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
A new species of Tsaidamotherium(Bovidae,Artiodactyla),T.brevirostrum,described here represents only the second discovery of the genus.Tsaidamotherium is a mid-sized late Miocene bovid with an odd-looking plate-like h...A new species of Tsaidamotherium(Bovidae,Artiodactyla),T.brevirostrum,described here represents only the second discovery of the genus.Tsaidamotherium is a mid-sized late Miocene bovid with an odd-looking plate-like horn-core apparatus so far known only from northwestern China.The holotype of T.brevirostrum is a cranial part of skull from the Liushu Formation(late Miocene)of the Linxia Basin.The new species differs from the type species,T.bohlini,mainly in horn-core morphology,having the frontal horn-cores proper much smaller and less distinctly separated from the plate-shaped posterior portion.Furthermore,the new species has smaller frontal sinuses,but a thicker layer of compact bone beneath the horn-core apparatus as seen in frontal section.A complete skull with a smaller horn-core apparatus is considered to represent a female individual of T.brevirostrum.The facial part of the skull,which is first known for this genus,is very short and high,with a high nasal cavity,strongly retracted nasals,and shortened premaxillae and premolar rows.All this probably suggests that the animal with an enlarged nasal cavity,like the modern Saiga and Budorcas,may have had a special adaptation to the high plateau environment.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 Strategic Priority Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(Grant No.XDB03020104)National Basic Research Program of China(Grant No.2012CB821900)National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.41002010 and 40730210)
文摘A new species of Tsaidamotherium(Bovidae,Artiodactyla),T.brevirostrum,described here represents only the second discovery of the genus.Tsaidamotherium is a mid-sized late Miocene bovid with an odd-looking plate-like horn-core apparatus so far known only from northwestern China.The holotype of T.brevirostrum is a cranial part of skull from the Liushu Formation(late Miocene)of the Linxia Basin.The new species differs from the type species,T.bohlini,mainly in horn-core morphology,having the frontal horn-cores proper much smaller and less distinctly separated from the plate-shaped posterior portion.Furthermore,the new species has smaller frontal sinuses,but a thicker layer of compact bone beneath the horn-core apparatus as seen in frontal section.A complete skull with a smaller horn-core apparatus is considered to represent a female individual of T.brevirostrum.The facial part of the skull,which is first known for this genus,is very short and high,with a high nasal cavity,strongly retracted nasals,and shortened premaxillae and premolar rows.All this probably suggests that the animal with an enlarged nasal cavity,like the modern Saiga and Budorcas,may have had a special adaptation to the high plateau environment.
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.
