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    15 June 2007, Volume 45 Issue 2
    NEOGENE CLIMATIC AND BIOTIC CHANGES IN EASTERN EURASIA: PREFACE
    Caroline A. E. STRÖMBERG, ZHANG Zhao-Qun
    2007, 45(2):  93-37. 
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    RESTUDY OF CHINESE FOSSIL BOVIDS REFERRED TO PROTORYX (BOVIDAE, ARTIODACTYLA)
    CHEN Guan-Fang, ZHANG Zhao-Qun
    2007, 45(2):  98-109. 
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    Based on newly discovered materials and old collections we review one important bovid group referred to ?Protoryx. Detailed comparison with other forms from western Eurasia suggests that all the Protoryx forms found in China can be separated into two groups, which are both different from other forms described as Late Miocene or earlier species of Protoryx. Hence, we propose two new genera, Huabeitragus gen. nov., and Macrotragus gen. nov. in this paper. Huabeitragus has a strongly bent cranial braincase, which makes the cranial axis interact with the facial axis at a right angle. The turning point occurs at the fontal anterior to the horn bases. The supraorbital foramina are small and widely set apart. There is a raised ridge along the frontal suture between the horn cores. The braincase is short and narrow. The occipital surface is low and wide, facing posteriorly. The basioccipital is rectangular with a flat or slightly concave surface, without a developed longitudinal groove or ridge, and the anterior and posterior tuberosities less developed. The horn cores have anterior keels and subtriangular shaped cross sections. The horn cores are very divergent upwards in anterior view. Macrotrgus has a large skull and horn cores. The facial, orbital, and cranial parts are wide. The upper orbital rims do not protrude laterally. The supraorbital foramina are small and widely set apart. The braincase is shorter and wide, with parallel lateral sides. The occipital surface is flat, facing posteriorly. The horn cores are laterally compressed and curved. Compared with the molar row the premolar row is shortened. Huabeitragus differs from Macrotragus in its smaller size, strongly bent braincase with the turning point more anterior, narrower braincase, lower and wider occipital surface, rectangular basioccipital without longitudinal groove and weak ridge, smaller foramina ovalia, and less robust, more divergent horn cores, with subtriangular cross section at the base and having keels. Characters shared by Huabeitragus and Macrotragus, are comparable with those of Caprinae. Therefore, we consider these two new genera as members of Caprinae.
    RECENT PALAEOMAGNETIC AND MAGNETOSTRATIGRAPHIC INVESTIGATIONS ON AND AROUND THE TUNGGUR TABLELAND, CENTRAL NEI MONGOL (INNER MONGOLIA)
    Joseph C. LIDDICOAT, WANG Xiao-Ming, QIU Zhu-Ding, LI Qiang
    2007, 45(2):  110-117. 
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    As a classic vertebrate fossil locality of the American Museum of Natural History Central Asiatic Expeditions in the 1920s and 1930s, the Tunggur Tableland in central Nei Mongol (Inner Mongolia) has played an important role in late Cenozoic terrestrial mammalian palaeontology and biochronology of Asia. Field work since the mid-1990s has greatly expanded the faunal representations to include mammal assemblages (particularly those of small mammals) from Early Miocene to Pliocene (Qiu et al., 2006). The mammalian faunal sequence that has been established in Nei Mongol has the potential to become a standard of comparison for East Asia. Faunal changes in the Tunggur area are also important for gaining an in-depth view of regional differentiations in palaeoenvironment and zoogeography. In August 2005, field studies were done at two localities on the Tunggur Tableland with the objectives of locating and identifying middle to late Cenozoic vertebrate fossils and dating them on the basis of the palaeomagnetic polarity time scale. The thickest section sampled is at Aoerban (43°20’21.6”N, 113º54’48.6”E) where nearly 50 m of interbedded claystone, siltstone, and fine-grained sand are reversely magnetized except for about 5 m of brownish-tan claystone near the base that records normal polarity. The polarity for the Aoerban section suggests a correlation to the period near the Chron 5Dr or 6r, which is roughly in the 18–20 Ma age range. The section also was sampled for small mammal fossils, which tentatively are assigned to Early Miocene age. The second locality sampled is Aletexire (43º47’21.6”N, 113º05’25.0”E) where about 13 m of siltstone and fine sandstone that contain probable Tairum Nor fauna (Wang et al., 2003) record normal polarity.
    Paleodiets and paleoenvironments of Late Miocene gazelles from North China: Evidence from stable carbon isotopes
    Benjamin H. PASSEY*, Jussi T. ERONEN, Mikael FORTELIUS , ZHANG Zhaoqun
    2007, 45(2):  118-127. 
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    We use carbon isotopes in fossil tooth enamel to infer dietary preferences in Baodean (Late Miocene) gazelles from three classical localities in North China, along with putative browsers (Cervidae) and grazers (Hipparion) from the same localities. The results suggest that these Late Miocene ecosystems were dominated by C3 vegetation, but contained a small fraction of C4 vegetation (probably less than ~30%). We find that the higher-crowned gazelles (Gazella dorcadoides-type) consumed up to ~20% C4 plants, whereas G. paotehensis-type gazelles (intermediate crown-height forms) and G. gaudryi-type gazelles (low-crowned forms) had essentially pure C3 diets. Cervidae consumed pure C3 vegetation, while Hipparion consumed some C4 vegetation and is statistically indistinguishable from G. dorcadoides-type gazelles. The carbon isotope data are consistent with a primarily browsing diet in G. gaudryi-type gazelles, and a larger fraction of graze in the diet of G. dorcadoides-type gazelles. Taken with the distributions of these taxa, the data support the established concept of relatively closed habitats in the southeast CLP (Chinese Loess Plateau) compared to the northwest CLP during the Late Miocene. The direction and pattern of this environmental gradient may be an early signature of the East Asian Monsoon system in this region.  
    Affinities and implications of new Miocene mammal footprints from Iran
    Majid MIRZAIE ATAABADI, Nasrollah ABBASSI
    2007, 45(2):  128-136. 
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    Miocene mammalian footprints have been recently identified from several Late Miocene localities in Iran. Tracksites occur exclusively throughout several stratigraphic levels of a thick, mixed-affinity, lagoonal-terrestrial sequence known as the Upper Red Formation in north central Iran and within a continental series deposited in the southern Caspian area in north of the country. The tracks from the Upper Red Formation are mainly artiodactylan type, attributed to several gazelle sized species due to their small size, and other tracks attributed to small, medium and large sized mustelid and felid carnivores. The fossil footprints from the north of Iran are mainly tracks of proboscideans, with some probable rhino and a few artiodactyl prints. Based on the occurrence of felid (machairodontid) tracks in the Upper Red Formation, a Late Miocene age can be approved for the track-bearing strata, while proboscidean tracks which occur within Paratethyan deposits in the north of the country suggest a maximum age of earliest Miocene for those levels. These tracks fill a gap in the record of Neogene mammals in this important part of the world and contribute significantly to our knowledge of these faunas.
    LOCALITY COVERAGE, METACOMMUNITIES AND CHRONOFAUNA: CONCEPTS THAT CONNECT PALEOBIOLOGY TO MODERN POPULATION BIOLOGY 
    Jussi T. ERONEN
    2007, 45(2):  137-144. 
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    The emerging idea of locality coverage, or incidence, in the paleontological community and progress in the understanding of the spatial dynamics of metapopulations biology are bringing the paleobiology and present-day biology closer together. The concept of metacommunities and the paleontological notion of chronofauna show much promise for synthesis of paleontology and ecology. Here I review the present understanding of these concepts. I show how these can be used to investigate the paleontological record, using the development of Eurasian large herbivorous mammal communities as a case study.
    PALAEOECOLOGY OF AN EARLY-MIDDLE MIOCENE LAKE IN CHINA: PRELIMINARY INTERPRETATIONS BASED ON PHYTOLITHS FROM THE SHANWANG BASIN
    Caroline A. E. STRÖMBERG, Else Marie FRIIS, LIANG Ming-Mei, Lars WERDELIN, ZHANG Yu-Liang
    2007, 45(2):  145-160. 
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    The lacustrine Early to Middle Miocene Shanwang Formation contains an exceptionally well-preserved biota including insects, plants, and vertebrates that has been subject to intense study. Palaeoecological work on plant macrofossils and palynofloras indicate that the locality represents a forest under a humid, warm-temperate to subtropical climate that remained rather stable during the deposition of the formation. This interpretation is supported by fossil vertebrates such as bats and tapirs discovered in the Shanwang section. However, to date no information has been available on the presence, abundance, and taxonomic composition of grasses at this locality. Here, we report on phytoliths extracted from six samples from the Shanwang Formation, providing new evidence of the vegetation that grew around the lake. The phytolith assemblages contain well-preserved and abundant grass phytoliths, forest indicator phytoliths from dicotyledonous plants, and infrequent palm phytoliths. The grass phytoliths consist of forms produced by C3/C4 PACCAD grasses and pooids, with a minor component of morphotypes thought to derive from closed-habitat grasses. Our preliminary interpretation of these phytolith assemblages is that they reflect a lake-side wooded habitat and abundant helophytic to mesophytic grasses, with drier areas supporting pooid (and PACCAD) grasses. The data support the reconstruction of the Miocene Shanwang region as more humid and equable than presently. The Shanwang phytolith assemblages contrast with Miocene lacustrine phytolith assemblages from Turkey and the Great Plains of North America, which indicate grass communities characterized by diverse C3 pooids and different types of PACCAD grasses. Future research will determine whether this variability reflects large-scale biogeographic differences in grass communities or local, microclimate-related variation.
    LATE QUATERNARY MICROFAUNAS AND PALEOENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES RECORDED IN CORE SEDIMENTS OF THE PEARL RIVER DELTA, SOUTH CHINA
    DONG Yi-Xin, LIU Chun-Lian, YIN Jia-Run , YANG Xiao-Qiang, Franz T. Fürsich, GAO Fang-Lei
    2007, 45(2):  161-172. 
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     Late Quaternary core sediments from the middle area of the Pearl River Delta can be lithologically divided into six units. Unit 1, 2, and 5 contain foraminifers and ostracods in different abundances. Faunal analysis suggests that they were deposited in brackish to marine environments. Unit 3 does not contain any fossils except plant debris, indicating a fluvial plain environment. Unit 4, characterized by a layer of mottled clay that is widely distributed in the Pearl River Delta area, is completely barren of fossils, representing an interval of continental weathering. Unit 6 bears only non-marine ostracods and was deposited on a fluvial plain.Combining foraminiferal and ostracod data with geochemical and susceptibility records allows to establish the following environmental stages in this area: A. Delta front stage (25 100~24 000 aB.P.); B. estuary stage (24 000~22 400 aB.P.); C. fluvial plain stage (22 400~21 700 aB.P.); D. continental weathering stage (21 700~3 700 aB.P.); E. tidal flat stage (3 700~2 600 aB.P.), and F. upper fluvial plain stage (since 2 600 aB.P.). In the Late Quaternary sedimentary succession two transgression-regression cycles can be recognized in the study area, corresponding to stages A to D and E to F, respectively. The palaeoenvironmental changes are believed to have been controlled by fluctuations of sea level.