Table of Content

15 June 2000, Volume 38 Issue 02

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VERTEBRATE BIOSTRATIGRAPHY OF THE LOWER CRETACEOUS YIXIAN FORMATION IN LINGYUAN, WESTERN LIAONING AND ITS NEIGHBORING SOUTHERN NEI MONGOL (INNER MONGOLIA), CHINA

WANG Xiao-Lin, WANG Yuan-Qing, ZHANG Fu-Cheng, ZHANG Jiang-yong, ZHOU Zhong-He, JIN Fan, HU Yao-Ming, GU Gang, ZHANG Hai-Chun

2000, 38(02):  81-99. 

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Summary can be seen in PDF.

A NEW SALAMANDER (AMPHIBIA：CAUDATA）FROM THE EARLY CRETACEOUS JEHOL BIOTA

WANG Yuan

2000, 38(02):  100-103. 

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Based on well—preserved impressions of articulated skeletons, a new urodele, Jeholotriton paradoxus gen. et sp. nov., is described from the lower part of the Yixian Fomation (Early Cretaceous), Nei Mongol, China. The discovery of' Jeholotriton documents the third Mesozoic salamander from China. Jeholotriton differs from other early caudates in having an anteromedially directed ramus of pterygoid that connects to the skull table rather than the maxilla. It is also characterized by having widely separated vomers, longitudinal vomerine tooth row, large nasals with no anterior notch, frontal with no anterolateral extension, short and incomplete maxillary arcade with no quadratojugal, prominent alary process of premaxilla, short maxilla, fused and dentigerous coronoid--prearticular, 17 presacrals, amphicoelous vertebrae, short transverse processes of the vertebrae, proximally expanded unicapitace ribs, and phalangeal formula of 2—2—3—2 for manus and 2—2—3 3—2 for pes.

A NEW VULTURE FROM THE MIOCENE OF SHANDONG, EASTERN CHINA

HOU Lian-Hai, ZHOU Zhong-He, ZHANG Fu-Cheng, Ll Jun-De

2000, 38(02):  104-110. 

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This paper describes the first large vulture discovered from the Miocene Shanwang Formation of Shanwang, Shandong Province, China. The new genus and species Qiluornis taishanensis gen. et sp. nov. is proposed and referred to the family Accipitridae. The characters of Qiluornis include: the cervical and thoracic vertebrae lack Proc. ventralis; the last sacral vertebra has robust transverse processes; the fibula is nearly three—quarters of the length of the tibiotarsus; the unguals of the first and second pedal digits are large and hooked; and the ungul of the fourth pedal digit is small. The new material is slightly smaller than another Miocene vulture Mioaegypius gui Hou 1984 from Sihong, Jiangsu Province, China, but is more advanced in having a well—developed wing of trochlea of the second digit. The discovery provides new evidence for the study of Old World vultures and the correlation of the Shanwang Formation with other Miocene deposits in China

A NEW SPECIES OF CAUDIPTERYX FROM THE YIXIAN FORMATION OF LIAONING, NORTHEAST CHINA

ZHOU Zhong-He, WANG Xiao-Lin

2000, 38(02):  111-127. 

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A recently collected specimen of Caudipteryx is described as a new species: C. dongi sp. nov. Compared with the type species of Caudipteryx (C. zoui) the new species has relatively long iliums and smaller sternal plates. Uncinate processes are present as in oviraptorids and most birds. The pubis is antero-ventrally directed as in most saurischian dinosaurs. The fibula contacts the calcaneum distally. Among the pedal digits the third is the longest, the fourth is shorter than the second, and the hallux is short with a reduced claw characteristic of cursorial animals. As in birds the hallux is opposable to the rest of digits, indicating that the ancestor of Caudipteryx might have obtained perching or grasping power, therefore providing further evidence for the arboreal hypothesis of the origin of avian flight. The feather lacks barbules and represents either a more primitive type than in birds or a secondarily reduced one. Although Caudipteryx has several bird characters it is interpreted in this paper as a feathered dinosaur rather than a secondarily flightless bird. Caudipteryx resembles oviraptorids more than dromaeosaurids, yet it represents a lineage distinguishable from all known major maniraptorian clades, therefore we propose to erect a new family: Caudipteridae fam. nov. currently including only Cacidipteryx. The characters of Caudipteryx also indicates that it was a fast running herbivorous animal.

PRELIMINARY REPORT ON A NEW GENUS OF OVIBOVINAE FROM HEZHENG DISTRICT, GANSU, CHINA

QIU Zhan-Xiang, WANG Ban-Yue, XIE Guang-Pu

2000, 38(02):  128-134. 

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In September 1998, while visiting the museum of the Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, we saw a number of skulls with apparent ovibovine affinity in the museum' s storeroom. A few days later we found skulls of the same animal in a dragon—bone digger' s closet mixed up with other skulls and bones of common elements of the Hipparion fauna. Although imperfect in preservation, we obtained the best ones from the dragon—bone digger. In January 1 999, when Qiu and Xie were invited by the Hezheng county authorities to identify the fossils they acquired in the past few years, we finally realized that this unrecorded ovibovine animal should be one of the most characteristic forms of the Hipparion fauna of the whole Hezheng district (including the neighboring counties of Guanghe and Dongxiang). Among the thousand odd fossils, most of which were perfectly preserved skulls, 170 skulls are referable to this animal, the second largest group in number next only to the chilotheres. Elaborative study of this material needs, and has been planned, to be done in special monographs on systematic basis. Since this important ovibovine animal has never been known to science, a preliminary report is given below.

MIDDLE EOCENE MAMMALS OF JEMINAY，XINJIANG

JIN Hal-Yue

2000, 38(02):  135-146. 

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Triplopus sp., Triplopus? jeminaiensis sp. nov.、Lophialetes sp. and Hyaenodontidae gen. et sp. collected from the Early Tertiary of Jeminay（850H11一1 2, 47。 29' N 85。88' E), Xinjiang by Geology Bureau of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in1985 are described in this paper. These newly found fossils demonstrate the existence Of Middle Eocene deposits in Jeminay area. And the mammal assemblage can be compared with Irdin Manha fauna of Nei Mongol and approximately equivalent to Obayla svita or Sargamys svita of western Zaysan basin. Its age is considered as Irdin Manha period.

A NEW SPECIES OF DICYNODON FROM UPPER PERMIAN OF SUNAN, GANSU, WITH REMARKS ON RELATED STRATA

Ll Pei-Xian, CHENG Zheng-Wu, Ll Jin-Ling

2000, 38(02):  147-157. 

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During the early 1980 ' s, a team composed of the members from the Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences and Institute of Geology, Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources of Gansu resurveyed the terrestrial Permian and Triassic deposites of Qilian Mountain area. A skull of dicynodont was collected from Lugou, NE 30km of Sunan by the 2nd author of the present paper. On the basis of its large size, a single pair of the maxillary tusks in the upper jaws, the postorbital tending to overlap the parietal posterior to the pineal foramen, the septomaxilla merged smoothly with the dorsal surface of the snout, etc., the specimen is referable to genus Dicynodon, and represents a new species.