolf Camp and Moergen, corresponds to NMU 7. Among the Middle Miocene mammalian faunas in China, the Laogou fauna from the Linxia Basin, Gansu, the Quantougou fauna from the Lanzhou Basin, Gansu, the Halamagai fauna from the northern Junggar Basin, Xinjiang, and the Dingjiaergou fauna from Tongxin, Ningxia correspond to NMU 6.
基金supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2006FY120300 and 2006CB806400)the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-120, Q09)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40730210), and the All-China Stratigraphic Commission
文摘The Lower Pliocene of the Linxia Basin in Gansu Province is one of only a few representative sections for the Early Pliocene sedimentary records in northern China, and even in East Asia. Recently,abundant mammalian fossils were found from the base of red clays of the Lower Pliocene Hewangjia Formation at Duikang in Guanghe County within this basin. Previously, the Pliocene mammals were sparsely found in China, and most were collected from fluvial and lacustrine deposits in the eastern Loess Plateau. Mammals from the widely distributed Pliocene Hipparion Red Clay are less in number.The known fossils from Duikang include 20 species and belong to the Shilidun Fauna. Their faunal components are similar to the Early Pliocene Gaozhuang Fauna from Ynshe, Shanxi. On the other hand, some taxa from Duikang have not been found in the Gaozhuang Fauna, are slightly more primitive in evolutionary level, and appeared mainly in the Late Miocene. As a result, the age of the Duikang fossils may be slightly earlier than that of the Gaozhuang Fauna and closer to the lower boundary of the Piiocene. The Duikang fossiliferons bed is 0.8 m above the top of the Late Miocene Linshu Formation, and the first occurrence of the three-toed horse Hipparion pater can be regarded as a biostratigraphical marker of the Miocene/Pliocene boundary. In conclusion, Duikang is an ideal candidate locality to establish as the stratotype of the lower boundary of the Chinese terrestrial Pliocene.
基金supported by the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-Q09)the National Basic Research Program of China (2012CB821906)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40730210)
文摘The distal extremity of a rhinocerotid humerus from the upper part of the Dingqing Formation at the Lunbori locality in Baingoin County,northern Tibet,is the first mammalian fossil found in Cenozoic deposits of the Lunpola Basin.The medial condyle of the distal trochlea of the humerus specimen from Lunbori gradually contracts from medially to laterally.The margin of the medial surface of the medial condyle is not prominent,the well-developed medial epicondyle strongly extends posteriorly,and is divided from the articular facet of the medial condyle by a groove;all of which are characteristic for the Rhinocerotidae.The medial condyle is wide at the bottom and narrow at the top.The medial collateral ligament fossa is relatively shallow,and the medial collateral ligament tubercle is very weak.The medial part of the upper margin of the medial condyle smoothly connects to the bony surface above,but there is no clear boundary between them.All of these characteristics are identical with those of Plesiaceratherium.These comparisons imply that the Lunbori specimen is closest to Plesiaceratherium gracile in the Shanwang Fauna from Linqu,Shandong Province,in size and morphology.Thus,its age is suggested to be the late Early Miocene(Shanwangian Age),about 18-16 Ma.Discovery of the rhinocerotid fossil suggests that the upper part of the Dingqing Formation deposited in the Neogene.While adjusting to paleo-temperatures of the Early Miocene,a paleo-ecosystem reconstruction indicates that the paleo-elevation was close to 3000 m in the Lunpola Basin during this time.
基金supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB03020104)the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2012CB821906)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40730210)
文摘Although the modern Indian and Javan rhinos have a single horn on their noses,the extinct one-horned rhino Elasmotherium was a source for the legendary unicorn,because the latter had a very long horn on its forehead and lived with the prehistoric human beings who drew its images on cave paintings.Elasmothere rhinos first appeared in South Asia in the Early Miocene,but the origin of Elasmotherium has been unclear.All other elasmotheres have a weak or strong nasal horn,whereas Elasmotherium seems to lose the nasal horn of its ancestors and to get a huge frontal horn apparently abruptly.Here we report the first discovered skull of Sinotherium lagrelii from the Late Miocene red clays in the Linxia Basin,northwestern China.This skull has an enormous nasofrontal horn boss shifted posteriorly and a smaller frontal horn boss,which are connected to each other,indicating an intermediate stage for the single frontal horn of Elasmotherium.Morphological and phylogenetic analyses confirm that Sinotherium is a transitional taxon between Elasmotherium and other elasmotheres,positioned near the root of the giant unicorn clade and originated in a subarid steppe.The posteriorly shifted nasal horn has a more substantial support and the arched structure of the nasofrontal area is an adaptation for a huge horn.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40730210)the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-Q09-120)+1 种基金the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2006CB806400 and 2006-FY120300)China National Commission on Stratigraphy
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41202002, 40730210)Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDB03020104)+1 种基金Ministry of Science and Technology of China (Grant No. 2012CB821906)Key Deployment Project of Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
文摘The skull and mandible of a Late Miocene fossil pig,Chleuastochoerus,are compared morphologically with those of extant pigs and peccaries,and subjected to a functional analysis.The presence of a rostral bone in the skull and relatively strong rostral muscles indicates that Chleuastochoerus possessed considerable digging ability,though the relatively narrow occipital surface and the shortness of the skull would have restricted the range of motion through which the skull could be swung.The distinctive pre-zygomatic plate and over-canine arch-niche may have played a role in protecting the skull and canines during digging.The massive masticatory muscles,reconstructed based on well-developed parietal and zygomatic crests,would have enabled the mouth to close quickly and contributed to moving the mandible both longitudinally and laterally.The configuration of the cranio-mandibular joint and its relatively high position show clearly that Chleuastochoerus was capable of both crushing and grinding movements during mastication.The comparatively simple structure of the crown surfaces of the cheek teeth suggests that the food of Chleuastochoerus may have been softer than that of extant suids.The diet of Chleuastochoerus is postulated to fall between those of true forest pigs and open habitat pigs,and the habitat of Chleuastochoerus to be relatively humid forest edge or nearby areas of open steppe.