Table of Content

15 September 2006, Volume 44 Issue 03

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A Recommended Boundary Stratotype Section for Xiejian Stage from Northern JunggAr Basin: Implications to Related Biochronostratigraphy and Environmental Changes 

Meng Jin, Ye Jie, Wu Wenyu, Yue Leping, Ni Xijun

2006, 44(03):  205-236. 

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Xiejian Stage is a regional chronostratigraphic unit of Chinese Neogene, with its lower boundary being roughly correlative to that of the international Aquitanian Stage. This boundary coincides with the lower boundaries of the Miocene and Neogene. Although Xiejian Stage has been formally recognized and widely used (NCSC , 2002) , its lower boundary has not been well defined and the boundary stratotype has not been established. Based on field and lab work on the Tertiary beds and faunas in the northem Junggar area ( Fig. 1 ) during the last few years , we present an analysis of the Tieersihabahe section and recommend it as a candidate for the stratotype of the lower boundary of Xiejian Stage. The Tieersihabahe section is northwest to the Dure village in the northern rim of the Junggar Basin, Xinjiang (Fig. 1) ; it consists of four units, ranging from bottom up: Tieersihabahe , Suosuoquan, Halamagai and Kekemaideng formations ( Figs. 2 —3). The sequence is 194.5 m thick and the lower two formations are continuous, with no stmctural disturbance, and contains Late Oligocene and Early Miocene mammals ( Figs. 2 —4). In the measured section (02Tr) , the lower limit of Suosuoquan Formation is at the level of 33 m ( Fig. 4) . The lithology of these rock units has been reported elsewhere (Ye et al., 2001 a; 2003) .

A new species of Nothosaurus from the early Middle Triassic of Guizhou, China 

Shang Qinghua

2006, 44(03):  237-249. 

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A new species of Nothosaurus, N. rostellatus, is described from the early Middle THassic Guanling Forrnation ( Member II) in Panxian County , Guizhou Province, China. It is a medium sized species and characterized by relatively small rostrum, more than six precanine maxillary teeth, cleveloped ectopterygoid flanges, dstinct pachyostotic" shoulder" part of dorsal ribs. It represents the first record of Anisian Nothosaurus in the Eastern Tethyian faunal province.

New materials of Eocene Dinocerate (Mammalia) from the Erlian Basin, Nei Mongol (Inner Mongolia)

Bai bin

2006, 44(03):  250-261. 

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In 2004 two broken mandibles of Dinocerata were unearthed from the Eocene deposits at Nuhetingboerhe, Erlian Basin, Nei Mongol, China. They represent two different genera and species, and are reported in this paper. Classification of Dinocerata at family level follows Fierov (1956, 1957) .

Dynamics of the mammalian fauna in southern siberia during the late palaeolithic 

Diana PUSHKINA

2006, 44(03):  262-273. 

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The extensive and rapid faunal alteration occurring at the late Pleistocene-Holocene is an informative period for studying faunal responses to rapid environmental change. Since the Miocene Central Asia has been the focal point of the transformation in Eurasia towards more open and dry environment. Here I use published literature data on the late Palaeolithic of Lake Baikal and Altai Mountains region in Russia to map environmental changes through molar crown height (hypsodonty), diet and body size in large herbivores. The results demonstrate a decrease in mean hypsodonty, mean body size, and the shift in dietary preferences from grazing towards browsing during the latest late Palaeolithic or Late Glacial (LG), which implies climatic warming, precipitation increase and, probably, spread of forests. Common species, present in ≥ 25 per cent of localities, produced these trends more strongly and responded faster to changing environments. Hypsodonty increased with altitude, which suggests precipitation decrease. Deviation between precipitation values derived from hypsodonty and estimated from other paleoindicators might be increasing with altitude. The major change that influenced the demise of the mammoth fauna in southern Siberia was probably initiated after the Last Glaciation Maximum (LGM). Decrease in mammoth and perissodactyl commonness is consistent with large mammal extinctions and different from artiodactyls response to climatic change. Human overexploitation could regionally add more stress to the declining mammalian populations and lead quicker to their extinction. 

A new anagalid (Anagalida, Mammalia) from the Paleocene of Nanxiong Basin, GuangDong Province

Huang Xueshi

2006, 44(03):  274-277. 

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The present paper deals with a new anagalid，Linnania progressus sp. nov., collected from the Paleocene nearby Zengdeao Village，Nanxiong County，Guangdong Province by a field team of IVPP in 1973．

Early Pleistocene takin fossil from China

Li Xiaochen

2006, 44(03):  278-282. 

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