First report of Hispanodorcas from the Late Miocene of China

doi:10.19615/j.cnki.2096-9899.240123

Abstract

Abstract:

As a small to middle-sized bovid, Hispanodorcas had previously only been found in the pan-Mediterranean region and South Asia. Its taxonomic classification at the tribe level has been a subject of debate, with possible associations to Antilopini, Reduncini, or Oiocerini. Here, we report on the first discovery of Hispanodorcas in East Asia, H. longdongica sp. nov. from the Daidian Locality in China, dating to the early Baodean age (~8-7 Ma). The new material consists of five skulls with varying states of preservation and provides the most complete osteological information on Hispanodorcas to date. It features a long, slender, and posteriorly curved horncore with a weak homonymous twist and both laterodorsal and medioventral grooves, which is characteristic of Hispanodorcas. This new species is characterized by having the smallest size amongst all known Hispanodorcas species, a weakly curved brain case in the facial region, and poorly developed posterior and anterior basilar tuberosities. These primitive characteristics suggest that H. longdongica may represent an early evolutionary stage of this genus. Furthermore, they indicate that Hispanodorcas might have directly evolved from the Gazella stock. The homonymous twist in the horncore, which aligns with Oiocerini, may be a case of homoplasy.

Key words: Qingyang, Gansu, East Asia, Baodean, Antilopini, Hipparion fauna, Hispanodorcas

摘要：

西班牙羚(Hispanodorcas)是一类中小型牛科动物，此前只在泛地中海地区和南亚有所发现。西班牙羚的分类一直有所争议，曾被认为与羚羊族(Antilopini), 苇羚族(Reduncini)或角羊族(Oiocerini)有关。报道了甘肃庆阳正宁地区的代店化石点首次发现的陇东西班牙羚新种(H. longdongica sp. nov.), 时代大约为保德期早期(约8-7 Ma)。新材料包括5个头骨，保存状态各异，提供了迄今为止关于西班牙羚最完整的骨骼信息。其角心长而细、向后弯曲，且微弱地同向扭曲(homonymous twist); 角心同时还具有外-背侧沟和内-腹沟，这些都是西班牙羚的典型特征。代店地点发现的西班牙羚在已知各种中体型最小，面部和脑颅之间的弯曲较弱，前后基结节均发育较弱。这些原始的特征表明陇东西班牙羚可能代表了这个属的早期演化阶段。此外，该种头骨与瞪羚(Gazella)的相似之处表明西班牙羚可能是直接从瞪羚的祖先演化而来，其同向扭转的角心与角羊族一致，可能是两者平行演化所致。

关键词: 甘肃庆阳, 东亚, 保德期, 羚羊族, 三趾马动物群, 西班牙羚

CLC Number:

Q915.876

WU Yong, WANG Shi-Qi, LIANG Zhi-Yong, GUO Ding-Ge, SUN Bo-Yang, LIU Long, DUAN Kai, CHEN Guo-Zhong. First report of Hispanodorcas from the Late Miocene of China. Vertebrata Palasiatica, 2024, 62(2): 135-155.

吴勇, 王世骐, 梁志勇, 郭丁歌, 孙博阳, 刘龙, 段凯, 陈国忠. 2024, 62(2): 135-155, 中国首次发现晚中新世西班牙羚(Hispanodorcas). 古脊椎动物学报.

Figures/Tables 9

References 24

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		anterior length	at base			at 70 mm
		anterior length	DAP	DT	DAP/DT (%)	DAP	DT	DAP/DT (%)
GSKY 22010	l	101.8	24.0 c. a.	18.0	75.0	12.4	8.3	66.9
	r	98.0	23.4	17.6	75.2	10.2	7.5	73.5
GSKY 22014	l	77.0 c. a.	19.0	14.4	75.8	7.5	4.1	54.7
	r	75.0 c. a.	19.1	14.5	75.9	—	—	—
GSKY 22012	l	—	20.9	14.4	68.9	—	—	—
	r	—	19.5	15.1	77.4	—	—	—

		anterior length	at base			at 70 mm
		anterior length	DAP	DT	DAP/DT (%)	DAP	DT	DAP/DT (%)
GSKY 22010	l	101.8	24.0 c. a.	18.0	75.0	12.4	8.3	66.9
	r	98.0	23.4	17.6	75.2	10.2	7.5	73.5
GSKY 22014	l	77.0 c. a.	19.0	14.4	75.8	7.5	4.1	54.7
	r	75.0 c. a.	19.1	14.5	75.9	—	—	—
GSKY 22012	l	—	20.9	14.4	68.9	—	—	—
	r	—	19.5	15.1	77.4	—	—	—

Measurements	GGM GSKY 22010		GGM GSKY 22014		GGM GSKY 22011		GGM GSKY 22012		GGM GSKY 22013
Measurements	Left/median	right	Left/median	right	Left/median	right	Left/median	right	Left/median	right
Bulla length	19.2	20.7
Bulla width	14.6	13.5
Distance between horn pedicles		30.0	33.6				33.2
Distance, orbit to condyle (measured parallel to tooth row)	83.3
Distance between supra-orbital foramina					30.3
Horn base distance (distance of the anterior- most parts of the pedicles)		32.8					46.6
Inter-bullae distance		11.5
Length of frontal + parietal					73.3				69.1?
Length of basioccipital (at sagittal plane)		28.7
Length of frontal					44.2
Length of parietal					30.3				27.6
Orbit diameter (parallel to tooth row)	38.9				30.9	34.9			31.7	32.7
Occipital height, braincase complete		28.6
Width across orbits (maximum width of frontals)					71.6
Width of braincase		54.4
Width of basioccipital anterior		12.6			12.6
Width of basioccipital posterior		17.4			16.8
Width of condyle		34.7
Width of palate, measured at level of palatal foramina					24.7				16.1

Measurements	GGM GSKY 22010		GGM GSKY 22014		GGM GSKY 22011		GGM GSKY 22012		GGM GSKY 22013
Measurements	Left/median	right	Left/median	right	Left/median	right	Left/median	right	Left/median	right
Bulla length	19.2	20.7
Bulla width	14.6	13.5
Distance between horn pedicles		30.0	33.6				33.2
Distance, orbit to condyle (measured parallel to tooth row)	83.3
Distance between supra-orbital foramina					30.3
Horn base distance (distance of the anterior- most parts of the pedicles)		32.8					46.6
Inter-bullae distance		11.5
Length of frontal + parietal					73.3				69.1?
Length of basioccipital (at sagittal plane)		28.7
Length of frontal					44.2
Length of parietal					30.3				27.6
Orbit diameter (parallel to tooth row)	38.9				30.9	34.9			31.7	32.7
Occipital height, braincase complete		28.6
Width across orbits (maximum width of frontals)					71.6
Width of braincase		54.4
Width of basioccipital anterior		12.6			12.6
Width of basioccipital posterior		17.4			16.8
Width of condyle		34.7
Width of palate, measured at level of palatal foramina					24.7				16.1

Measurements	left/median	right
Mandible length posterior to DP2	82.0	78.3
Mandible length posterior to the tooth row	35.5	32.5
Height at the condyloid process	47.9
Height at the mandibular notch	45.4
Corpus height at the anterior end of DP2	12.1	12.6
Corpus height between DP4 and M1	14.3	14.9
Corpus height at the posterior end of tooth row	19.1	20.4
Length of premolar row (measured at alveoli)	14.4	16.6
Length of tooth row (measured at alveoli)	44.3	45.4