Table of Content

15 December 2013, Volume 51 Issue 4

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The sexual dimorphism of Shastasaurus tangae(Reptilia: Ichthyosauria) from the TriassicGuanling Biota, China

SHANG Qing-Hua, LI Chun

2013, 51(4):  253-264. 

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First discovery of polacanthine ankylosaur dinosaur in Asia

YANG Jing-Tao, YOU Hai-Lu, LI Da-Qing, KONG De-Lai

2013, 51(4):  265-277. 

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A new dinosaur, Taohelong jinchengensis gen. et sp. nov., is described based on material (a proximo-middle caudal vertebra, three dorsal ribs, an almost complete left ilium, and several armors including a partial sacral shield) from the Lower Cretaceous Hekou Group in Lanzhou-Minhe Basin, north-central China. Taohelong jinchengensis possesses three autapomorphies: neural canal of proximo-middle caudal inverted trapezium, lateral edge of preacetabular process inverted “S”-shaped in dorsal view, and sacral shield composed of various-sized and irregularly-arranged osteoderms. Cladistic analysis shows that Taohelong is a member of polacanthinenodosaurid ankylosaur, and is the sister taxon of Polacanthus foxii from the Early Cretaceous Barremian of England. Here Polacanthinae is defined as the most inclusive clade containing Polacanthus foxii Owen, 1865 but not Ankylosaurus magniventris Brown, 1908 or Panoplosaurus mirus Lambe, 1919. Taohelong represents the first occurrence of polacanthine in Asia, and indicates again the existence of a rich and unique dinosaur assemblage in the Lower Cretaceous Hekou Group in the Lanzhou-Minhe Basin.

A parataxonomic revision of spheroolithid eggs from the Upper Cretaceous Quantou Formation in Changtu, Liaoning

LIU Jin-Yuan, WANG Qiang, ZHAO Zi-Kui, WANG Xiao-Lin, GAO Chun-Ling,SHEN Cai-Zhi

2013, 51(4):  278-288. 

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We re-described the dinosaur eggs from the Upper Cretaceous Quantou Formation in Changtu, Liaoning Province. Based on the macrostructure of eggs and the microstructure of eggshells: spheroid or near-spheroid eggs, thick eggshell, bamboo-leaves-like or lanceolate wedges in cone, clear inter-wedge spaces, columnar layer composed of more than 4 superimposed eggshell units, these eggs are assigned toSpheroolithus spheroides (Young, 1954) Zhao, 1979, and Spheroolithus megadermus (Young, 1959) Zhao, 1979, respectively. With the comparison of dinosaur egg assemblages from Changtu in LiaoningProvince and Laiyang in Shandong Province, the Quantou Formation should be corresponding to the early-middle Late Cretaceous.

Eocene ischyromyids (Rodentia, Mammalia) from the Erlian Basin, Nei Mongol, China

Li Qian,  Meng Jin

2013, 51(4):  289-304. 

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The ischyromyids are the most primitive rodents that have a Holarctic Paleogene distribution. Members of the family are predominant in Paleogene rodents of North America, but are relatively rare in both Asia and Europe. Here we report some new material of the Eocene ischyromyids from the Huheboerhe area in the Erlian Basin, Nei Mongol, China. These include Asiomys dawsoni from the basal strata of the Irdin Manha Formation and Ischyromyidae gen. et sp. indet. from the basal strata of the Arshanto Formation. The new materials include fragmentary mandibles and numerous cheek teeth, which provide new evidence for mammal's dispersal between Asia and North America during the Middle Eocene.

New eggysodontid (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) material from the Paleogene of the GuangnanBasin, Yunnan Province, China

WANG Hai-Bing, BAI Bin, GAO Feng, HUANG Wang-Chong, WANG Yuan-Qing

2013, 51(4):  305-320. 

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Rhinocerotoid fossils are relatively abundant in Paleogene deposits in South China.Many previous studies have investigated Paleogene rhinocerotoids from Yunnan Province (Russell and Zhai,1987; Zong et al.,1996). Zhang(1981) briefly reported some fossils from Xiaoguangnan Village, Guangnan, Yunnan Province, within the Guangnan Basin. Recently,a new specimen comprising a fragmentary left mandible was recovered from the Paleogene of Xiaoguangnan. The new fossil is referable to the rhinocerotoid clade Eggysodontidae. Mainly based on its less molarized p3-p4, the new specimen is regarded as intermediate between the primitive Late Eocene taxon Proeggysodon and the derived Oligocene genera Eggysodon and Allacerops. Here we describe the new specimen and discuss the age of the Yanshan Formation.Terminology used to describe dental features follows Qiu and Wang (2007).

Ancient DNA from wild boar fossils in Guangxi and its implication for pigdomestication

YIN Shuai, SHENG Gui-Lian,  HOU Xin-Dong, ZHU Min, DU Ming, JIN Chang-Zhu, LAI Xu-Long

2013, 51(4):  321-330. 

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 Pig domestication has long been an issue of interest in archaeology and genetics. As the real- time carrier of the genetic information for historical or extinct animals, ancient DNA may provide continuous molecular evidence for tracing the history of domestication. We collected 30 wild boar fossils of Late Pleistocenefrom three caves in Guangxi, Southwest China. Through the use of the fragmented ancient DNA sequences from southern China and homologous sequences of both domestic and wild boars across Asia and Europe, we reconstructed the Network phylogeny of the pig family. The results agree with the multiple-origin-center-theory for pig domestication. Moreover, we found that the wild boar individual from Guangxi clustered into the European haplotype instead of the Asian one. It seems that there is no genetic contribution from the wild boar to the domesticated pig in Guangxi. We suggest that the previous opinion of independent pig domestication event has occurred in this area need reconsideration and further investigation.

3D geometric morphometrics of some ursid skulls

YANG Xing-Kai, ZHANG Zhao-Qun

2013, 51(4):  331-341. 

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 The 3D laser scanning technique is nowadays more and more applied in the study of skeleton morphology. Complete 3D model of external geometry can be easily obtained by laser scanning. It contains all the external morphologic information, both size and shape, which is the prerequisite for quantitative study of fossil morphology. The materials in this study include specimens of giant panda, Asian black bear, brown bear, and polar bear. Using 3D laser scanning, the complete 3D models of skulls and mandibles of 28 individuals are built. Nine mandible morphological indexes and 15 skull morphological indexes are selected to build mathematical models. We use J48 algorithm of WEKA to build decision trees for pattern classification. 23 landmarks of mandibles and 29 landmarks of skulls are sorted, of which 3D coordinates are used as initial variables to tell the morphological differences of mandibles and craniums of the 28 individuals in the principal component analysis. The result shows that the morphology of giant panda’s skull and mandible is significantly different from the other three ursid forms; the morphology of brown bear’s skull and mandible is in between the black bear and polar bear. The overall cranial morphology of Ailuropoda microta is similar to that of giant panda, but also out of the intraspecific variation, which is another evidence of the durophagous feeding behavior of this Early Pleistocene giant panda. The methods of 3D modeling, decision tree and principal components analysis introduced herein promise future application in morphologic studies.

Morphology and evolution of the labyrinth of vertebrate inner ear

LI Lü-Zhou, NI Xi-Jun

2013, 51(4):  342-357. 

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The labyrinth of vertebrate inner ear contains the organs responsible for the senses of hearing and equilibrium. Research on the morphology and function of this delicate structure has a very long history. In recent years, the sophisticated high resolution X-ray computed tomography has been widely applied in the research on the labyrinth of fossil vertebrate inner ear. Based on multivariable statistic analysis and metrical comparison with the analogs of extant species, the activity pattern of the fossil animals can be predicted or estimated. From an evolutionary perspective, the semicircular part of the labyrinth, fenestra vestibuli and aqueductus vestibuli are very stable structure. The fundamental morphology and special arrangements of these structures keep unchanged since the first appearance of the tetrapods. The press release mechanism of the inner ear underwent very complicated convergent evolution. Press release foramens termed as fenestra cochleae, perilymphatic foramen, or aqueductus cochleae are not always homologous across different vertebrate groups. The elongation and curving of the cochlea also occurred many times. Snail-like curving, coupled with the development of the lamina spiralis ossea and lamina spiralis secundaria, occurred only in the clade consist of Dryolestoidea + Vincelestes + metatherians + eutherians.