Depositional history, contact relationships, and characterization of Upper Miocene Baogeda Ula Formation in central Nei Mongol with a description of fossil skunks
Received date: 2025-06-10
Online published: 2025-10-30
In addition to its well-known fossils, the Upper Miocene Baogeda Ula Formation is coupled with multiple basaltic lava flows, creating an ideal setting for studying its depositional history, geochronology, and associated vertebrate fossils. This paper, in honor of Prof. Qiu Zhanxiang for his widely admired emphasis on the geological contexts of vertebrate fossils, attempts to synthesize known contact relationships, existing K-Ar dates, and capping basalt elevations to reframe our concept of the lithostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy, and lateral distribution of the Baogeda Ula Formation. Within this new framework, the Baogeda Ula Formation is defined by unconformable contact with the underlying Tunggur Formation at the lower boundary and a capping basalt at the upper boundary. In many sections, two or three layers of basalts are interbedded within sedimentary strata, with the capping basalts typically belonging to the top two basalts. The newly defined Baogeda Ula Formation includes a lower member as exemplified by Halajin Hushu section and Ulan Hushuyin Nur section, and an upper member at Baogeda Ula section. This expanded concept of the Baogeda Ula Formation includes two major faunas, i.e., the Bahean Halajin Hushu Fauna and Baodean Baogeda Ula Fauna, both falling within the Upper Miocene. We also describe rare fossil skunks (Promephitis) found in recent years that support the age assessments presented herein.
Key words： Nei Mongol; Miocene; Baogeda Ula Formation; stratigraphy; skunks
WANG Xiao-Ming , SUN Lu , LI Lu , LI Qiang , QIU Zhu-Ding , Zhijie Jack TSENG . Depositional history, contact relationships, and characterization of Upper Miocene Baogeda Ula Formation in central Nei Mongol with a description of fossil skunks[J]. Vertebrata Palasiatica, 2026 , 64(1) : 100 -124 . DOI: 10.19615/j.cnki.2096-9899.251029
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