Table of Content

15 December 2002, Volume 40 Issue 04

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AGNATHANS FROM LLANDOVERY (SILURIAN) OF KALPIN, XINJIANG, CHINA

WANG Jun-Qing, WANG Nian-Zhong, ZHANG Guo-Rui, WANG Shi-Tao, ZHU Min

2002, 40(04):  245-256. 

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Abundant early vertebrate fossils including galeaspids (Agnatha) and sinacanths (Chondrichthyes) have been known from the Middle Paleozoic deposits of the northwestern margin of the Tarim Basin (Kalpin and Bachu counties), Xinjiang, northwestern China (Wang et al. ,1988; Liu, 1995; Wang et al., 1996; Zhu, 1998; Wang et al., 1998). Here we describe three new forms of galeaspids from the Tataertag Formation (Llandovery, Silurian) near the Tielikewatie village of the Kalpin County, Xinjiang. These new jawless fishes provide us with more evidences on the geographic pro2ximity between the Tarim and Yangtze regions during the Silurian, which is also corroborated by the similarity of the depositional sequence till the Devonian between the two regions. The purplish-red non-marine deposits of the Middle Paleozoic in the Tarim Basin can be subdivided into the Kezirtag, Ymogantau, Tataertag and Kalpintag formations in descending order. Within this sequence, there is no depositional gap or unconformity. Based on the chitinozoans (Geng ,1993) and the continuous sequence, we suggest that the age of the Kezirtag Formation should be the Silurian rather than the early and middle Devonian.

A NEW SPECIES OF L YCOPTERA FROM LIAONING, CHINA

ZHANG Jiang-Yong

2002, 40(04):  257-266. 

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Lycoptera is an important member of the Jehol Biota and has its distribution only in Eastern Asia. In 1998, fish materials were found in the Yixian Formation at a new fossil locality near Fuxin City, Western Liaoning, China. The third infraorbital of the new fish is semicircular, which is different from that in all other species of the genus. The mandible of the fish is long and low, very peculiar in the genus. Therefore, a new species is proposed for the Fuxin specimens-Lycoptera fuxinensis sp. nov.

THE LYSTROSAURUS FOSSILS FROM XINJIANG AND THEIR BEARING ON THE TERRESTRIAL PERMIAN2TRIASSIC BOUNDARY

LIU Jun, LI Jin-Ling, CHENG Zheng-Wu

2002, 40(04):  267-275. 

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Summary can be seen in PDF.

A NEW ARMORED DINOSAUR (ANKYLOSAURIA) FROM BEIPIAO BASIN, LIAONING PROVINCE, NORTHEASTERN CHINA

DONG Zhi-Ming

2002, 40(04):  276-285. 

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Ankylosaurs are a major group of ornithischians with broad and low bodies, distributed mainly in Asia and North America. They are most identified by their dermal armor. The earliest ankylosaurs are Scellidosaurus and Bienosaurus from the Early Jurassic (Liassic Stage) of England and China (Romer, 1968; Dong, 2001). A new genus and species of Thyreophora (Ankylosauria)- Crichtonsaurus bohlini gen. et sp. nov., is described in this paper. The generic name is dedicated to Mr. Michael Crichton, author of the book “Jurassic Park”. Dinosaurs became one of the most popular scientific subject due to this book. The specific name is dedicated to Dr. B. Bohlin, a well-known Swedish collector of verte- brate fossil including several ankylosaurs along the Silk Road, Northwestern China. The specimens came from the Sunjiawan Formation of Beipiao Basin, Liaoning Province, northeastern China. The newly found ankylosaur fossil supports the Late Cretaceous age of this unit (Cenomanian-Turonian). The materials contain a fragment of left mandible bearing three teeth (IVPP V 12745); two cervical vertebrae, a complete dorsal (IVPP V 12746); four sacral and caudal vertebrae, complete scapula, coracoid, humerus, and femur, as well as various plates and scutes of dermal armor (LPM 101). LPM is the abbreviation of the Paleontology Museum of Liaoning. Crichtonsaurus is a medium-sized ankylosaur, 3 meters in length on the basis length of vertebrae. The mandible is thin and without outer surface ornamentation. The teeth are small, and typically ankylosaurid in shape. The crown of each tooth is symmetrical with 4 or 5 marginal denticles. The cingulum is strong on the base of crown. Small ridges are found on flatter side of the crown. The centra of cervical vertebrae are short and amphicoelous. The centra of dorsal vertebrae are amphiplatyan, with upward-pointing diapophyses. The centra of anterior caudal vertebrae are broad and comparatively short with long transverse processes. The scapula and coracoid are not fused together as a scapulocoracoid. Dermal plates, scutes, and spikes vary in size and form.

NEW EOMOROPID (MAMMALIA, PERISSODACTYLA) REMAINS FROM THE MIDDLE EOCENE OF YUANQU BASIN

HUANG Xue-Shi

2002, 40(04):  286-290. 

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Yuanqu Basin is the place where Chinese eomoropid fossils were found for the first time (Zdan-sky, 1930). New finds collected in recent years add not only new material of old species but a new taxon. Two genera and three species, including a new one, from two horizons are described in the present paper.

A NEW SPECIES OF PLATYB ELODON (GOMPHOTHERIIDAE, PROBOSCIDEA, MAMMALIA) FROM EARLY MIOCENE OF THE DANGHE AREA, GANSU, CHINA

WANG Ban-Yue, QIU Zhan-Xiang

2002, 40(04):  291-299. 

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The genus Platybelodon has been known as one of the most characteristic fossils of the middle Miocene in Palaearctic Region. In July and August of 2001 a mandible of Platybelodon was unearthed from the early Miocene deposits in the Danghe area, Gansu, China. It represents the most primitive and the earliest species of Platybelodon so far known.

THE STABLE CARBON ISOTOPES IN THE TOOTH ENAMEL OF THREE SPECIES OF THE MIDDLE MIOCENE FOSSIL HERBIVOROUS MAMMALS FROM TONGXIN, NINGXIA, CHINA

WEI Ming-Rui, GUO Jian-Wei

2002, 40(04):  300-304. 

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Theδ13C values of fossil tooth enamel of middle Miocene Platybelodon danovi cheni, Amebelodon tobieni and Stephanocemas thomsoni from Tongxin, Ningxia ranged from - 8. 7 ‰to - 10. 3 ‰, suggesting that these herbivorous mammals were feeding predominantly on C3 plants. The low-crowned dentitions of these animals indicated that they were browsers. And this supported the diets suggested by stable carbon isotopic compositions of tooth enamel.

LIMB BONES OF CHILOTHERIUM WIMANI (PERISSODACTYLA, RHINOCEROTIDAE) FROM THE LATE MIOCENE OF THE LINXIA BASIN IN GANSU, CHINA

DENG Tao

2002, 40(04):  305-316. 

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The genus Chilotherium was dominant among the Hipparion fauna of the Late Miocene in China, and it also appeared in other regions of Asia and South Europe widely. However, studies for the postcranial skeletons of Chilotherium are scarce. Although rich fossils of Chilotherium were discovered in Baode, Shanxi and Fugu, Shaanxi, only some postcranial bones of Ch. anderssoni were described. Recently, very abundant fossils of Ch. wimani were discovered from the Late Miocene of the Linxia Basin in Gansu, China, including a lot of skulls as well as postcranial skeletons. In this paper, limb bones of Ch. wimani are studied. The fore and hind feet of Ch. wimani are tridactyle, and limb bones are as short and robust as those of Ch. anderssoni discovered from Baode. Facets II and III for calcaneus on the posterior face of astragalus of Ch. wimani are connected to each other or separated by a narrow groove. In the subfamily Aceratheriinae, limb bones of most genera and species are longer and slenderer than those of Chilotherium, such as Plesiaceratherium gracile, Alicornops simorrense, Aceratherium incisivum, Hoploaceratherium tetradactylum and Acerorhinus zernowi. Only limb bones of Acerorhinus palaeosinensis are close to those of Chilotherium.

HESPEROTHERIUM - A NEW GENUS OF THE LAST CHALICOTHERES

QIU Zhan-Xiang

2002, 40(04):  317-325. 

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Chalicothere remains were only occasionally met in late Pliocene-middle Pleistocene deposits of China. Since they were usually very poorly represented, mostly by single teeth, identification was often highly tentative. Nevertheless, they were always identified as belonging to the genus Nestoritherium (formerly Circotherium). The latter was erected by Kaup in 1859 based on Falconer and Cautley’s description of anterior parts of skulls and lower jaws from the Siwaliks, India. On October 14th, 2000, the author had the opportunity to visit the fossil mammal localities in the Tianzhen County, Shanxi, accompanied by Prof. Wei Qi, who found and excavated these localities during the first years of the 1980s. Fortunately enough, some chalicothere fossils were found during the visit at the Loc. 80045, where typical Nihewan fauna were collected by Wei in 1980～ 1981. The new find of the chalicothere fossils tumed out particularly important in clarification of the affinity of the Chinese chalicothere material so far referred to Nestoritherium. The new fossils show clearly that they materially differ from the Siwaliks Nestoritherium and deserve to be classified as a new genus, for which the name Hesperotherium is proposed, alluding to the pre2extinction stage of the Chalicotheiidae. Hesperotherium gen. nov.