Abstract: A new species of the large shrew, Beremendia jiangnanensis sp. nov., is described here. The materials were excavated from the Early Pleistocene deposits of Renzidong Cave located on the south bank of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, near Fanchang County, Anhui Province, South China. The new species is the largest in the genus. It is morphologically more primitive than B. pohaiensis from China, but more advanced than the type species, B. fissidens, from the lower Pliocene of Europe. Beremendia was initially reported from the Pliocene of northern Europe. It had been widely distributed in the high latitude regions of Europe and central Asia with a high population density, and became extinct by the end of the Middle Pleistocene. In East Asia, however, it appeared later, and was only rarely reported from the Early Pleistocene of North China. The origin of the genus is still unclear. The new species is a typical member of Renzidong fauna which is composed of more than 70 mammals. The analyses of ecological and taxonomic composition of the fauna show that it is noticeably distinct from the known Early Pleistocene faunas from northern and southern China and the modern local fauna for the reason that it is characterized by the coexistence of both Palearctic and Oriental faunal elements. But the Palearctic elements are somewhat predominate. The occurrence of the Palearctic element, Beremendia, as well as Equus sanmeniensis, Hypolagus, Kowalskia, and Mimomys, in the present-day Oriental Region strongly indicates that there was a cooling event during the Early Pleistocene, which drove the Palearctic elements to migrate southwards to the south of Yangtze River. So the southern boundary of the Palearctic Realm was more southernly located than present then. The first discovery of the hygrophilous and cryophylactic large shrew, Beremendia, in the present-day Oriental Region of East China will be helpful to the study of the evolution of Beremendia, and will provide significant information on the shrew’s dispersal events during the Plio-Pleistocene climatic transition and the faunistic development of China during Pleistocene.

摘要： 记述了在现代东洋界发现的鼩鼱类一新种:江南贝列门德鼩Beremendia jiangnanensis sp. nov. 。化石产自长江以南安徽繁昌早更新世早期人字洞古人类遗址。新种的体型比该属已知种大;形态特征比我国渤海种B. pohaiensis 原始,但比欧洲早上新世的B. fissidens 进步。贝列门德鼩是喜湿耐冷的北方型动物,最早发现于欧洲北部上新统,曾广泛分布于欧洲和中亚高纬度地区,种群密度大,中更新世完全绝灭;它在东亚出现较晚,零星发现于华北早更新世地层中,其起源尚不清楚。新种乃是人字洞动物群的主要成员之一,该动物群由70 多种哺乳动物组成。动物群的生态类型分析和分类统计表明,它与以往发现的早更新世南、北动物群及当地现代动物群截然不同,具有东洋界和古北界交错带动物群的特色,但动物组合特征为北方动物稍占优势,北方色彩较浓。贝列门德鼩和三门马(Equus sanmeniensis)、次兔(Hypolagus)、科氏仓鼠(Kowalskia)、模鼠(Mimomys)等大量北方型动物在我国东洋界的出现,足以说明第四纪早期有一次明显的降温事件。寒冷气候促使北方动物大规模南迁,古北区动物地理区系的界线在早更新世时要比目前更靠南;而且在古北界与东洋界之间确实存在南、北动物过渡带,其界线大致南移至现在的长江以南。贝列门德鼩在我国现代东洋界地区的首次发现,为研究该属的系统演化,探讨上新世—更新世气候转型时期鼩鼱类扩散事件及我国第四纪动物地理区系的演变将提供重要的信息。