The Tunggurian Stage of the Continental Miocene in China

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.

Terrestrial Mio-Pliocene Boundary in the Linxia Basin,Gansu,China

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.

榆社盆地晚新生代骆驼化石的修订及中国化石骆驼评述

本文是对榆社盆地(36°49′~37°26′N,112°42′~113°07′E)乃至中国骆驼化石的首次系统修订。20世纪30年代,德日进(Teilhard de Chardin)等报道了榆社盆地12个地点的17件骆驼化石,是渑池仰韶村不完整骨架之外中国最经典的骆驼材料。这些材料过去被错误归在榆社Ⅲ带(维拉方期真马层),误作为“巨副驼Paracamelus gigas”广为引用。本文根据榆社盆地的地层学研究成果,系统比较东半球其他地点性质比较明确的骆驼化石,对这批材料进行了重新研究,厘定了其分类位置,探讨了其产出层位。这批材料应分属邱氏副驼新种Paracamelus qiui sp.nov.、邱氏副驼(相似种)Paracamelus cf.qiui、阿氏副驼P.alexejevi、巨副驼P.gigas以及诺氏驼Camelus knoblochi等5种。邱氏副驼Paracamelus qiui是本次研究描述的新种,产于榆社马会组和高庄组桃阳段,属晚中新世,距今约6.1~5.2 Ma,相当于MN13。邱氏副驼P.qiui是非常原始的高大型骆驼,下颌长且低矮,下颌联合部长,p3未退化,前臼齿列发达,牙齿低冠或弱中冠,胫骨与距骨宽大扁薄,跖骨愈合程度低,显著有别于早更新世的P.gigas。黑海和亚速海沿岸早蓬蒂期的骆驼材料也被我们归入邱氏副驼P.qiui。除性质和时代不明的“赫尔松副驼P.khersonensis”外,邱氏副驼P.qiui是目前所见旧大陆最原始的骆驼。邱氏副驼(相似种)Paracamelus cf.qiui发现于榆社高庄组南庄沟段,距今4.9~4.2 Ma,其形态与邱氏副驼P.qiui相似,但前齿列已有所退化,可能代表一新种,但目前材料过少,有待将来更多材料证实。阿氏副驼P.alexejevi发现于榆社麻则沟组,距今3.6~3.0 Ma。阿氏副驼P.alexejevi是中等体型的副驼,体型较邱氏副驼P.qiui和巨副驼P.gigas小,但大于现生双峰驼Camelus bactrianus;其与邱氏副驼Paracamelus qiui和邱氏副驼(相似种)Paracamelus cf.qiui关系较近,下颌瘦长低矮,但p3已进一步退化,前臼齿列更加缩短,头后骨骼纤细瘦长,面貌与乌克兰敖德萨地穴的阿氏副驼P.alexejevi相同。真正的P.gigas在榆社盆地主要见于海眼组,少量标本或属麻则沟组顶部,时代为3/2.6~2.15 Ma。巨副驼P.gigas与晚中新世的大型骆驼,如邱氏副驼P.qiui和阿吉雷副驼P.aguirrei之间,存在着长时间缺环。诺氏驼Camelus knoblochi应产于盆地内上覆的马兰黄土中,时代为晚更新世0.12~0.01 Ma。此外,我们还深入探讨了旧大陆化石骆驼的其他命名和分类学问题,提出了若干新认识,有助于深入推进骆驼族的起源演化研究。

A mammalian fossil from the Dingqing Formation in the Lunpola Basin,northern Tibet,and its relevance to age and paleo-altimetry

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.

A bizarre tandem-horned elasmothere rhino from the Late Miocene of northwestern China and origin of the true elasmothere

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.

Discovery of a Late Miocene mammalian fauna from Siziwang Banner,Inner Mongolia,and its paleozoogeographical significance

Wulanhua 动物志(7 妈) 源于基础部分在 Siziwang 旗帜的近来中新世的红泥土，内部蒙古。中国红泥土存款富于 Hipparion 动物志的石块，并且广泛地相对越过山西， Shaanxi，河南省，和 Gansu 省被散布。蒙古的高原也包含开发得好的晚第三纪存款，特别在中央内部蒙古，在哺乳动物的动物志的一个序列被识别了的地方。Wulanhua 动物志的发现提供 Hipparion 动物志的 paleogeographical 分发的重要指示物，并且这研究也贡献红泥土的气候、环境的意义的更好的理解。Wulanhua 动物志的大多数形式与一样或在 Baode 动物志以内关门到 taxa。然而，一些形式是稍微，更多 Baode 动物志比那些发源，它可以显示大约 7 妈的稍微更年轻的地质的年龄。Wulanhua 动物志的部件建议产地是一个典型大草原因此产出直接证据描出在东方和在诺思中国的晚中新世的 Hipparion 动物志的西方分区之间的边界。

Foraging behavior of Chleuastochoerus(Suidae, Artiodactyla): A case study of skull and mandible morpho-functional analysis

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.