Table of Content

15 September 2017, Volume 55 Issue 3

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Cyprinus-like pharyngeal bones and teeth (Teleostei, Cypriniformes, Cyprinidae) from the Early–Middle Oligocene deposits of South China

CHEN Geng-Jiao, CEN Li-Di, LIU Juan

2017, 55(3):  201-209. 

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Here we describe †Nanningocyprinus wui gen. et sp. nov, a fossilCyprinus-like fish from the Early-Middle Oligocene deposits of Langdong, Nanning Basin, Guangxi Province, South China. †Nanningocyprinus wui is represented by a number of pharyngeal bones and teeth. It differs from all other cyprinid fishes in the following character combination: tooth formula —3·2·1, crushing molar-like A1 much larger than A2, only one groove on the grinding surface of A2 and B1 respectively, and the anterior angle of the pharyngeal bone triangular and prominent. The new-found Cyprinus-like fish, along with the previously known Late Eocene †Eoprocypris maomingensis(Procypris-like) and Oligocene †Huashancyprinus robustispinus (Cyprinus-like) from South China, further indicates an early branching and diversification of the Cyprininae (Cyprinidae) in this area.  

Viviparity in a Triassic marine archosauromorph reptile

LI Chun,  Olivier RIEPPEL, Nicholas C. FRASER

2017, 55(3):  210-217. 

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 Eggs or embryos have been reported in various groups of fossil reptiles, where viviparity is a common mode of reproduction in aquatic taxasuch as the ichthyopterygians, some groups of sauropterygians, mosasauroids, some taxa of choristoderans and certain protorosaurs. Here, we describe a complete embryo of a marine protorosaur, based on a well-preserved, curled-up skeleton. The new discovery is referred to a taxon closely related to the remarkable long-necked Dinocephalosaurus. It further confirmed viviparity in an archosauromorph group and indicates an increasing taxonomic diversity not only within this group, but of Triassic marine reptiles in general. 

An ameghinornithid-like bird (Aves: Cariamae: Ameghinornithidae?) from the Middle Eocene of Nei Mongol, China

Thomas A. STIDHAM, WANG Yuan-Qing 

2017, 55(3):  218-226. 

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 A new fossil specimen from the early Middle Eocene of an Irdin Manha Formation equivalent (Erden Obo Section) in Nei Mongol (Inner Mongolia), China appears to be derived from an ameghinornithid-like species, and may represent the first record of the Ameghinornithidae in Asia. This new specimen exhibits the subcircular lateral condyle outline, the absence of an ossified supratendinal bridge, an enlarged flattened tubercle lateral to the extensor sulcus, and other features shared among known ameghinornithid and ameghinornithid-like birds. The Nei Mongol fossil is roughly contemporaneous with the oldest records of the ameghinornithids from Europe (~48 Ma). The absence of this group of birds from North America, and their occurrence in Europe and Asia during the Eocene contrasts with the contemporaneous Nei Mongol mammalian fauna that is comprised largely of Asian taxa with a few distinct linkages to North America. Along with the record of an ameghinornithid-like bird from the early Oligocene deposits of the Fayum area in Egypt, it seems that this extinct bird group had a much larger geographic distribution than previously recognized.  

Discovery of Yuomys from Altun Shan, Xinjiang, China 

WANG Ban-Yue 

2017, 55(3):  227-232. 

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 Specimens reported in this note represent the first discovery of Yuomys in Altun Shan. A new species, Yuomys altunensis, is established based on the following features: molars large and wide in proportion; metaconule distinctly separated from metacone, metaloph long, but incomplete; hypocone smaller than protocone; sinus extending to base of crown on lingual side; postcingulum connectting lingual side of metacone; metacone crescent and postcingulum short in M3. Yuomys altunensis is similar to Y. cavioides, Y. eleganes and Y. huangzhuangensis of late Middle Eocene in molar morphlogy. According to its evolutionary level, Y.altunensis is supposed as of late Middle Eocene in age, or slightly later.  

Early Mammut from the Upper Miocene of northern China, and its implications for the evolution and differentiation of Mammutida

WANG Shi-Qi, LI Yu, Jaroon DUANGKRAYOM, CHEN Shao-Kun, HE Wen, CHEN  Shan-Qin 

2017, 55(3):  233-256. 

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Mammut is the terminal taxon of the proboscidean group Mammutidae, which survived to the Late Pleistocene. Although this genus was widely distributed in the Pliocene of Eurasia and the Pleistocene of North America, little is known about its early evolution. Here, we report on Mammut cf. M. obliquelophus from the Upper Miocene of northern China based on new fossil material, including an almost complete juvenile cranium and other remains, which show many primitive features within Mammutidae and clearly demonstrate the morphological evolution of Mammut. The strongly laterally expanded lateral wing of the occiput and the presence of basal constriction of the incisive fossa display cranial similarity between Mammut cf. M. obliquelophus and both Eozygodon morotoensis and Choerolophodon guangheensis, early representatives of the Mammutidae and Choerolophodontidae, respectively, indicating the close relationship between these two groups: both of them are located at the basal phylogenetic positions in Elephantimorpha. This result is further confirmed by a cladistic analysis.  

New material of t he Early Pleistocene mammalian fauna from Chutoulang, Chifeng, eastern Nei Mongol, China and binary faunal similarity analyses

DONG Wei, ZHANG Li-Min, LIU Wen-Hui

2017, 55(3):  257-273. 

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 New specimens from a new locality at Chutoulang in eastern Nei Mongol were identified as Canis chihliensis, Coelodonta nihowanensis,Hipparion (Proboscidipparion) sinense, Equus sanmeniensis, Sus lydekkeri,Muntiacus cf. M. lacustris, Axis shansius, Eucladoceros boulei, Spirocerus cf.S. wongi and Bison palaeosinensis. They enriched the mammalian fauna of Chutoulang to 30 taxa together with the material from Dongliang, Dongcun Beigou and Dongcun Nangou localities. The mammalian fossils from these four localities are all from the same horizon and can be regarded as the same fauna, i.e. Chutoulang fauna. The composition of Chutoulang fauna is the closest to that of Nihewan (s.s.) by binary faunal similarity coefficients. The age of Chutoulang fauna is between those of Nihewan (s.s.) and Juyuandong at Liucheng according to Brainerd-Robinson’s sequence, extinction rates and antiquity coefficients. The numerical age of Chutoulang fauna is estimated between 1.4–1.6 Ma based on those of compared faunas. Carnivora are the most numerous in Chutoulang fauna with 11 taxa, but mostly the small sized ones. Perissodactyla and Artiodactyla make about half of the fauna. They are mostly large sized forms. The presence of numerous browsers or forest dwellers implies the existence of forest or woodland in Chutoulang area during that period. The presence of grazers and openland dwellers indicates the existence of larger area of grassland or steppes than that of woodland or forests. Most members of Chutoulang fauna are temperate habitat dwellers with a few cold-prone forms such as Ochotona and Coelodonta. The climate in Chutoulang area in the Early Pleistocene was thus similar to that of today. Chutoulang fauna is the most northeastern Early Pleistocene fauna in China and it can be recommended as a type site of the Early Pleistocene mammalian fauna in northeastern China. 

Early Middle Jurassic dinosaur footprints from Zizhou County, Shaanxi, China

Li Yong-Xiang, Zhang Yun-Xiang 

2017, 55(3):  276-288. 

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Four types of footprints of carnivorous dinosaurs have been found from the Yan’an Formation of early Middle Jurassic in Zizhou County, Shaanxi, China. From the top to bottom interval, the fourtypes of footprints discovered at five layers in a 1.7 m thick stratumare as follows: 1) the large tridactyl footprints in the fifth layer (e, top) belong to Zizhoupus wangi ichnogen. et ichnosp. nov.; 2) the medium tridactyl footprints in the third and fourth layers (c–d) belong to Changpeipus longweimaoensis ichnosp. nov.; 3) small tridactyl ortetradactyl footprints in the second layer (b) belong to Shensipus xiaoliheensis ichnosp. nov. and 4) small tridactyl footprints in the first layer (a, bottom) belong to Shensipus tungchuanensis.