Abstract:  A new skull of Urmiatherium intermedium (Bovidae, Artiodactyla) from the Linxia Basin, Gansu Province is described here. U. intermedium is a large Late Miocene bovid with an odd-looking horn apparatus, consisting of a pair of degenerate, closely situated horn-cores, and a large area of exostoses on the frontal and the parietal bones. Plenty of skulls, teeth, and bone fragments of U. intermedium have been reported from North China, but the skull to be described is the first discovery from the Linxia Basin, expanding the geographic distribution of U. intermedium to the northeast edge of the Tibetan Plateau. Although Urmiatherium is generally thought to be closely related to Plesiaddax, Hezhengia, Tsaidamotherium, and some other Late Miocene “ovibovines”, the phylogenetic position ofUrmiatherium is still in debate. The distribution of Urmiatherium is wide, spanning from Iran to North China. Urmiatherium seldom accompanies with other Late Miocene “ovibovines” in North China, but is accompanied by other bovids like Sinotragus.  

摘要： 报道并描述了一件来自甘肃临夏盆地的中间乌米兽(Urmiatherium intermedium)头骨化石新材料，该材料产自柳树组上部，属于晚中新世晚期杨家山动物群。中间乌米兽是一种大型的晚中新世牛科动物，角心特化，短且呈薄板状，并且在基部相互靠近。在角心前后方的额骨和顶骨上，发育大片赘生骨疣，这些骨疣与角心一起，合称角器。20世纪初，步林报道了中国北方晚中新世地层中的大量中间乌米兽化石，包括产自山西保德和甘肃庆阳的二十多件头骨以及很多破碎的齿列和骨骼。本文报道的乌米兽头骨化石是乌米兽在甘肃临夏盆地的首次发现，将其在中国北方的分布向西扩展到了青藏高原东北缘地带。乌米兽被普遍认为与近旋角羊(Plesiaddax)、和政羊(Hezhengia)和柴达木兽(Tsaidamotherium)等晚中新世“麝牛类”牛科动物具有较近的亲缘关系，但其系统发育地位仍存有争议。相比其他晚中新世“麝牛类”牛科动物，乌米兽的分布较广，从伊朗至中国北方都有分布，但它鲜与其他晚中新世“麝牛类”牛科动物伴生。在临夏盆地，与其伴生的牛科动物目前仅发现中华羚(Sinotragus)一种。