Table of Content

20 October 2019, Volume 57 Issue 4

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A reappraisal of the Silurian galeaspids (stem-Gnathostomata) from Tarim Basin, Xinjiang

LIU Yu-Hai, ZHU Min, LIN Xiang-Hong, LU Li-Wu, GAI Zhi-Kun

2019, 57(4):  253-273.  DOI: 10.19615/j.cnki.1000-3118.190524

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Some new galeaspid specimens have been recently found from the Silurian of Tarim Basin, Xinjiang. The description of these specimens and the new examination of the galeaspid collections render us the following understanding on the morphology and taxonomy of the Silurian galeaspids from Xinjiang. 1) Nanjiangaspis zhangi is removed from the Hanyangaspidae, and referred to a new genus of the Xiushuiaspidae, Xiyuaspis gen. nov.; 2) Platycaraspis tianshanensis is the junior synonym of Microphymaspis pani. According to the principle of priority, Microphymaspis pani is retained, but it is removed from the Xiushuiaspidae, and referred to the Dayongaspidae; 3) the specimen that was referred to the Arthrodira indet. from the Kezirtag Formation of Kalpin, is identified as a new genus and species of galeaspids, Jiaoyu imperfectus gen. et sp. nov.; 4) the fragments and the anterior ventral plate with snowflake-like ornaments previously referred to Hanyangaspis from the Tataertag and Yimugantawu formations probably belong to Nanjiangaspis; 5) the age of the upper member of the Kezirtag Formation is probably Early Devonian as indicated by Jiaoyu imperfectus and the invertebrate fossils from the lower member.

Basicranial morphology of Late Miocene Dinocrocuta gigantea (Carnivora: Hyaenidae) from Fugu, Shaanxi

XIONG Wu-Yang

2019, 57(4):  274-307.  DOI: 10.19615/j.cnki.1000-3118.190710

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Dinocrocuta gigantea was once moved out of the Hyaenidae based on its peculiar deciduous teeth and placed in a separate family - the Percrocutidae. A D. gigantea skull from Fugu, Shaanxi Province is scanned with the internal structures of its bulla reconstructed, described in detail, and compared with other feliforms. The basicranium of D. gigantea shows a typical hyaenid pattern, which supports the traditional view that it should remain within the Hyaenidae and questions the validity of the Percrocutidae. The basicranium of D. gigantea also possesses a number of unique features, suggesting that it could be an early side-branch of the Hyaenidae.

Five new species of Arvicolinae and Myospalacinae from the Late Pliocene-Early Pleistocene of Nihewan Basin

ZHENG Shao-Hua, ZHANG Ying-Qi, CUI Ning

2019, 57(4):  308-324.  DOI: 10.19615/j.cnki.1000-3118.190725

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The Nihewan Basin has been well known for its Cezonoic fossiliferous fluvio-lacustrine deposits and paleolithic sites for almost a century. There have been considerable research efforts devoted to the understanding of the geology, chronology, and stratigraphy of this complex of sedimentary body. The current fundamental problem lies in the chronological aspect of the Nihewan Beds. Arvicolinae and Myospalacinae are two groups of rodents characterized by rapid evolutionary rates and quantifiable evolutionary trends, and hence particularly helpful in Late Cenozoic biostratigraphic correlations. Therefore, we briefly describe three new species of Arvicolinae and two new species of Myospalacinae that mainly came from the selected sections in the Nihewan Basin. Hopefully, they would contribute towards the establishment of the biostratigraphic framework of the Nihewan Basin and provide new evidence on the chronological understanding of the Nihewan Beds from an evolutionary point of view.

New type of dinosaur eggs from Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, China and a revision of Dongyangoolithus nanmaensis

ZHANG Shu-Kang, XIE Jun-Fang, JIN Xing-Sheng, DU Tian-Ming, HUANG Mei-Yan

2019, 57(4):  325-333.  DOI: 10.19615/j.cnki.1000-3118.190107

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A new type of dinosaur egg, which is remarkable for the roughly paralleled, wavy and branched clefts on the outer surface, was recovered from Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, China. The extraordinary ornamentation indicates that the eggs do not belong to any known oofamilies. Interestingly, they share the following eggshell micro-features with Dongyangoolithus nanmaensis, which was previously assigned to the Dendroolithidae: branched clefts on the outer surface of the eggshell and eggshell unit assemblages separated by large cavities. Due to these similarities and the nearness of their localities and similar horizons, the new type of dinosaur eggs from Yiwu and D. nanmaensis likely represents a new oofamily, Dongyangoolithidae. Based on the differences in shape between the eggshell unit assemblages and clefts of the new type of dinosaur eggs and D. nanmaensis, we erect a new oogenus and a new oospecies, Multifissoolithus chianensis. The new oofamily reported here shows a close relationship with Spheroolithus in Spheroolithidae and an intermediate pattern of gas exchange systems.