Table of Content

15 September 2011, Volume 49 Issue 3

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NEOGENE TERRESTRIAL MAMMALIAN BIOSTRATIGRAPHY AND CHRONOLOGY INASIA: A SPECIAL ISSUE: PREFACE

Lawrence J. FLYNN, WANG Xiao-Ming, Mikael FORTELIUS

2011, 49(3):  253-256. 

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A new species of Gobicricetodon Qiu, 1996 (Mammalia, Rodentia, Cricetidae) from the Middle Miocene Aya Cave, Lake Baikal

Sevket SEN, Margarita A. ERBAJEVA

2011, 49(3):  257-274. 

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A new species of Gobicricetodon is described from the Middle Miocene of Aya Cave in the Lake Baikal area. It differs from the other species of this genus by its smaller size and some primitive characters of the dentition. In previous studies, Gobicricetodon together withPlesiodipus has been considered as belonging to a distinct Subfamily Gobicricetodontinae. However, great similarities of dentition suggest affinities with several other Eurasian genera grouped in the subfamily Cricetodontinae. To clear up phylogenetic relationships of Gobicricetodonand Plesiodipus with Cricetodontinae, and to enlighten generic and supra-generic systematics of this group, a cladistic analysis using Mesquite 2.72 was done. It reveals three main clades. One of them groupsGobicricetodon and Plesiodipus together with the genera Mixocricetodonand Tsaganocricetus and, surprisingly, with some European species ofCricetodon, including its type species C. sansaniensis. In addition, this analysis suggests an origin for the group from within a Cricetodon-stock of western Eurasia. Another result of this study is that the genusCricetodon is apparently polyphyletic and needs division into several genera.

Observations on the Hipparion Red Clays of the Loess Plateau

Lawrence J. FLYNN, DENG Tao, WANG Yang, XIE Guang-Pu, HOU Su-Kuan, PANG Li-Bo, WANG Tai-Ming, MU Yong-Qing

2011, 49(3):  275-284. 

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We discuss the history of exploration of Red Clay vertebrate fossils of the Loess Plateau, and record observations on “Hipparion Red Clay” localities of Shanxiand Gansu provinces. Red clay is widespread across the Loess Plateau, but misleading as a descriptive term because many deposits are neither red nor dominated by clay-size sediment. Many red clay sequences contain paleosols, but also water-laid deposits. Our survey includes well-known localities of Yushe Basin, Renjiagou and Leijiahe near Lingtai, and sites of Qingyang and Qin’an. We discuss fossils found at Renjiagou, a new discovery of micromammals (Pliopentalagus) from Yucun, and Pliocene burrows observed at Hujiacun, both latter localities northeast of Lingtai. Observations are consistent with a high rate of supply of clay sized particles, likely air-fall origin, throughout the Loess Plateau during the Late Miocene. In some areas where fluvial or lake processes dominate, red clay particles are replaced in part or completely by water-laid coarse-grained deposits. We saw no evidence for a dry Late Miocene-Early Pliocene, but rather hypothesize well-watered habitat of high productivity. Locally diverse vertebrate fossils attest to high terrestrial biomass for Hipparion faunas.

EARLY EXPLORATIONS OF QAIDAM BASIN(TIBETAN PLATEAU) BY BIRGER BOHLIN—RECONCILING CLASSIC VERTEBRATE FOSSIL LOCALITIES WITH MODERN BIOSTRATIGRAPHY

WANG Xiao-Ming ; XIE Guang-Pu ; LI Qiang ; QIU Zhu-Ding ; Zhijie J. TSENG ; Gary T. TAKEUCHI ; WANG Ban-Yue ; Mikael FORTELIUS ; Asta ROSENSTROM-FORTELIUSS ; Hakan WAHLOUIST ; William R. DOWNS ZHANG Chun-Fu ; WANG Yang

2011, 49(3):  285-310. 

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The discovery by Birger Bohlin of a series of vertebrate fossil sites in the twin lakes region(Tuosu Nor and Keluke Nor) of eastern Qaidam Basin during the Sino-Swedish Expedition in 1931 and 1932 was a major milestone in vertebrate paleontology for the Tibetan Plateau. Qaidam fossil mammals collected by Bohlin stillrepresent the best collections from the plateau and serve as an important reference point for a period of time that saw dramatic climatic changes. The more than 4600 m of strata in eastern Qaidam. spanning over 13 million years in time, are ideal for establishing a detailed biostratigraphic record, but Bohlin's published specimens lack any reference to stratigraphy, which causes much confusion about the nature of his "Tsaidam Fauna." Bohlin did, however, make a fairly detailed documentation of locality information, much of which remains buried in archival records in Stockholm. This paper is an attempt to reconstruct Bohlin's fossil localities by synthesizing relevant archives and historical accounts, as well as field observations of our own during the past 13 years. Fieldnotes in Swedish are translated to English and several field sketches are published for the first time. As a result, we are able to relocate many fossil localities that are of stratigraphic and taxonomic importance. Bohlin mainly collected in three major areas, along the northwestern shore of Tuosu Nor, south of Huaitoutala. and south of Quanshuiliang train station, each with stratigraphic settings of their own. In his published descriptions, all fossils are included in his "Tsaidam Fauna."With the help of his notes and sketches and our field verification. we are now in a position to recognize at least three faunal horizons among Bohlin's collections: middle Miocene (Tunggurian) Olongbuluk Fauna, early late Miocene(early Bahean) Tuosu Fauna, and early Pliocene(Yushean) Huaitoutala Fauna.Of these fossil sites, Bohlin’s Tuosu Nor locality is the best constrained within the modern stratigraphic framework due to the relatively short section present along the northern bank of Tuosu Nor. His fossil localities are confined to a narrow band of about 100 meters in total thickness. Bohlin’s Huaitoutala (Ulan-utsur) localities are, however, more scattered both spatially and stratigraphically. Fortunately, only a few localities produced fossils of biochronologic significance, and most are low in the section, probably belonging to the Olongbuluk Fauna. The majority of Bohlin’s Qaidam collections comes from what he informally called the “general strips,” which is not far from the present day Quanshuiliang railway station. Approximately 250 m of strata extend laterally for several kilometers. Almost all endemic bovids that Bohlin described, such as Tsaidamotherium,Olonbulukia, Qurliqnoria, Tossunnoria, are produced from this area. The Quanshuiliang region also produces some of the earliest occurrences of Hipparion in China. Preliminary correlation of the Quanshuiliang section with an existing magnetic section in Huaitoutala suggests that the local first appearance of Hipparion is close to the boundary between chrons C5r.1r and C5r.1n, about 11.1 Ma.

LARGE MAMMALS FROM NEW LATE MIOCENE FOSSIL LOCALITIES NEAR VARZEGHAN,NORTHWEST IRAN

Majid MIRZAIE ATAABADI, Gholamreza ZAREE, Zahra ORAK

2011, 49(3):  311-321. 

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Large mammals from localities near Varzeghan in northwestern Iran are described here for the first time. The fossil material consists of hipparionine horses and deinotheres. The hipparion species are tentatively differentiated according to their size and dental morphology into a small to medium sized species likeHipparion moldavicum and a medium to large sized species such asH. prostylum or H. dietrichi. Deinotherium giganteum is also present in this area. A middle Turolian age (MN12 equivalent) is proposed for these new localities based on comparison of the fossil material to material from other Late Miocene sites.

Morphologic comparison of cranial and postcranial materials of Chinese and other Holarctic hipparionine horses

Mahito WATABE

2011, 49(3):  322-347. 

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Geographically situated between North America and the western part of the Old World, Chinese hipparionines of the Late Miocene yield important biostratigraphic and biogeographic information. This information reflects faunal interchange between North America and Eurasia, and is also related to paleoenvironmental changes in the Late Miocene. Based on facial and dental morphologies and limb proportions, the Chinese hipparionines are compared with forms from other regions of Eurasia and North America. Two taxonomic groups are recognized among Chinese hipparionines. One group (not in phylogenetic sense) includes Hipparion dermatorhinum,H. weihoense, H. fossatum, H. hippidiodus, and H. coelophyes and shows morphological similarity with those in the western Old World. Another endemic group includes H. ptychodus, H. platyodus, H.tylodus, H. sefvei and H. plocodus and shows no similarity to forms of other regions. The former group, a characteristic member of the “steppe” fauna of northern China, is important for biostratigraphic correlations of fossil localities in Eurasia. The latter group shows similarity of facial morphology to that of North American hipparionines (genus “Cormohipparion”). The endemic hipparionines were members of the “forest” fauna in northern China.

ELEPHAS CF. E. MAXIMUS INDICUS(ELEPHANTIDAE, MAMMALIA) FROM THE POST SIWALIK DEPOSITS OF JAMMU PROVINCE,JAMMU AND KASHMIR, INDIA

Yash Pal KUNDAL, Som Nath KUNDAL 

2011, 49(3):  348-361. 

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An upper right molar of Elephas is described from the sandy-silty mudstone containing small pebbles immediately overlying the Boulder Conglomerate Formation of the Upper Siwalik Subgroup of Jammu, exposed500 m north of Kharian village and 10 km south of Jammu city. Based on the dental morphological parameters including plate number, lamellar frequency, enamel thickness, hypsodonty index, absolute size, length/width index it is tentatively referred to Elephas cf. E. maximus indicus. A brief discussion on distribution and age of this Elephas is also presented.

Acinonyx kurteni based on a fossil composite

DENG Tao 

2011, 49(3):  362-364. 

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Christiansen and Mazák (2009) reported a new species (Acinonyx kurteni) of the cheetah based on a skull from the Late Pliocene loess deposits of the Linxia Basin in Gansu Province, China. As a vertebrate paleontologist working on the late Cenozoic mammals of the Linxia Basin for many years, I naturally had particular interests in reading this paper. Unfortunately, I found that they studied a fossil forgery, the sole foundation of the paper.