Table of Content

15 September 2004, Volume 43 Issue 03

Previous Issue    Next Issue

INDRICOTHERES (PERISSODACTYLA , MAMMALIA) FROM OLIGOCENE IN LINXIA BASIN, GANSU, CHINA

QIU ZhanXiang, WANG BanYue, DENG Tao

2004, 43(03):  177-192. 

Asbtract ( )   PDF (544KB) ( )  

Related Articles | Metrics

The indricothere fossils from the Linxia Basin, Gansu Province, were first reported by Qiu et al. in 1990. The fossils were purchased from the Dongxiang county drugstore, allegedly from the deposits near the bottom of the Jiaozigou ravine. The age of the fauna was then considered as early Miocene because of the presence of a segment of proboscidean tusk among the purchased fossils. In 2002, while checking the fossils kept by a local dragon2bone dealer in the Hezheng County, the authors of the present paper found some well preserved Oligocene fossils, such as teeth of Tsaganomys, Aprotodon, some chalicothere, skull and teeth of indricotheres etc, allegedly from a ravine called Yagou of the Dongxiang County. Subsequent geologic work not only confirmed the provenance of the Yagou fossils, but also found that fossils from both Yagou and Jiaozigou ravines are from the same fossiliferous level, i. e., from the lower part of the Jiaozigou Formation. We failed to find any traces of proboscidean fossils in both localities. It is highly possible that the proboscidean tusk from the Jiaozigou ravine came from some overlying deposits, then mixed with the Oligocene fossils. Without the proboscidean fossils the lower part of the Jiaozigou Formation can well be assigned to late Oligocene, rather than early Miocene as previously suggested. The indricothere fossils are the best part of the Yagou fossils so far collected and may be of greater significance in age determination.

GERBILLIDS FROM THE LATE MIOCENE BAHE FORMATION, LANTIAN, SHAANXI

QIU ZhuDing, ZHENG ShaoHua, ZHANG ZhaoQun

2004, 43(03):  193-204. 

Asbtract ( )   PDF (419KB) ( )  

Related Articles | Metrics

This paper describes three new species of Gerbillidae in two genera Myocricetodon lantianensis sp. nov., M. liui sp. nov., and Abudhabia baheensis sp. nov. from the late Miocene Bahe Formation at Lantian, Shaanxi Province. M. lantianensis and M. liui show relative similarity to M. plebius from the middle Miocene of Quantougou, Gansu and M. sivalensis from the middle Miocene Siwaliks, Pakistan in dental pattern, and were closely allied to the two Asian middle Miocene gerbils, respectively. Abudhabia baheensis is the first record of the subfamily Taterillinae in China, and is considered to be the most primitive species of the genus so far known. The Lantian gerbils represent the eastern extension of distribution of the two genera. Their presence not only indicates the close biogeographic affinities of East Asia with North Africa and Southwest Europe during the late Miocene, but also suggests the existence of an open and xeric region between eastern Asia and northwestern Africa, where interchange of small mammals, via the Arabian Peninsula took place.

LANTIANTRAGUS GEN. NOV. ( URMIATHERIINAE, BOVIDAE, ARTIODACTYLA) FROM THE BAHE FORMATION, LANTIAN, CHINA

CHEN GuanFang, ZHANG ZhaoQun

2004, 43(03):  205-215. 

Asbtract ( )   PDF (346KB) ( )  

Related Articles | Metrics

A new bovid, Lantiantragus longirostralis gen. et sp. nov. is described in this paper. Fossil materials were discovered from the lower part of Bahe Formation, early Late Miocene , Lantian County, Shaanxi, China. By the features of teeth and skull in both dimension and morphology, it may belong to Urmiatheriinae, Bovidae.

NEW MATERIAL OF THE NEOGENE RHINOCEROTIDS FROM THE QAIDAM BASIN IN QINGHAI, CHINA

DENG Tao, WANG XiaoMing

2004, 43(03):  216-229. 

Asbtract ( )   PDF (455KB) ( )  

Related Articles | Metrics

Summary can be seen in PDF.

FOSSIL LEPORIDS (MAMMALIA , LAGOMORPHA) FROM HUAINAN, ANHUI, CHINA

JIN ChangZhu

2004, 43(03):  230-245. 

Asbtract ( )   PDF (428KB) ( )  

Related Articles | Metrics

Numerous mammalian remains including lagomorphs, are recently collected from the cave deposits of the Laodong Cave on the Dajushan Hill (N 32°35′47″, E 117°01′49″) , about 15 km northwest of the Huainan City , Anhui Province. Sediments in the cave comprise grayish sandy mud and brownish muddy sands consolidated by calcareous cement , and can be divided into eight layers. The leporid remains were obtained from the layer 5 and layer 7. Based primarily on the cricetid rodents and other fossils , the geologic age of the Laodong Cave is estimated as the lastest Miocene. This paper is to describe the leporid materials. The terminology and measuring methods follow White and Morgan (1995) .

NEW EARLY PLEISTOCENE MAMMALIAN MATERIALS FROM ZHONGDIAN, YUNNAN PROVINCE, CHINA

MA XuePing, LI Gang, GAO Feng, SUN YuanLin, ZHENG Liang

2004, 43(03):  246-258. 

Asbtract ( )   PDF (411KB) ( )  

Related Articles | Metrics

A number of mammal fossils were recently collected from the central part of the Hengduan Mountain ranges in northwestern Yunnan Province. The mammals described in this paper include a primate (Procynocephalus cf. P. wimani Schlosser, 1924), a hystricid rodent (Hystrix sp.), a perissodactyl (Equus yunnanensis Colbert, 1940), and a few artiodactyls (Cervavitus ultimus (Lin et al., 1978), Eucladoceros sp., Cervus (Rusa) yunnanensis Lin et al., 1978, Muntiacus sp., Gazella sp. and Leptobos sp.) In addition to those described, other fossils (complete or fragments) include Cervus (Sika) sp., Bison sp., rhinocerotoid (Perissodactyla) tooth fragments and hyaenid (Carnivora) coprolites. Overall the fossils indicate an early Pleistocene age. In this mammal fauna cervids (deers) and bovids (oxen and sheep) were predominant, which suggests a mixed forest2 grassland environment. In this fauna there are many identical forms with those in the Yuanmou Man fauna; in addition, there are also some taxa that are similar to those in northern China, which sug2 gests some kind of biogeographic relations.