The current and dominant theory about the origin of modern humans is the out-of-Africa hypothesis, which asserts that populations of Homo sapiens left Africa 100,000 years ago and replaced indigenous populations of hu...The current and dominant theory about the origin of modern humans is the out-of-Africa hypothesis, which asserts that populations of Homo sapiens left Africa 100,000 years ago and replaced indigenous populations of humans in Eurasia. Many scholars equated the out-of-Africa dispersal of humans with paleoenvironmental changes. However, until now, few have paid special attention to the faunal data and whether or not faunal patterns are supportive of the popular theory. Recent comparative study of the Chinese fauna shows that the communication of faunas between Africa and East Asia could have occurred during the Neogene, but it was very limited during the Pleistocene. In the Chinese Quaternary fauna, only 16% of the genera are also present in the sub-Saharan African fauna. There is also no element among the dominant taxa of the Chinese Quaternary fauna which can be related to the African fauna. There is no reliable proof for the existence of Hippopotamus and Giraffa, as well as Panthera leo, during the Quaternary in China. Two controversial taxa are Acinonyx and Crocuta, about which there is still argument concerning their species identification in Eurasia. It is possible that both of the genera have co-specific taxa in Africa and Eurasia. Although the two genera are confined to Africa today, they did have a long evolutionary history in China. For the Out of Africa hypothesis for Homo sapiens, the implications of the limited faunal interchanges between China and Africa are not completely clear yet.展开更多
The recently discovered macaque fossils, including isolated teeth and mandible fragments, from Tianyuan Cave and the juvenile maxilla from Wanglaopu Cave near Zhoukoudian can be identified as Macaca mulatta; they repr...The recently discovered macaque fossils, including isolated teeth and mandible fragments, from Tianyuan Cave and the juvenile maxilla from Wanglaopu Cave near Zhoukoudian can be identified as Macaca mulatta; they represent the first recognized occurrence of fossil M. mulatta in the far north of China. Some previously unearthed but still unpublished Macaca specimens were also studied, including a cranium and the associated mandible from CKT Loc.13A, a maxilla and a mandible from Loc.1, a mandible from Loc.4, and a maxilla from Loc.20, as well as a mandible with complete toothrow from Zhoukoudian but without locality details, all of them can be referred to M. robusta. The study shows M. robusta is more closely related to M. mulatta than to M. anderssonL Zhoukoudian is the richest area of Macacina fossils in North China, totally 2 genera and 4 species were once recognized from 9 localities, namely, Procynocephalus wimani, M. cf. anderssoni, M. robusta and M. mulatta. The fossil records of Macacina in Zhoukoudian area were almost continuous through the Quaternary Period, and it＇s reasonable to assume that Zhoukoudian used to be an evolutionary center for macaques in North China. Therefore, the macaque population of M. mulatta once existed decades ago around Beijing probably originated from the Pleistocene ancestors in the local area, rather than being human-introduced as previously thought.展开更多
Among the most important faunas in the Late Cenozoic, the Gigantopithecus faunas have received a good deal of attention. The Gigantopithecus fauna recently discovered in Sanhe Cave consists of more than 80 mammal spec...Among the most important faunas in the Late Cenozoic, the Gigantopithecus faunas have received a good deal of attention. The Gigantopithecus fauna recently discovered in Sanhe Cave consists of more than 80 mammal species, including cf. Hominidae, Pongo sp., Hylobates sp., Sinomastodon yangzien-sis, Stegodon preorientalis, Cervavitus fenqii, Dicoryphochoerus ultimus and Sus xiaozhu. It is the southernmost Gigantopithecus fauna found so far in China. Its geological age is estimated to be Early Pleistocene based on the fauna and stratigraphic correlation. The significant increase in the estimated body sizes of Ailuropoda, Gigantopithecus and Tapirus shows that the Sanhe fauna is middle Early Pleistocene, later than those from Wushan and Liucheng (early Early Pleistocene). Paleomagnetic dating of the fossil-bearing strata in Sanhe Cave gives an age of approximately 1.2 Ma. The fauna is characterized by tropical-subtropical forest types, including Pongo sp., Tupaia sp., Ia sp., Typhlomys intermedius, etc., and it lacks Palaearctic types. It is a typical tropical forest fauna, suggesting an en-vironment with a lush forest and a warm and humid climate. The discovery of the Sanhe Gigantopith-ecus fauna is significant for establishing the chronological stages of the Gigantopithecus faunas in China, and for discussing their origin, evolution and dynamics.展开更多
The Rhino Cave,a Paleolithic site in Shennongjia,is the highest altitude locality of rhinoceros in the Middle-South part of China,and it is also the southernmost and the richest locality in Stephanorhinus kirchbergens...The Rhino Cave,a Paleolithic site in Shennongjia,is the highest altitude locality of rhinoceros in the Middle-South part of China,and it is also the southernmost and the richest locality in Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis fossils which include cranium,mandibles,isolated teeth and postcranials.These materials can be referred to the species Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis according to the following characters:incisorless,mandibular symphysis contracted,occiput high,subaural channel closed,with nasal and frontal horns,nasal septum partially ossified,premolars hypsodont and cheekteeth with smooth enamel surface,etc.;except its relatively shorter limb bones.In China,all the Pleistocene non-Coelodonta tandem-horned rhinoceroses were assigned to the genus Dicerorhinus in the past decades.From today's viewpoint,most of them should be included in the genus Stephanorhinus,because Dicerorhinus is quite different from Stephanorhinus in the following characters:smaller body size,generally unossified nasal septum,subaural channel open and with reduced incisors,etc.This is the first knowledge of Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis associated with Ailuropoda-Stegodon fauna,the typical Pleistocene mammalian fauna in South China.展开更多
The north and south China faunas are subdivided along the line of Huaihe River-Qinling Mountains- Hengduan Mountains-Himalayas, to the north is the Palearctic Region, and to the south is the Oriental Region, which is ...The north and south China faunas are subdivided along the line of Huaihe River-Qinling Mountains- Hengduan Mountains-Himalayas, to the north is the Palearctic Region, and to the south is the Oriental Region, which is the result of long-time evolution. Hundreds of Quaternary fossil localities have been known up to now, more than 60 of which contain warm-adapted elements which can be referred to 20 species. Among the warm-adapted elements appearing in north China, Hystrix, Macaca, Palaeoloxodon, Dicerorhinus and Bubalus are the most frequently recorded genera. There are three kinds of causal explanation about the frequent appearance of warm-adapted elements in north China: The first hy- pothesis attributed them to the dispersal events of warm-adapted mammals from the south during warm stages or warm seasons; the second scenario thinks that these warm-adapted mammals in north China were once derived there in situ and subsequently emigrated to the south with the cooling down of the global climate; the last hypothesis believes that these warm-adapted elements were not real warm-climate animals at that time. This study shows that almost none of the warm-adapted mammals in north China was recovered in the loess, and also almost all of the fossil localities which bear warm-adapted mammals fall within the warm temperate zone of nowadays. In fossil assemblage, those warm-adapted elements rarely co-exist with the cold-adapted mammals. All these evidences mentioned above indicate that the warm-adapted mammals in north China represent warm climate, but not hot one. Because all these warm-adapted mammals are widely distributed oriental elements, some of them even still exist north of the Huaihe River today. Up to now, no typical oriental elements have ever been re- covered in north China, such as pangolin, primitive primates (e.g. loris and tarsier), big apes (e.g. Gi- gantopithecus, Pongo and Hylobates), etc. The Late Pleistocene lasted a relatively shorter time, but the appearance of warm-adapted mammals during that span were the most frequent and most widespread. It means that the climate of the Late Pleistocene experienced the most frequent fluctuation over the whole period of Quaternary.展开更多
The materials of Tapirus from Renzidong, Fanchang, Anhui Province, are the best ones among the early most Pleistocene findings in China up to now, not only in richness, but also in completeness. The fossils contain co...The materials of Tapirus from Renzidong, Fanchang, Anhui Province, are the best ones among the early most Pleistocene findings in China up to now, not only in richness, but also in completeness. The fossils contain complete tooth rows of both the upper and the lower, as well as most parts of the postcranial skeletons. These materials are very helpful in understanding the evolutionary level of this kind of animal. In morphology, the materials from Fanchang appear to be very similar to Tapirus sanyuanensis, and can be placed within this species. The materials from Fanchang provided sound evidence to distinguish the Early Pleistocene tapirs and the living form Tapirus indicus, As to the geological distribution, it can be tentatively concluded that Tapirus sanyuanensis and Tapirus sinensis only appeared in Early Pleistocene, Megatapirus appeared after Early Pleistocene, and lasted until Holocene. The Early Pleistocene tapirs of South China resemble Megatapirus more closely than Tapirus indicus.展开更多
基金supported by the International Cooperation Program of MST of China(2009DFB20580)the Major Basic Research Project of MST of China(Grant No: 2006CB806400)+1 种基金Special Basic Research Project(Grant No:2007FY110200)of MST of Chinathe IVPP Project(Grant No:KA209508)
文摘The current and dominant theory about the origin of modern humans is the out-of-Africa hypothesis, which asserts that populations of Homo sapiens left Africa 100,000 years ago and replaced indigenous populations of humans in Eurasia. Many scholars equated the out-of-Africa dispersal of humans with paleoenvironmental changes. However, until now, few have paid special attention to the faunal data and whether or not faunal patterns are supportive of the popular theory. Recent comparative study of the Chinese fauna shows that the communication of faunas between Africa and East Asia could have occurred during the Neogene, but it was very limited during the Pleistocene. In the Chinese Quaternary fauna, only 16% of the genera are also present in the sub-Saharan African fauna. There is also no element among the dominant taxa of the Chinese Quaternary fauna which can be related to the African fauna. There is no reliable proof for the existence of Hippopotamus and Giraffa, as well as Panthera leo, during the Quaternary in China. Two controversial taxa are Acinonyx and Crocuta, about which there is still argument concerning their species identification in Eurasia. It is possible that both of the genera have co-specific taxa in Africa and Eurasia. Although the two genera are confined to Africa today, they did have a long evolutionary history in China. For the Out of Africa hypothesis for Homo sapiens, the implications of the limited faunal interchanges between China and Africa are not completely clear yet.
基金supported by the Key Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grants No.KZZD-EW-15 and No.KZZD-EW-03)the Project from the P.R.C. Ministry of Land and Resources (Grant No. 201211005-3)
文摘The recently discovered macaque fossils, including isolated teeth and mandible fragments, from Tianyuan Cave and the juvenile maxilla from Wanglaopu Cave near Zhoukoudian can be identified as Macaca mulatta; they represent the first recognized occurrence of fossil M. mulatta in the far north of China. Some previously unearthed but still unpublished Macaca specimens were also studied, including a cranium and the associated mandible from CKT Loc.13A, a maxilla and a mandible from Loc.1, a mandible from Loc.4, and a maxilla from Loc.20, as well as a mandible with complete toothrow from Zhoukoudian but without locality details, all of them can be referred to M. robusta. The study shows M. robusta is more closely related to M. mulatta than to M. anderssonL Zhoukoudian is the richest area of Macacina fossils in North China, totally 2 genera and 4 species were once recognized from 9 localities, namely, Procynocephalus wimani, M. cf. anderssoni, M. robusta and M. mulatta. The fossil records of Macacina in Zhoukoudian area were almost continuous through the Quaternary Period, and it＇s reasonable to assume that Zhoukoudian used to be an evolutionary center for macaques in North China. Therefore, the macaque population of M. mulatta once existed decades ago around Beijing probably originated from the Pleistocene ancestors in the local area, rather than being human-introduced as previously thought.
基金Supported by Key Knowledge Innovation Project of the Chinese Academy of Sci-ences (KZCX2-YW-106)National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2006CB806400)
文摘Among the most important faunas in the Late Cenozoic, the Gigantopithecus faunas have received a good deal of attention. The Gigantopithecus fauna recently discovered in Sanhe Cave consists of more than 80 mammal species, including cf. Hominidae, Pongo sp., Hylobates sp., Sinomastodon yangzien-sis, Stegodon preorientalis, Cervavitus fenqii, Dicoryphochoerus ultimus and Sus xiaozhu. It is the southernmost Gigantopithecus fauna found so far in China. Its geological age is estimated to be Early Pleistocene based on the fauna and stratigraphic correlation. The significant increase in the estimated body sizes of Ailuropoda, Gigantopithecus and Tapirus shows that the Sanhe fauna is middle Early Pleistocene, later than those from Wushan and Liucheng (early Early Pleistocene). Paleomagnetic dating of the fossil-bearing strata in Sanhe Cave gives an age of approximately 1.2 Ma. The fauna is characterized by tropical-subtropical forest types, including Pongo sp., Tupaia sp., Ia sp., Typhlomys intermedius, etc., and it lacks Palaearctic types. It is a typical tropical forest fauna, suggesting an en-vironment with a lush forest and a warm and humid climate. The discovery of the Sanhe Gigantopith-ecus fauna is significant for establishing the chronological stages of the Gigantopithecus faunas in China, and for discussing their origin, evolution and dynamics.
基金supported by the Major Basic Research Project (Grant No. 2006CB806400)the Special Basic Research Funds of MST of China (Grant No. 2007FY110200)the IVPP Project (Grant No. KA209508)
文摘The Rhino Cave,a Paleolithic site in Shennongjia,is the highest altitude locality of rhinoceros in the Middle-South part of China,and it is also the southernmost and the richest locality in Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis fossils which include cranium,mandibles,isolated teeth and postcranials.These materials can be referred to the species Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis according to the following characters:incisorless,mandibular symphysis contracted,occiput high,subaural channel closed,with nasal and frontal horns,nasal septum partially ossified,premolars hypsodont and cheekteeth with smooth enamel surface,etc.;except its relatively shorter limb bones.In China,all the Pleistocene non-Coelodonta tandem-horned rhinoceroses were assigned to the genus Dicerorhinus in the past decades.From today's viewpoint,most of them should be included in the genus Stephanorhinus,because Dicerorhinus is quite different from Stephanorhinus in the following characters:smaller body size,generally unossified nasal septum,subaural channel open and with reduced incisors,etc.This is the first knowledge of Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis associated with Ailuropoda-Stegodon fauna,the typical Pleistocene mammalian fauna in South China.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 40372015)the President’s Grants of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KL203302)
文摘The north and south China faunas are subdivided along the line of Huaihe River-Qinling Mountains- Hengduan Mountains-Himalayas, to the north is the Palearctic Region, and to the south is the Oriental Region, which is the result of long-time evolution. Hundreds of Quaternary fossil localities have been known up to now, more than 60 of which contain warm-adapted elements which can be referred to 20 species. Among the warm-adapted elements appearing in north China, Hystrix, Macaca, Palaeoloxodon, Dicerorhinus and Bubalus are the most frequently recorded genera. There are three kinds of causal explanation about the frequent appearance of warm-adapted elements in north China: The first hy- pothesis attributed them to the dispersal events of warm-adapted mammals from the south during warm stages or warm seasons; the second scenario thinks that these warm-adapted mammals in north China were once derived there in situ and subsequently emigrated to the south with the cooling down of the global climate; the last hypothesis believes that these warm-adapted elements were not real warm-climate animals at that time. This study shows that almost none of the warm-adapted mammals in north China was recovered in the loess, and also almost all of the fossil localities which bear warm-adapted mammals fall within the warm temperate zone of nowadays. In fossil assemblage, those warm-adapted elements rarely co-exist with the cold-adapted mammals. All these evidences mentioned above indicate that the warm-adapted mammals in north China represent warm climate, but not hot one. Because all these warm-adapted mammals are widely distributed oriental elements, some of them even still exist north of the Huaihe River today. Up to now, no typical oriental elements have ever been re- covered in north China, such as pangolin, primitive primates (e.g. loris and tarsier), big apes (e.g. Gi- gantopithecus, Pongo and Hylobates), etc. The Late Pleistocene lasted a relatively shorter time, but the appearance of warm-adapted mammals during that span were the most frequent and most widespread. It means that the climate of the Late Pleistocene experienced the most frequent fluctuation over the whole period of Quaternary.
基金This work was supported by the National Climbing Project (Grant No. PD98001).
文摘The materials of Tapirus from Renzidong, Fanchang, Anhui Province, are the best ones among the early most Pleistocene findings in China up to now, not only in richness, but also in completeness. The fossils contain complete tooth rows of both the upper and the lower, as well as most parts of the postcranial skeletons. These materials are very helpful in understanding the evolutionary level of this kind of animal. In morphology, the materials from Fanchang appear to be very similar to Tapirus sanyuanensis, and can be placed within this species. The materials from Fanchang provided sound evidence to distinguish the Early Pleistocene tapirs and the living form Tapirus indicus, As to the geological distribution, it can be tentatively concluded that Tapirus sanyuanensis and Tapirus sinensis only appeared in Early Pleistocene, Megatapirus appeared after Early Pleistocene, and lasted until Holocene. The Early Pleistocene tapirs of South China resemble Megatapirus more closely than Tapirus indicus.
