Subjects: Biology >> Zoology submitted time 2024-04-03 Cooperative journals: 《古脊椎动物学报》
Abstract： Because ancient proteins have a higher preservation potential than ancient DNA, proteomic studies can help shed light on the biology of some extinct biological groups that are beyond the reach of the field of ancient DNA. The oldest peptide discovered so far is part of the protein struthiocalcin (SCA-1) involved in eggshell mineralization and found within an ostrich egg from the Late Miocene Linxia Basin of Northwest China. It was originally hypothesized that SCA-1 was evenly distributed within the eggshell and was able to enter the fossil record for so long, because it was bound to calcite crystals. We conducted histological, scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopic analyses on this same fossil egg to test if any protein or organic matter could be observed within specific regions of the eggshell and indeed bound to calcite crystals. Our results show that the eggshell is made entirely of calcite except at the base layer, which is made of mammillary knobs at least partially made of apatite. These knobs were secondarily phosphatized during diagenesis. After decalcification of this material, the fossilized mammillary knobs showed fibrous residues consistent in location and morphology with remnants of original organic material forming a network. This network was similar to the organic matrix observed in an extant ostrich eggshell with this same method. The results here suggest that SCA-1 may have been concentrated at the mammillary knobs, rather than evenly throughout the eggshell. Phosphatization may be another taphonomic process that favors organic preservation in deeptime. The paleoclimate and taphonomic environment of the Linxia Basin may have provided favorable conditions for the molecular preservation of this egg. More in-depth histochemical and mineralogical analyses will certainly increase our understanding of organic and ancient protein preservation in this basin.
Subjects: Biology >> Zoology submitted time 2024-03-22 Cooperative journals: 《古脊椎动物学报》
Abstract： The affinity of ‘Dongfangaspis qujingensis’, initially assigned to Dongfangaspis but later to Laxaspis, has long been controversial. However, the taxonomical revision raises a new problem of junior homonym since the type species of Laxaspis is L. qujingensis. Here, we describe some new materials of ‘Dongfangaspis qujingensis’ and Damaspis vartus from the Xishancun Formation (early Lochkovian, Early Devonian) in Qujing, Yunnan Province. ‘Dongfangaspis qujingensis’ strikingly resembles Damaspis vartus in the slightly longer headshield, bifurcated ends of the lateral transverse canals, unconnected V-shaped posterior supraorbital canals, and at least seven pairs of lateral transverse canals issuing from the lateral dorsal canal. These similarities indicate that ‘D. qujingensis’ is more suggestive of Damaspis than Dongfangaspis and Laxaspis. Therefore, we propose to remove ‘Dongfangaspis qujingensis’ from Laxaspis to Damaspis. The new specimens of Damaspis vartus reveal five long lateral transverse canals on the right side, corroborating that the asymmetric sensory canal system in the holotype is the intraspecific variation.
Subjects: Biology >> Zoology submitted time 2024-01-28 Cooperative journals: 《古脊椎动物学报》
Abstract： As a small to middle-sized bovid, Hispanodorcas had previously only been found in the pan-Mediterranean region and South Asia. Its taxonomic classification at the tribe level has been a subject of debate, with possible associations to Antilopini, Reduncini, or Oiocerini. Here, we report on the first discovery of Hispanodorcas in East Asia, H. longdongica sp. nov. from the Daidian Locality in China, dating to the early Baodean age (~8–7 Ma). The new material consists of five skulls with varying states of preservation and provides the most complete osteological information on Hispanodorcas to date. It features a long, slender, and posteriorly curved horncore with a weak homonymous twist and both laterodorsal and medioventral grooves, which is characteristic of Hispanodorcas. This new species is characterized by having the smallest size amongst all known Hispanodorcas species, a weakly curved brain case in the facial region, and poorly developed posterior and anterior basilar tuberosities. These primitive characteristics suggest that H. longdongica may represent an early evolutionary stage of this genus. Furthermore, they indicate that Hispanodorcas might have directly evolved from the Gazella stock. The homonymous twist in the horncore, which aligns with Oiocerini, may be a case of homoplasy.
Subjects: Biology >> Zoology submitted time 2023-11-30 Cooperative journals: 《古脊椎动物学报》
Abstract： We report here a number of mandibular, maxillary and dental fossil remains of Indian Suoidea from the Middle Siwalik of Haritalyangar area in Bilaspur District of Himachal Pradesh, North India. Haritalyangar is well known for the diversity of the Late Miocene fauna and the hominoids and other primates. The suoid remains were collected by one of the authors (ARS) during different field seasons and their localities were plotted on the map, along with those of the proboscidean reported recently, including the hominoid localities. The fossil localities are spread over the ‘Lower Alternations’ and the ‘Upper Alternations’ from Makkan Khad to Sir Khad. We have assigned the fossils into three genera, Propotamochoerus (P. hysudricus), Hippopotamodon (H. sivalense) and Yunnanochoerus (Y. dangari). Propotamochoerus hysudricus represents the most common suid in the Middle Siwaliks. The new remains of the suoid Yunnanochoerus dangari further documents this rare palaeochoerid only known in the Haritalyangar area by a few fossils. The new suoid remains show clear affinities with the Nagri fauna of the Pakistan Siwaliks. Biochronological correlations with the Potwar Plateau based on suoids indicate an age bracket of ~10–9 Ma for the ‘Lower Alternations’ of Haritalyangar, close to the bracket mostly recently proposed on the basis of magnetic polarity stratigraphy.
Subjects: Biology >> Zoology submitted time 2023-10-13 Cooperative journals: 《古脊椎动物学报》
Abstract： Renewed fieldwork in 2003 produced a rich micromammal assemblage from the basal part of the Jiaozigou Formation in the Yagou area of Linxia Basin. 17 genera distributed among 13 families of three orders were recovered. The micromammal fauna is a typical Oligocene assemblage for Central and Eastern Asia. 14 genera (~82% of the fauna) are common in the Oligocene of Asia. Of them four genera and four species of Eucricetodon are restricted to the Oligocene, one genus (Bagacricetodon) is restricted to Late Oligocene and Glis and Eomyodon made their first appearances in the Late Oligocene. Based on this micromammal composition, the basal part of the Jiaozigou Formation in the Yagou area could be mainly of Late Oligocene in age, which is in accordance with the conclusion based on large mammal fossils. In comparison with the other Late Oligocene micromammal faunas in Central and East Asia, the Yagou Fauna is slightly older than the Ulan III biozone of Nei Mongol and biozone C of Mongolia, because it has two Eocene genera and lacks more advanced genera. This is roughly in accordance with the recent palaeomagnetic interpretation for the Maogou section, where the lower boundary of the Jiaozigou Formation was correlated with Chron C10r (~29 Ma). The presence of large number of xerophilous zapodines, ctenodactylids, cricetids and lagomorphs combined with fossorial Tsaganomys and the lithology of the fossil-bearing deposits, composed of gypsiferous reddish brown mudstone, tend to show a semiarid woodland-shrubland habitat during the Late Oligocene in Yagou area. In Late Oligocene more frequent faunal interchange might have occurred between Asia and Europe (4 genera commonly shared) rather than between Asia and America (only 1 genus shared), partly because of the disappearance of the Turgai Strait.
Subjects: Biology >> Zoology submitted time 2023-09-20 Cooperative journals: 《古脊椎动物学报》
Abstract： Trilophodon connexus Hopwood, 1935 has long been considered a typical species of Gomphotherium in China. However, due to the unknown state of the mandibular symphysis and tusks, there is no definite evidence to assign “T. connexus” to Gomphotherium. Here we describe and reevaluate a hemimandible from the Halamagai Formation, Ulungur region, northern Junggar Basin, which was previously identified as Gomphotherium cf. G. shensiensis. The mandibular symphysis is deeply troughed and lacks mandibular tusks; therefore, it undoubtedly belongs to the Choerolophodontidae. Further comparison revealed that the cheek tooth morphology is identical to that of the type specimen of Trilophodon connexus. The characteristic features include high bunodonty, elongation of the m3 with four lophids, an only weakly chevroned lophid 2, enlargement of the posterior pretrite central conule 2, unfused state of the pretrite mesoconelet 2 (if present) and anterior pretrite central conule 2, as well as the absence of ptychodonty, choerodonty, and cementodonty. Therefore, T. connexus Hopwood, 1935 is a choerolophodontid rather than a species of Gomphotherium. Based on the above features, we provisionally refer to it as “Choerolophodon” connexus. “Choerolophodon” connexus is characterized by the following features: weak or absent ptychodonty, choerodonty, and loph chevron (which were all strong in the typical species of Choerolophodon), as well as multiplication of the lophids in the m3, which were similar to that of the North American Gnathabelodon. Therefore, Gnathabelodon might represent a distinct lineage within the Choerolophodontidae, and may be derived from the East Asian “Choerolophodon” connexus.
Subjects: Biology >> Zoology submitted time 2023-08-11
Abstract： The study of the currently known >3,000 species of snakes can provide valuable insights into the evolution of their genomes. Deinagkistrodon acutus, also known as Sharp-nosed Pit Viper, one hundred-pacer viper or five-pacer viper, is a venomous snake with significant economic, medicinal and scientific importance. Widely distributed in southeastern China and South-East Asia, D. acutus has been primarily studied for its venom. Here, we employed next-generation sequencing to assemble and annotate a highly continuous genome of D. acutus. The genome size is 1.46 Gb; its scaffold N50 length is 6.21 Mb, the repeat content is 42.81%, and 24,402 functional genes were annotated. This study helps to further understand and utilize D. acutus and its venom at the genetic level.
Peer Review Status:
Awaiting Review
Subjects: Biology >> Zoology submitted time 2023-07-12 Cooperative journals: 《古脊椎动物学报》
Abstract： The previously alleged ‘eugnathid amiiform’ Sinoeugnathus kueichowensis is a small-sized halecomorph from the Middle Triassic (Ladinian) marine deposits of Guizhou and Yunnan, China. A morphological redescription and taxonomic revision of this taxon are provided based on a detailed examination of 15 new specimens. Among them, IVPP V24315 (standard length = 64 mm) is appointed as the neotype, given that the holotype is missing. Studies of these specimens revealed some morphological details previously undescribed or misidentified for this taxon, including a hatchet-shaped antorbital, two broad suborbitals, a sensory canal in the maxilla, and three pairs of extrascapulars. For the first time, Sinoeugnathus was incorporated into an analysis of halecomorph phylogeny, and the results recover it as the sister taxon of the Anisian Subortichthys from Luoping, Yunnan, and both are grouped with two Ladinian genera Allolepidotus and Eoeugnathus from the Monte San Giorgio area into a monophyletic group (namely Subortichthyidae fam. nov. herein) at the base of Ionoscopiformes. This taxonomic reassessment of Subortichthys provides new insights into the phylogeny and paleogeographic evolution of Ionoscopiformes.
Subjects: Biology >> Zoology submitted time 2023-07-12 Cooperative journals: 《古脊椎动物学报》
Abstract： The Shuitangba subbasin lignite deposits of the Zhaotong Basin in northern Yunnan Province have produced vertebrate fossils of terminal Miocene age. We conducted test wet screening of fossiliferous sediment in 2014 to increase representation of small mammals. This effort produced four teeth of a very large bamboo rat, much larger than the previously known bamboo rat present at Shuitangba, and representing a new species. This new species is characterized by its molars being remarkably larger than those of other known species of Miorhizomys, and being hypsodont with cementum, and less anterorposteriorly compressed. The age of this new species from Shuitangba is in the range of 6.2 to 6.7 Ma. It appears that diverse bamboo rats of the extinct genus Miorhizomys were present in the Late Miocene of Yunnan, somewhat before the 6 Ma appearance of extant Rhizomys to the north in the vicinity of Shanxi Province.
Subjects: Biology >> Zoology submitted time 2023-05-25 Cooperative journals: 《古脊椎动物学报》
Abstract： We describe here new dental material from the locality of Myaukse Kyitchaung (Pondaung Formation, central Myanmar) that we refer to the primitive Archaeomerycidae ruminant Paukkaungmeryx minutus Ducrocq et al. (2020). The upper molars are morphologically very similar to those of the holotype and exhibit only slight variations on features like the better development of buccal and lingual cingula. The lower teeth display primitive characters including a simple p4 and bunoselenodont lower molars that lack folds on the back of the trigonid wall. This additional material makes Paukkaungmeryx the second archaeomerycid in Pondaung known by upper and lower teeth material, and documents the apparently complex early evolution of the family.
Subjects: Biology >> Zoology submitted time 2023-03-14 Cooperative journals: 《古脊椎动物学报》
Abstract： The zygodont proboscideans from the Miocene strata of China are widely distributed. However, the materials are scarce, and their classification has experienced a longtime controversy, from the chaotic state of multiple Zygolophodon species to the only one species, Zygolophodon gobiensis. The combined species Z. gobiensis comprises both the gracile type with a high degree of zygodonty and the robust type that is between the typical bunodont and zygodont morphology. Recently, as the robust type has been re-allocated to another genus Miomastodon and new fossil remains were discovered, it is necessary to further evaluate and classify the zygodont proboscideans from the Miocene of China. In the present paper, we restudied the previously published zygodont specimens of the gracile type, as well as several unpublished Mammutidae specimens. The former including Z. nemonguensis, Z. gromovae, Z. jiningensis, Z. chinjiensis and two specimens of Gomphotherium xiaolongtanensis, represents Zygolophodon in the original sense in China. In these specimens, the tip of the loph(ids) are sharp. The anterior and posterior pretrite central conules are absent or very weak, and the anterior and posterior crescentoids are sharp and slender. The posttrite mesoconelets are well subdivided and the zygodont crests are developed. In buccal view, the loph(id)s are “Ʌ-shaped” and the interloph(id) s are “V-shaped”. Their molar morphology resembles that of Z. turicensis, and hereby, they were identified as Zygolophodon cf. Z. turicensis. Several unpublished specimens from Hezheng, Gansu, Tunggur, Nei Mongol, Tongxin, Ningxia and Junggar, Xinjiang exhibit a lower degree of zygodonty, corresponding to the “robust type of Zygolophodon” in which the molar morphology is between the typical bunodonts and zygodonts. The pretrite crescentoids are thicker than Zygolophodon cf. Z. turicensis, and the pretrite central conules usually present on the first and second interloph(id)s. According to the stratigraphic age and characteristics, two species, Miomastodon gobiensis and Mio. tongxinensis were identified. The anterior and posterior pretrite crescentoids of Mio. tongxinensis are weaker and the pretrite central conules are larger than Mio.gobiensis. Geographical distribution indicates that Miomastodon is the predominant member of zygolophodonts in the Early and Middle Miocene in northern China. The discovery of new materials and the reclassification of zygolophodonts provide further evidence for dispersal of Mammutidae from Eurasia to North America and the evolutionary relationships among the species of the family Mammutidae in China.
Subjects: Biology >> Zoology submitted time 2023-03-14 Cooperative journals: 《古脊椎动物学报》
Abstract： Chondrocytes with remnants of nuclei and biomolecules were recently reported in two Cretaceous dinosaurs from North America and China. For multiple reasons, it was hypothesized that calcified cartilage (CC) had a better potential than bone to preserve ancient cells. Here we provide the first experimental test to this hypothesis by focusing on the most important variable responsible for cellular preservation: the postmortem blockage of autolysis. We compare the timing of autolysis between chondrocytes and osteocytes in an avian model (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) buried for up to 60 days under natural conditions that did not inhibit autolytic enzymes. Within 15 days post-burial, almost all osteocytes were already cytolyzed but chondrocytes in CC were virtually unaffected. All osteocytes were cytolyzed after 30 days, but some chondrocytes were still present 60 days post-burial. Therefore, even in harsh conditions some CC chondrocytes still survive for months postmortem on a time scale compatible with permineralization. This is consistent with other data from the forensic literature showing the extreme resistance of hyaline cartilage (HC) chondrocytes after death and does support the hypothesis that CC has a better potential than bone for cellular preservation, especially in fossils that were not permineralized rapidly. However, because the samples used were previously frozen, it is possible that the pattern of autolysis observed here is also a product of cell death due to ice crystal formation and not strictly autolysis, meaning a follow-up experiment on fresh (non-frozen samples) is necessary to be extremely accurate in our conclusions. Nevertheless, this study does show that CC chondrocytes are very resistant to freezing, suggesting that chondrocytes are likely better preserved than osteocytes in permafrost fossils and mummies that underwent a freezingthawing cycle. It also suggests that cartilage (both hyaline and calcified) may be a better substrate for ancient DNA than bone. Moreover, even though we warrant follow-up taphonomy experiments with non-frozen samples paired with DNA sequencing, we already urge ancient DNA experts to test CC as a new substrate for ancient DNA analyses in fossils preserved in hot and temperate environments as well.
Subjects: Biology >> Zoology submitted time 2023-02-17 Cooperative journals: 《古脊椎动物学报》
Abstract： The Enantiornithes is the most speciose clade of Mesozoic avialans with over 60 named taxa reported from most continents that span the whole Cretaceous. Most of the fossil remains of this clade, as well as those of other early diverging avialans are preserved in twodimensions. This complicates to extract detailed anatomical information from the skull, in which the composite elements are delicate and thus not easily observable through conventional methods. The scarcity of well-preserved early avialan skulls, as well as the limited number of specimens that have been analyzed using computed tomography scanning, consequently circumscribes a large morphological gap in the fossil record during the transition from the heavy and akinetic dinosaurian skull to the lightweight and kinetic bird skull. Here, we present a threedimensional digital reconstruction of the skull and part of the cervical vertebrae of a new specimen of the enantiornithine Parabohaiornis martini from the Early Cretaceous of China. Our results demonstrate that Parabohaiornis retains the plesiomorphic non-avialan dinosaurian temporal and palatal reinforcing the recent hypothesis that the temporal and palatal regions are evolutionarily conservative and that the akinetic skull has been conserved well into of early branching avialans.
Subjects: Biology >> Zoology submitted time 2022-11-25 Cooperative journals: 《古脊椎动物学报》
Abstract：
New middle Eocene rodent fossils discovered from the lower part of the Shara Murun Formation of Ula Usu, Erlian Basin, Nei Mongol, China, the classical locality of Sharamurunian mammalian fauna, were identified as 9 separate species (the ctenodactyloids Yuomys cavioides, Gobiomys neimongolensis, G. exiguus, and G. asiaticus, the dipodids Allosminthus uniconjugatus and Primisminthus shanghenus, the cricetid Pappocricetodon rencunensis, the ischyromyid Hulgana cf. H. ertnia, and the cylindrodontid Proardynomys ulausuensis) belonging to 7 genera, 4 families, and 1 superfamily of Rodentia. The Ula Usu rodent assemblage shares a high degree of similarity with that from the “Lower Red” beds of the Erden Obo, and they both represent the typical Sharamurunian rodent assemblages found in northern China. The Sharamurunian rodent fauna in the Erlian Basin is analyzed by the minimum number of individuals based on the rodent materials from the lower part of the Shara Murun Formation in the Ula Usu and the “Lower Red” beds of the Erden Obo. In the Sharamurunian rodent fauna of the Erlian Basin, ctenodactyloids are the most dominant elements, and dipodids and cricetids follow next in prevalence. By analyzing the evolution of the rodent species richness in the Erlian Basin, the rodent faunas show a transformation from a ctenodactyloid dominant assemblage to a cricetid-dipodid dominant one in chronological order. The Sharamurunian rodent fauna from the Erlian Basin differs from that of the Yuanqu Basin and the differences in the rodent assemblages may be a response to the differences between the regional environments.
Subjects: Biology >> Zoology submitted time 2022-11-25 Cooperative journals: 《古脊椎动物学报》
Abstract：
The pelvic morphology, and whether the pelvic fin is present or absent in the earliest jawed vertebrates are key in interpreting the origin of vertebrate paired fins. Parayunnanolepis xitunensis, an antiarch placoderm from the Early Devonian of Yunnan, South China, was previously described to possess the earliest evidence of both dermal and endoskeletal pelvic girdles, presumably for the attachment of the pelvic fins. Here, we redescribe the pelvic region of the holotype based on high-resolution computed tomographic data. Instead of having two large plates previously designated as dermal pelvic girdles, Parayunnanolepis possesses three pairs of lateral pelvic plates, and one large oval median pelvic plate. The paired pelvic plates are flat ventral plates, and differ from other dermal pelvic girdles in lacking a dorsal extension. There is no definitive evidence for the presence of an endoskeletal pelvic girdle in Parayunnanolepis, although the possibility cannot be ruled out. A comparison of the dermal pelvic plates in various jawed stem-gnathostomes suggests the presence of both paired and median pelvic plates is shared by different lineages and might be plesiomorphic. The jawed stem-gnathostomes may have recruited the ventral dermal skeleton of the post-thoracic body into different functional units.
Subjects: Biology >> Zoology submitted time 2022-10-16 Cooperative journals: 《古脊椎动物学报》
Abstract： The saurichthyiform fishes, characterized by a pointed rostrum and a streamlined long and slender body plan, ranked among the top predators of the ichthyofauna in the Early Mesozoic oceanic ecosystem. In a cosmopolitan pattern, these fishes rapidly radiated after the end-Permian mass extinction (EPME) and diversified morphologically and ecologically during the Middle Triassic. Thereafter, they seemingly showed a notable shrinkage from a global distribution to an occurrence basically restricted to the western Paleo-Tethys realm since the Late Triassic. Specifically, there is no saurichthyiform fossil record so far from the marine Late Triassic of South China (eastern Paleo-Tethys), where contrastingly they were highly diversified in stratigraphically older Lagerstätten (Middle Triassic Panxian-Luoping and Xingyi biotas). Here we report the discovery of Saurichthys taotie sp. nov. from the Guanling biota of Guizhou and Yunnan provinces, southwestern China. This new species is a medium-sized Saurichthys featured by subtriangular subopercles ornamented with densely arranged vertical striae, faint ornamentation on the posterior part of the skull roof, and strong longitudinal ridges decorating the anterodorsal surface of the rostrum. By marking its own group’s first occurrence in the Late Triassic of eastern Paleo-Tethyan province, Saurichthys taotie suggests that the saurichthyiform fishes were actually much more widespread than previously thought during that geological stage when they showed a considerable decline in the diversity. By still possessing some features previously only seen in its Early Triassic congeners elsewhere, Saurichthys taotie sheds new light on the evolutionary and paleobiogeographical history of saurichthyiform fishes.
Subjects: Biology >> Zoology submitted time 2022-09-29 Cooperative journals: 《古脊椎动物学报》
Abstract： Abundant mammalian fossils were uncovered during the field exploration for Nihewan beds at the beginning of the 1980s along Xinyaozi Ravine at Nangaoya Township of Tianzhen County, Shanxi Province in North China. But most equid material was not yet described except that of Equus stenonis. Six forms of Nihewanian equids were confirmed from the Xinyaozi specimens in the present study, five of which were described for the first time. They include four stenonids such as Equus sanmeniensis, E. teilhardi, E. huanghoensis and E. stenonis, and two hipparionines such as Hipparion (Proboscidipparion) sinense and H. (Plesiohiparrion) shanxiense. The diversification of stenonids in the Early Pleistocene was significant in North China with four taxa in Xinyaozi alone. The persistence of Neogene relics such as hipparionines was still present in the Early Pleistocene with two hipparionine taxa in Xinyaozi. Equus sanmeniensis and H. (Proboscidipparion) sinense were two representative equids not only coexisted in the Early Pleistocene but also widely distributed in China. The diversity of equids also implies the diversified vegetation on which they depended. The hypsodont dentitions and well developed cement, as well as completely molarized premolars of Xinyaozi equids indicate their abrasive diet mostly on monocotyledonous and grassland habitats with considerable scales enough to nourish six taxa of equids.
Subjects: Biology >> Zoology submitted time 2022-08-02 Cooperative journals: 《古脊椎动物学报》
Abstract： Qi (1990) named a new hyracodontid genus Ulania from the Middle Eocene deposits of Nei Mongol (Inner Mongolia), China. However, the generic name has been preoccupied by Ulania Lin & Zhang, 1979, a Cambrian trilobite (Zhu et al., 1979:103). We therefore propose a new generic name Ulanodon gen. nov. to replace Ulania Qi, 1990. “Ulan” means red in color in Mongolian language, and the Greek “-odon” is a common root in hyracodontid names meaning teeth. We thank Mr. John Ponting for bringing this issue to our attention, and Dr. Wang Yuan-Qing for the suggestion of the new generic name.
Subjects: Biology >> Zoology submitted time 2022-08-02 Cooperative journals: 《古脊椎动物学报》
Abstract： The Lijiang Fauna from the Lijiang Formation of Lijiang, western Yunnan, was dominated by 13 species of perissodactyl fossils, and its age ranged from Irdinmanhan to Sharamurunian Asian Land Mammal Ages (ALMA) according to previous research. Based on reanalysis of some perissodactyls from the Lijiang Fauna, it is suggested here that Rhodopagus yunnanensis is a junior synonym of Lijiangia zhangi, which is similar to Lophiohippus and placed in Anchilophini within the Palaeotheriidae. The enigmatic and scarce Lunania is here regarded as a palaeothere rather than a chalicothere based on its morphological similarities with Paranchilophus, and Lophiohippus probably represents the upper dentitions of Lunania. Furthermore, deperetellid Diplolophodon is revised and comprised of three species: D. similis, D. lunanensis, and D. xiangshanensis (comb. nov.). Teleolophus xiangshanensis from the Lijiang Formation is reassigned to Diplolophodon xiangshanensis. The revised perissodactyls from the Lijiang Fauna are comparable to those from the Rencun Member of the Hedi Formation of the Yuanqu Basin, and its age is confined to Sharamurunian ALMA.
Subjects: Biology >> Zoology submitted time 2022-08-02 Cooperative journals: 《古脊椎动物学报》
Abstract： Here we report the first dinosaur eggshells found in the Nanhu Gebi of Hami, including Elongatoolithus elongatus and Ovaloolithus oosp. The discovery of these dinosaur eggs not only enlarge the palaeogeographic distribution of elongtaoolithid and ovaloolithid eggs, but also indicate the geological age of egg-bearing strata to be the end of Late Cretaceous. Whether the strata can be correlated with the Subashi Formation in Turpan Basin remains to be clarified.
Hits
Hits
Downloads
Comment