Table of Content

15 June 2017, Volume 55 Issue 2

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In memory of C. C. Young on the 120^th anniversary of his birth

LI Chuan-Kui

2017, 55(2):  89-91. 

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Several rarely recorded rodents from the Neogene of China

QIU Zhu-Ding  

2017, 55(2):  92-109. 

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 Numerous assemblages of fossil small mammals have been recovered from the Neogene deposits in China over the last 30 years or so. Nevertheless, some taxa in these faunas are represented by only a small number of isolated teeth from very few localities, and these are often assigned as indeterminate genus or species. Four peculiar taxa of rodents, Sayimys sihongensis, Apeomys asiaticus, Neocometes sp. from the Early Miocene Xiacaowan Formation of Sihong, Jiangsu Province, and Yuneomys pusillusfrom the Late Miocene Shihuiba Formation of Lufeng, Yunnan Province, are described in detail. Comparison of these specimens with similar materials from Eurasia or North America makes distinction from the known species of related genera possible, and therefore two new species (S. sihongensis, A. asiaticus) are named for the Sihong specimens, although the material is rare. A new eomyid genus Yuneomys, previously published under the name Leptodontomys pusillus, is based on specimens from Lufeng. A. asiaticus and Neocometes sp. represent the first records of the genera Apeomys and Neocometes known from Asia and China, respectively. The occurrence of the Neogene rodents in eastern China improves our knowledge of the spatial distribution of these poorly recorded animals, and contributes to a better understanding of paleobiogeographic relationships in Eurasia. Co-occurrence of the new genus with the bunodont eomyids Plesieomys and Heteroeomys in the Lufeng Fauna seems to indicate a differentiation of eomyid taxa in northern and southern faunas of China, and may reflect ecological partitioning within southeastern Asia during the Miocene. 

New discoveries from the Sinokannemeyeria-Shansisuchus Assemblage Zone: 3. Archosauriformes from Linxian, Shanxi, China

LIU Jun, Corwin SULLIVAN

2017, 55(2):  110-128. 

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 The tetrapod assemblage from the Middle Triassic upper part of the Ermaying Formation of northern China has been known for two decades as theSinokannemeyeria-Shansisuchus Assemblage because of the characteristic presence of the dicynodont therapsid Sinokannemeyeria and the erythrosuchid archosauriform Shansisuchus. Recently a Sinokannemeyeria species has been described from Member I of the Tongchuan Formation, which overlies the Ermaying, near Baidaoyu, Linxian, Shanxi Province. Here we document archosauriform specimens from the Baidaoyu site, including a partialShansisuchus skeleton and some additional bones from probable suchian archosaurs, which constitute the first archosauriform material known from Member I of the Tongchuan. The most intriguing archosauriform specimens are a large ilium probably attributable to an unusual poposauroid, and a small, strangely shaped element that appears to represent a highly autapomorphic suchian calcaneum. Given the presence of both Sinokannemeyeria andShansisuchus at Baidaoyu, the stratigraphic range of the Sinokannemeyeria-Shansisuchus Assemblage can be considered to extend upward into the Tongchuan Formation, although with possible changes in faunal composition. The occurrence of a poposauroid ilium at the Baidaoyu locality adds to the evidence that poposauroids diversified extensively during the Middle Triassic. 

A new tiny dromaeosaurid dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Jehol Group of western Liaoning and niche differentiation among the Jehol dromaeosaurids

XU Xing, QIN Zi-Chuan

2017, 55(2):  129-144. 

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The Early Cretaceous Jehol dromaeosaurids are taxonomically and morphologically diverse, and one of them, Microraptor zhaoianus, has been suggested to be among the smallest known non-avialan theropods. However, this idea is based on specimens of relatively early ontogenetic stages, and the lower limit of the mature body mass of Jehol dromaeosaurids thus remains unknown. Here we describe a new dromaeosaurid, Zhongjianosaurus yangigen. et sp. nov., based on a specimen from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation (the middle section of the Jehol Group) from Sihedang, Lingyuan County, Liaoning in Northeast China. While this new taxon is referable to the Microraptorinae, it differs from other microraptorine dromaeosaurids in numerous features, most notably the fusion of proportionally long uncinate processes to dorsal ribs, a humerus with a strongly medially offset proximal end and a large fenestra within the deltopectoral crest, an ulna slightly longer than the humerus, and an arctometatarsalian pes. Most significantly, the estimated 0.31 kg mass of the Z. yangi holotype of an adult individual confirms that some Jehol dromaeosaurids are among the smallest known non-avialan theropods. Our preliminary analysis demonstrates niche differentiation among the Jehol dromaeosaurids, a phenomenon rarely reported among Mesozoic dinosaurian faunas.  

New information on Dianmeisaurus gracilis Shang & Li, 2015

SHANG Qing-Hua , LI Chun, Wu Xiao-Chun

2017, 55(2):  145-161. 

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Dianmeisaurus gracilis is restudied on the basis of a new specimen. It provides some new information, especially that on the skull roof, to the species. The most striking of those new characters include the snout (preorbital region) shorter than the orbit, the interorbital septum extremely narrow, the frontal with a sharp process at both ends, and the posterior margin of the skull roof deeply V-shaped. A phylogenetic analysis with new information confirms that Dianmeisaurus is the sister group of Diandongosaurus and that these two genera, together with those Chinese taxa (Majiashanosaurus,Dianopachysaurus, Keichousaurus, and Dawazisaurus), form a monophyletic clade which is more closely related to the Nothosauroidea than to a clade formed by the European pachypleurosaurs. 

A new ionoscopiform fish (Holostei: Halecomorphi) from the Middle Triassic (Anisian) of Yunnan, China

Luoping, Yunnan; Triassic; Ionoscopiformes, Halecomorphi;osteology; phylogeny  

2017, 55(2):  162-176. 

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 Ionoscopiformes, sister to Amiiformes, are an extinct group of halecomorph fishes previously known mainly from the late Middle Triassic (Ladinian) and Late Jurassic of Europe and the Early Cretaceous of the New World. They have not been known in China until recently two ionoscopiforms (Robustichthys and Panxianichthys) were found from the early Middle Triassic (Anisian) of Yunnan and Guizhou, respectively. Here, a new ionoscopiform,Subortichthys triassicus gen. et sp. nov., is described on the basis of six well-preserved specimens from the early Middle Triassic (Pelsonian, Anisian, ~244 Ma) marine deposits exposed in Luoping, eastern Yunnan, China. The discovery documents the second ionoscopiform from the Luoping fossil beds and one of the oldest ionoscopiforms in the world, providing important information for understanding the origin and early diversification of this group. Subortichthys is an unambiguous halecomorph as it possesses two synapomorphies of this clade: a symplectic articulating with the lower jaw and a notched posterior margin of the maxilla. Within the phylogenetic framework of the Halecomorphi, results of the phylogenetic analysis place Subortichthys at the base of the Ionoscopiformes because it bears a sensory canal in the maxilla (an ionoscopiform synapomorphy), but lacks derived features of other ionoscopiforms. Notably, Subortichthys is distinguished from other members of this order with a unique combination of features, such as presence of three or four pairs of extrascapulars and a much expanded third infraorbital posteriorly contacting the preopercle. The new material reveals that the earliest diversification of ionoscopiforms was well undertaken in South China (a part of east Paleotethys Ocean then) by the early Middle Triassic (Anisian). 

A new crested theropod dinosaur from the Early Jurassic of Yunnan Province, China

WANG Guo-Fu, YOU Hai-Lu, PAN Shi-Gang, WANG Tao

2017, 55(2):  177-186. 

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A new crested theropod, Shuangbaisaurus anlongbaoensis gen. et sp. nov., is reported. The new taxon is recovered from the Lower Jurassic Fengjiahe Formation of Shuangbai County, Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, and is represented by a partial cranium.Shuangbaisaurus is unique in possessing parasagittal crests along the orbital dorsal rims. It is also distinguishable from the other two lager-bodied parasagittal crested Early Jurassic theropods (Dilophosaurus and Sinosaurus) by a unique combination of features, such as higher than long premaxillary body, elevated ventral edge of the premaxilla, and small upper temporal fenestra. Comparative morphological study indicates that “Dilophosaurus”sinensis could potentially be assigned to Sinosaurus, but probably not to the type species. The discovery of Shuangbaisaurus will help elucidate the evolution of basal theropods, especially the role of various bony cranial ornamentations had played in the differentiation of early theropods. 

Review of historical and current research on the Late Cretaceous dinosaurs and dinosaur eggs from Laiyang, Shandong

ZHANG Jia-Liang, WANG Qiang, JIANG Shun-Xing, CHENG Xin, LI Ning, QIU Rui, ZHANG Xin-Jun, WANG Xiao-Lin

2017, 55(2):  187-200. 

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 Here we briefly review the history of research on the Laiyang dinosaur and dinosaur egg faunas, summarize the contributions of C. C. Young and other elder paleontologists to the discoveries of the Late Cretaceous dinosaurs and dinosaur eggs from Laiyang, and introduce the new discoveries and the advances in the research on the Laiyang faunas. The new investigations in Laiyang from 2008 have found a series of valley developed in plain and more than ten new dinosaur or dinosaur egg fossil beds. In 2010, we began the massive excavations at two localities in Jingangkou and collected abundant dinosaurs and other vertebrate fossils, such as a new saurolophine, some theropod material and a new taxon of turtle egg. The bone beds in Locality 2 with the typical sedimentary and burial patterns of mudflow, and these fossil deposits are interpreted as having been carried and deposited by mudflow. The re-observation and the CT scanning data of the crest of Tsintaosaurus spinorhinus (IVPP V 725) show that the crest is fractured and solid. However, based on the re-observations of its cranial and postcranial specimens, we consider that Tsintaosaurus spinorhinus is a valid taxon of lambeosaurines, which have the hollow crest. Therefore, the crest of Tsintaosaurus might not belong to the skull of this individual, and the true form of the crest needs to be confirmed in the future work. We reassess the three species of Tanius, andobtain several results. 1) Tanius sinensis and Tanius chingkankouensis are the valid species of Tanius; 2) Tanius laiyangensis is invalid.; 3) the sacrum and ilium of Tanius chingkankouensis with typical hadrosaurid features should not be referred to Tanius.