Five new species of Arvicolinae and Myospalacinae from the Late Pliocene−Early Pleistocene of Nihewan Basin

Abstract: The Nihewan Basin has been well known for its Cezonoic fossiliferous fluviolacustrine deposits and paleolithic sites for almost a century. There have been considerable research efforts devoted to the understanding of the geology, chronology, and stratigraphy of this complex of sedimentary body. The current fundamental problem lies in the chronological aspect of the Nihewan Beds. Arvicolinae and Myospalacinae are two groups of rodents characterized by rapid evolutionary rates and quantifiable evolutionary trends, and hence particularly helpful in Late Cenozoic biostratigraphic correlations. Therefore, we briefly describe three new species of Arvicolinae and two new species of Myospalacinae that mainly came from the selected sections in the Nihewan Basin. Hopefully, they would contribute towards the establishment of the biostratigraphic framework of the Nihewan Basin and provide new evidence on the chronological understanding of the Nihewan Beds from an evolutionary point of view.