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    15 June 2008, Volume 46 Issue 2
    FIRST RECORD OF PRIMATE FOSSILS FROM LATE EOCENE IN EREN REGION, NEI MONGOL, CHINA
    WANG Ban-Yue
    2008, 46(2):  81-89. 
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    During the 1980's-1990's a few isolated teeth of fossil primates were collected from theUpper Eocene beds in Eren Region, Nei Mongol. They represent the first records of the Primates in Late Eocene of Nei Mongol. The discovery has not only expanded the distribution of the Primates in Asia, added new elements to the Late Eocene faunas of Nei Mongol, but also provided with new information on paleozoogeography and paleoenvironment of this area.
    THE NEOGENE DINGSHANYANCHI FORMATION IN NORTHERN JUNGGAR BASIN OF XINJIANG AND ITS STRATIGRAPHIC IMPLICATIONS
    MENG Jin, YE Jie, WU Wen-Yu, NI Xi-Jun, Bi Shun-Dong
    2008, 46(2):  90-110. 
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    A sequence of fluvio-lacustrine and paludine deposits with thickness over 150 meters occurs in the Nihewan Basin, Hebei, China(Yuan et al.,1996; Min et al.,2006).A series of ~30m(="90 feet") thick red homogeneous clay exposured near the Sanggan River Gorge (=Shixia) was originally considered as the weathering matter of the base rocks(Barbour et al.,1926). Due to the absence of fossils, its age once was speculated to belong to the Pontian (Teilhard and Piveteau,1930) or the Late Miocene Baodean(Black et al.,1933). However, a sequence of ~30 m thick red gravel-bearing clay at the bottom of the section of Dahonggou in Shixia was named as"Dahonggou Formation"by Chen(1988). At the same time, the~12 m and~7 m thick red clays in the lower part of the Hongya Nangou and Pump Station, respectively, were also included into this Pliocene formation.A series of 20~30 m thick redish or yellow-redish alternating sandy clay and gravel beds are exposed in the Luanshigedagou near Hongya village. Yielding Hipparion and Chilotherium, this deposit was considered to belong to the"Hipparion Red Clay"with a Pliocene age(Huang et al.,1974). The sequence of~45 m thick red clay containing sandy gravel and lens of calcareous nodules in the Huabaogou near Xiyaozitou village was divided into the upper"Yuxian Formation"and the lower"Huliuhe Formation"by the composition of large fossil mammals. These two formations were respectively correlated to be equal in age to the Pliocene Jingle Formation and the Late Miocene Bahe Formation(Wang,1982). In view of the illegibility of the boundary and the lack of significant differences in the fossil faunas between these two formations, Zhang et al.(2003) incorporated them both in the Late Pliocene Yuxian Formation.A series of fluvio-lacustrine and paludine deposits exposed on the both sides of the Huliu River were named "Daodi Formation"and considered of Late Pliocene age(Du et al.,1988). The original sections used for erecting the"Daodi Fm." are located in the Laowogou near Daodi, the Nangou near Hongya, the Jiangjungou near Xiyaozitou, the Hougou near Qijiazhuang, the Yuanzigou near Yuanzi, the Xiaoshuigou near Qianjiashawa, the Lianjiegou near Beimajuan, the Niutoushan(="Pulu") near Pulu and the Danangou near Dongyaozitou. Zhang et al.(2003) figured that these short sections all belong to the"Yuxian Fm.", so they suggested that"Daodi Fm."should be abolished and attributed to the"Yuxian Fm.", whereas Cai et al.(2004) retained both"Daodi Fm."and "Yuxian Fm.". The red clay stratum from the first layer at the bottom of the Laowogou section is stillunnamed due to the uniformity of the grain size, the absence of gravels and aquatic animal remains. Based on the limited fossil mammals, the age of this stratum was thought to be the late Middle or early Late Pliocene(Zhang et al.,2003; Cai et al.,2004). The Pliocene/Pleistocene boundaries, on the other hand, have already been established in the Laowogou, Donggou, Taiergou and Niutoushan sequences (Cai et al.,2004; Zheng et al.,2006; Min et al.,2006; Cai et al.,2007). Judging from the known information, the lower part of the exposed strata in the Nihewan Basin should be attributed to the Late Pliocene Yuxian Formation or some unnamed red clays.These outcrops exist in the Sanggan River Gorge area and on the both sides of the lower reaches of the Huliu River with lithology of aeolian clay, fluvio-lacustrine red clay contained gravels and paludine sandy clay. On the both sides of the lower reaches of the Huliu River, there are 12 localities and sections, in which one or more layers of fossil mammals have been found(Fig.1). The purpose of this paper is to update a faunal list of these mammals based on the review of specimens and their localities, and also an attempt to correlate the other sections to the Laowogou section by comparing their mammalian compositions and lithological strata. Finally,a Late Pliocene biostratigraphic sequence and the environmental changes in the Nihewan Basin are discussed. A new lithological unit, the Dingshanyanchi(Dingshan Salt Lake) Formation, is established based on a set of reddish silts that is distributed in the area of Dingshan Salt Lake in the southern area of the Ulungur River, northern Junggar Basin, Xinjiang(Fig.1). At the type lo-cality, the Dingshanyanchi Formation measures 46.2 m in thickness, overlays the Middle Mio-cene Halamagai Formation, and is capped by a set of 5 m thick conglomerates of unknown age (Fig.2). Along the escarpment, the contact between the Halamagai and Dingshanyanchi formations varies from place to place. In some areas,a hiatus is distinct between the two units, whereas in others they appear continuous. We tentatively consider that a disconformity exists between the two formations and that the hiatus, if any, does not represent a major sedimentary gap. Within the basal beds of the Dingshanyanchi Formation,2.3 m above the base of the formation,a fossil assemblage was collected, consisting of two dozens of species, mainly small mammals. Of the 22 small mammals,12 are in common with the Tunggur fauna of Nei Mongol (Inner Mongolia): Alloptox gobiensis, Desmalolagus sp., Heterosminthus orientalis, Protalactaga major,P. grabaui, Democricetodon lindsayi,D. tongi, Megacricetodon sinensis,M. pusillus, Plesiodipus leei, Miodyromys sp., and Keramidomys fahlbuschi. Among identifiable larger mammals, Anchitherium and Hemicyon cf.H. stehlini are also present in Tunggur fauna. Faunal correlation suggests that the lower beds containing the fossil assemblage are middle to late Middle Miocene in age and are correlative to European MN7+8 or part of the Chinese Tunggurian. In addition to mammal fossils,8 gastropod species were collected from the same beds, of which 6 are terrestrial species and are common taxa in the Chinese loess. The lithology and faunas indicate the aeolian origin of these red beds, or at least some of them. The upper beds of Dingshanyanchi Formation, at the level of 12.4 m below the top of the formation, yield sparse and fragmentary fossils. The only identifiable specimens belong to Hipparion(Plesiohipparion) houfenense. This species, along with tooth fragments of rhinocerotids and proboscidean from the same level, suggests a Hipparion fauna with the age of Late Miocene Baodean or Pliocene. Fossils from the two levels indicate that the Dingshanyanchi Formationspans a time interval from the middle Middle Miocene to Late Miocene, or even Pliocene. However, the thickness of the formation appears thin in contrast to the time interval inferred from the fossils. Previously, the Kekemaideng Formation overlying the Halamagai Formation was considered the youngest Tertiary record in the Ulungur River area. The Kekemaideng fauna consists of mainly large mammals that are correlative to those of Tunggur fauna. We interpret that the Kekemaideng Formation, which consists of primarily conglomerates, is laterally equivalent to the lower portion of the Dingshanyanchi Formation and represents a different facies that has a more restricted geographic distribution. The macrofauna from the Kekemaideng Formation may well be attributable to its taphonomy. The age of the Halamagai fauna has remained uncertain. Different views treat it as fromMN5 to MN7+8, respectively. Given the superpositional relationship of the Dingshanyanchi and Halamagai formations, the Dingshanyanchi faunas provide an age constraint of being no later than MN6 for the Halamagai fauna. The age of the Halamagai fauna, which consists of fossils primarily from the lower beds of the formation, is probably equivalent to MN6, possibly plus part of MN5. The superpositional relationships of formations from Dingshan Salt Lake and Tieersihabahe sections allow us to compose a lithological sequence in the Ulungur River area, including four units: Tieersihabahe, Suosuoquan, Halamagai and Dingshanyanchi formations(Fig.3). The Tieersihabahe section ranges from the Late Oligocene to Middle Miocene(Meng et al.,2006), whereas the addition of the Dingshanyanchi Formation extends the sequence into the Late Mio-cene or Pliocene. Magnetostratigraphic work has been done at the Tieersihabahe section, but is pending at the Dingshanyanchi Formation. With the available litho-, bio-and magnetostratigraphic data, we provide a preliminary division and correlation for the composite sequence inquestion (Fig.3). The work cited in Fig.3 is only for convenience of correlation; we note that they differ in several aspects from each other and from other studies on the Chinese Neogene. The oldest portion of this sequence is represented by the Late Oligocene(Tabenbulukian) Tieersihabahe Formation and the lowest beds of the Suosuoquan Formation. Three biozones have been recognized within the Tabenbulukian sediments and are collectively correlative to the European PM28-30. This suggests the possibility to divide the Chinese Paleogene Land Mammal Ages into biochronologic subunits. The base of Xiejian Stage,a chronostratigraphic unit of Chinese terrestrial Neogene, is 7.25 m above the base of the Suosuoquan Formation and is correlative to the base of Miocene and Neogene. The recognition of the boundary is based on cormelation of magnetic polarity obtained from the formation with the base of C6Cn.2n, not on biological evidence, because the Xiejian Stage(Age) has not been appropriately defined by any biological marker. Similarly, the base of Shanwangian is identified at the level 56.25 m above the base of the Suosuoquan Formation in the same section, with the geomagnetic polarity age of 20.43 Ma. The Suosuoquan Formation at the Tieersihabahe section contains beds with a time interval equivalent to MN1-3, but beds of age equivalent to MN4 and part of MN5 appear missing.This suggests that hiatus between the Suosuoquan and Halamagai formations in the Tieersihaba-he section represents a gap of ca 1 Ma. However,a section in the vicinity of Tieersihabahe lo-cality that has a continuous transition from the Suosuoquan Formation to the Halamagai Formation and a newly discovered fauna correlative to those of MN4 or 5 suggest that sediments deposited during the time of MN4-5 are probably present in the Ulungur River region. The Halamagai Formation and the lower part of the Dingshanyanchi Formation probably span an interval from part of MN5 to MN7+8, or late Shangwangian to Tunggurian, as discussed above. The upper part of the Dingshanyanchi Formation is biostratigraphically less constrained. Based on the fossils and the continuous sequence observed in the field, it possibly represents sediments laid down during the time equivalent to MN9-13. If this is the case, the depositional rate of these beds must be very low. The lithology and faunas from the Late Oligocene-Miocene strata in the Ulungur River area are significant in several aspects. Given the paleomagnetic and biostratigraphic calibrations available and interpreted, the Late Oligocene faunas are coincident with the Late Oligocene warming, although the faunal structure remains similar to those of the Oligocene in the Mongolian Plateau, which had been established during the Mongolian Remoulding at the Eocene-Oligocene transition. The transition from the Oligocene to Miocene does not show significant turnover of mammals at the generic level. Many Oligocene genera survived into the Early Miocene. However, at the species level, there is a considerable turmover at the transition.The fluvial sediments and highly diverse fauna of the Halamagai Formation are in sharp contrast to those below and above. The fauna contains 49 species from almost all Neogene mammalian groups, including primates, proboscideans, and bats. Large numbers of specimens were from ungulates, carnivoreans and small mammals. Similar Middle Miocene faunas have also been known in other areas of northern China. The fauna convincingly indicate a warm, wet environment with flourishing vegetation, probably including patches of forests. Because of its coincidence with the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum, we entertain a causal relationship of the Halamagai fauna with the global climate. In contrast, the Miocene Qin' an section(Guo et al.,2002) at the east rim of the Tibet Plateau displays a different record, in which there are no significant lithological and faunal changes during the Middle Miocene. The lithology and faunas of the Suosuoquan and Dingshanyanchi formations suggest aeolian origin of the sediments, more so for the latter. If this proves to be true, the source areas must be different from the loess deposits that have been laid down in central China, and the formationof the Dingshanyanchi Formation is probably related to the global cooling starting from the late Middle Miocene.
    SCIURIDS AND ZAPODIDS FROM THE LATE MIOCENE BAHE FORMATION, LANTIAN, SHAANXI
    QIU Zhu-Ding ZHENG Shao-Hua ZHANG Zhao-Qun
    2008, 46(2):  111-123. 
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    Three forms of Sciuridae, Eutamias lishanensis sp. nov., Sciurotamias pusillus sp. nov. and Sciurus sp., and two forms of Zapodidae, Lophocricetus xianensis sp. nov. and Lophocricetus sp. from the lower part of Late Miocene Bahe Formation at Lantian, Shaanxi Province are described. Similarities of the new sciurids in dental morphology to the extant Eutamias sibiricus and Sciurotamias davidianus are indicative of their close affinities, respectively. Sciurotamias pusillus from Lantian represents the earliest record of the endemic genus. The new zapodid is also a relatively primitive species of Lophocricetus known in China, demonstrating more primitive characters than Lophocricetus grabaui Schlosser, 1924 commonly known in the Ertemte and Harr Obo faunas of Nei Mongol (Inner Mongolia). Delimitation of the genera Lophocricetus and Heterosminthus, and definition of the species within Lophocricetus are stressed. Both the sciurids and the zapodids argue for an age of Late Miocene for the Bahe Formation, corresponding to early Baodean of the Chinese Land Mammal Age system. The presence of these taxa suggests existence of patches of woodland vegetation and temperate climate in an open environment for the Lantian area during the early Late Miocene.
    THE DIPODIDAE (JERBOAS) FROM LOC. 30 OF BAODE AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL SIGNIFICANCE
     LIU Li-Ping, ZHANG Zhao-Qun, CUI Ning, Mikael FORTELIUS
    2008, 46(2):  124-132. 
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    Two types of jerboa are found from Loc. 30 of Baode, Shanxi Province. The three-toed jerboa Dipus fraudator is the dominant taxon, accompanied with few teeth of the five-toed jerboa Paralactaga cf. P. suni. Although the diversity of this jerboa assemblage is not as high as that from Ertemte fauna, the two assemblages are fairly similar to each other. The jerboa assemblage from Baode is quite different to that from the Bahe Formation, where the dominant member is Protalactaga. The Lantian assemblage also contains one tooth assigned to Paralactaga sp., but it is much primitive than any known species. The Baode jerboa assemblage then has no shared taxa with that of Lantian. Although the small mammals from Baode have not been fully studied, the difference between the Bahean and Baodean small mammals is already evident. Jerboas are associated with high large mammal hypsodonty values from 10 Ma onwards and can be regarded as a proxy for relatively arid environments since the Late Miocene. The steppe environment suggested by these jerboas for Loc. 30 is consistent with the early analyses of the large mammals and the stable isotopes from ungulate teeth. The two different biomes traditionally recognized in the Baode area are separated temporally other than spatially.
    Fossil Hyaenidae (Mammalia: Carnivora) from Huainan, Anhui Province, china
    Zhijie Jack TSENG , JIN Chang-Zhu, LIU Jin-Yi , ZHENG Long-Ting, SUN Cheng-Kai
    2008, 46(2):  133-146. 
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     Three species of the family Hyaenidae (Mammalia: Carnivora) from cave or fissure fillings near Huainan, Anhui Province, are described. The bone-cracking hyaenines are represented by Adcrocuta eximia and Crocuta crocuta. The cursorial or hunting hyaenids are represented by Chasmaporthetes lunensis. The presence of Adcrocuta indicates a Late Miocene component in the Huainan faunas, whereas Crocuta represents a Late Pliocene to Pleistocene faunal element. The occurrence of Chasmaporthetes provides evidence for the presence of open habitats, such as grasslands. 
    A NEW TITANOSAUR (DINOSAURIA: SAUROPODA) FROM THE LATE CRETACEOUS OF GUANGXI, CHINA
    MO Jin-You , HUANG Chao-Lin , ZHAO Zhong-Ru, WANG Wei, XU Xing 
    2008, 46(2):  147-156. 
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    A new titanosaurian taxon, Qingxiusaurus youjiangensis gen. et sp. nov., from the Upper Cretaceous red beds of Nanning City, Guangxi, China is reported. It is represented by several postcranial elements including a cranial caudal neural spine,a pair of sternal plates, and a pair of humeri. The new taxon is diagnosed on the basis of a combination of following features: simply-built cranial caudal neural spine elongated and paddle-shaped and the length ratio between sternal plate and humerus low (about 0.65). The new form, as well as other recently recovered titanosaurian taxa from Asia, indicates a highly modified postcranial morphology and large diversity within this sauropod clade in the Cretaceous of Asia.
    THE PRESENCE OF A GIGANTIC THEROPOD IN THE JURASSIC SHISHUGOU FORMATION, JUNGGAR BASIN, WESTERN CHINA
    XU Xing, James M. CLARK
    2008, 46(2):  157-160. 
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    The Shishugou Formation of the northeastern Junggar Basin, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China was deposited during the late Middle Jurassic through early Late Jurassic(Eberth et al.,2001). The giant sauropod Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum(Russell and Zheng,1993) is known from the formation, but the largest theropod known is the relatively small Sinraptor dongi (Currie and Zhao,1993), with an estimated body length of 7.2 meters. Our expeditions from 2001 through 2007 in this formation resulted in the discoveries of many articulated skeletons and many isolated elements as well(Clark et al.,2006). Here we report an isolated large theropod tooth collected from the upper part of the formation at the Wucaiwan locality in the Junggar Basin. This isolated tooth was preserved within a partial sauropod skeleton, which might have been a prey of the bearer of the tooth. The dental description terms follow Smith et al.(2005). V 15310 is possibly a shed crown of a lateral tooth as a root is absent and a depression appears to be present at the base of the crown which might indicate the presence of a resorption pit. Like a typical theropod tooth crown, it is strongly compressed mediolaterally, curved posteriorly, and finely denticulated along the mesial and distal carinae(Fig.1A) V15310 is large in size. The apical length(AL) and crown height(CH) of the preservedtooth crown are 102 mm and 92 mm, respectively; the crown base length(CBL) and crown base width(CBW) are 35 and 18 mm, respectively; the crown base ratio(CBR) and crown height ratio(CHR) are 0.51 and 2.63, respectively. The tooth crown is much thicker labiolingually close to the mesial margin than to the distal margin and basally than apically; the lingual surface is much more convex mesiodistally than the labial surface. Both the mesial and distal carinae are well developed(Fig.1B,C). The mesial carina is slightly displaced onto the lingual surface apically. Small denticles are present along both carinae. The denticulated carina is 83 mm long along the distal margin and appears to be slightly shorter(80 mm long) along the mesial margin. The denticles are variable in size both between and along the carinae. The denticles are robust, with the labiolingual width of their basal sec-tions much greater than either their length or height. The middle denticles are slightly longer than the apical ones (0.57 and 0.49 mm in basal length, respectively, along the distal carina), and the latter longer than the basal ones (0.44 mm). An individual denticle is small relative to the tooth size. DSI(Denticle Size Index: defined as a ratio of denticle basal length against CH times 1000) is used to describe the relative size of denticles. DSI for the middle denticles along the distal carina of V 15310 is about 6, comparable to that in a similar-sized Tyrannosaurus tooth (about 7). It is about 20 in a Sinraptor tooth of 35 mm in CH. Denticle size is negatively correlated with the dental crown size among theropods and larger teeth normally bear smaller denticles(Farlow et al.,1991). The denticles along the distal carina are slender in labial or lingual view, being much higher than long(the basal ones are nearly twice as highas long, the middle ones about one-fourth higher than long, and the apical ones intermediate in proportions). They are slightly curved toward the crown tip, the apical ones more so than the basal ones. The apical ones are, however, more symmetrical than the basal ones in having a bluntly rounded tip whereas in the latter the more pointed tips curve slightly toward the crown tip. The inter-denticle notch(or slit) is shallow between the apical denticles but deep between the basal denticles (one-third the denticle height). Blood grooves are restricted between the adjacent denticles, with little extension onto the crown surface. The denticles along the mesial carina are similar in most features to the ones along the distal carina;a few differences exist, however. They are proportionally shorter(about as high as long) and thus look more robust than the denticles along the distal carina. Also unlike the latter, which are chisel-like with the base smoothly continuing onto the crown surface, the mesial denticles are somewhat bulbous basally. Weak enamel wrinkles are present on both the labial and lingual surfaces. The wrinkle rows are close and parallel to the denticles, and they are more developed close to the mesial carina than the distal carina. The wrinkles are arcuate, each about 4 mm long, and sweep slightly down and away from the carinae. Wear is present in several forms. The enamel is worn away around the tip, producing a slightly round tip. The wear facet along the mesial carina is large, extendsfrom the tip a length of about 10 mm, and is relatively flat basally. Some denticles along both mesial and distal carinae are abraded. The apical denticles are more heavily abraded than the more basal ones andthe denticles along the mesial carina are abraded more than along the distal carina. Several dental features are useful for inferring the affinities of V 15310. Enamel winkles have been reported in Carcharodontosaurus (Sereno et al.,1996), Giganotosaurus, some large tyrannosauroid teeth(Holtz, 2004), and isolated teeth from the Late Cretaceous of Japan and Brazil, respectively (Chure et al.,1999). They are also present in Sinraptor, though extremely weakly developed. In Carcha-rodontosaurus, Gigantosaurus and Sinraptor enamel wrinkles are across the crown surface; in tyrannosauroids and the isolated teeth from Japan and Brazil, enamel wrinkles are restricted to the mesial and/or distal margins.V 15310 is similar to the latter group, though more weakly developed. The distal denticles are significantly higher than the mesial denticles in V15310,a feature known in some dromaeosaurids, basal tyrannosauroids, Sinraptor, and Yangchuanosaurus, but V 15310 is more similar to Sinraptor and Yangchuanosaurus in that the mesial denticles are about as long as the distal ones. It is likely that V 15310 is a gigantic sinraptorid, either ataxon assignable or closely related to Yangchuanosaurus magnus, the longest tooth of which is 75 mm long in AL(Dong et al.,1983) or an old individual of Sinraptor. If the latter is true, Sinraptor might have an indeterminate growth strategy because the much smaller Sinraptor holotype is an adult individual(Currie and Zhao,1993). The most conspicuous feature is the large size of V 15310. Among the known theropod taxa (Smith,2005; Smith et al.,2005), only Tyrannosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus, Acrocanthosaurus and probably Giganotosaurus have a maximum CBI subequal to or larger than that of V15310; Tyrannosaurus, Acrocanthosaurus, Suchomimus, Gorgosaurus and Daspletosaurus have a maximum CBW subequal to or larger than that of V 15310; Tyrannosaurus, Carcharodontosaurus and probably Gigantosaurus have a maximum CH subequal to or larger than that of V15310; and only Tyrannosaurus has a maximum AL subequal to or larger than that of V15310. V 15310 is the largest known theropod tooth reported to date from Jurassic sediments. The discovery of V 15310 from the Shishugou Formation suggests that theropods evolved gigantic size as early as the early Late Jurassic, possibly co-evolving with large herbivorous dinosaurs such as mamenchisaurs that are common in this formation.