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The first description of Rhinocerotidae (Perissodactyla, Mammalia) from Xinyaozi Ravine in Shanxi, North China
DONG Wei, BAI Wei-Peng, ZHANG Li-Min
Vertebrata Palasiatica    2021, 59 (4): 273-294.   DOI: 10.19615/j.cnki.2096-9899.210715
Abstract   (589 HTML79 PDF(pc) (3880KB)(501)  

Abundant mammalian fossils were uncovered during the field exploration for Nihewan beds at the beginning of the 1980s along Xinyaozi Ravine at Nangaoya Township of Tianzhen County, Shanxi Province in North China and the studied taxa indicate an age of the early Early Pleistocene. Recent studies on the rhino material not yet described show that there are at least two species of rhinocerotids: Elasmotherium peii and Coelodonta nihowanensis . There might be a third taxon provisionally named as Stephanorhinus cf. S. kirchbergensis due to incompleteness of the specimens. Since its morphometric characters are between S. kirchbergensis and C. nihowanensis , it might be a variety of one of the two species although it is more similar to the former than the latter. In the same way, The rhino specimens from Xiashagou named as Rhinoceros sinensis (?) by Teilhard de Chardin and Piveteau (1930) might be a variety of S. kirchbergensis or C. nihowanensis . The rhinocerotids uncovered so far from the Early Pleistocene deposits in the generalized Nihewan Basin including two certain species and two uncertain ones. The localities yielding E. peii include Xiashagou, Shanshenmiaozhui, Daheigou and Xinyaozi; those yielding C. nihowanensis include Xiashagou, Danangou, Donggutuo, Shanshenmiaozhui and Xinyaozi. R. sinensis (?) appeared only at Xiashagou and Stephanorhinus cf. S. kirchbergensis only at Xinyaozi.


Fig. 2 A right juvenile maxillary fragment (IVPP V 27429.1) of Stephanorhinus cf. S. kirchbergensis from Xinyaozi Ravine in lingual (A), occlusal (B) and buccal (C) views
Extracts from the Article
(Figs. 2-6; Tables 2-4)
Description The right juvenile maxillary fragment (V 27429.1) is preserved with complete DP1-3 and broken DP4 (Fig. 2). Its dental measurements are listed in Table 2.
Comparison and determination The morphology of V 27429.1 (Fig. 2) is similar to that of Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis . For example, the enamel layers of cheek teeth are generally smooth, the crown is relatively hypsodont, upper cheek teeth quite ectolophodont, i.e. buccal loph and cusps evidently higher than the lingual ones, and antecrochet and metastyle are absent from upper cheek teeth. It is very similar to that of juvenile maxillary fragments Nos. 246 and 256 from Rhino Cave in Shennongjia (Tong and Wu, 2010). However, the dimensions of V 27429.1 are smaller than those from Rhino Cave, slightly smaller than those from Huludong, Locs. 1 & 13 of Zhoukoudian, and close to the lower range limit of those from West Europe (Table 2).
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