“Measure my teeth and you'll know what I ate”: The molar ratio method and an updated interpretation of the diet of Nyctereutes sinensis (Carnivora,Canidae)

The molar ratio method presented by Acta Zoologica (98, 2016, 292) is a valid way to estimate the dietary differences between extant subspecies of the raccoon dog genus, Nyctereutes. Particularly, higher values of the molar ratio implies more omnivous diet than lower ones. With the same technique is possible to infer variations in the diet of extinct species. For the two Plio-Pleistocene fossil species Nyctereutes sinensis and Nyctereutes megamastoides, the authors estimate a more carnivorous diet for the latter in comparison to the former that has much higher values. This fact contrast with the morphological features of these two highly comparable species, often considered as morphotypes of the same species. Thanks to the revision of a large sample of N. sinensis from Chinese localities of the Yushe Basin (Shanxi Province), new scores for this species have been calculated. The results presented here confirms a strong adaptation to an omnivorous diet, as emerged from morphofunctional evidence in recent literature.     

泥河湾盆地新发现的梅氏犀及裴氏板齿犀化石

在河北省阳原县大黑沟中更新世和岑家湾附近石沟早更新世地层中分别发现了犀牛的下颌骨和股骨化石。其下颌联合部窄长、无下门齿、牙齿釉质层平滑而无褶皱、牙齿表面无垩质充填,股骨较披毛犀的长,故将其归入梅氏犀(Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis)。泥河湾盆地的化石是我国早期梅氏犀化石中材料最可靠,地点层位最明确的记录。山神庙咀和大黑沟出土的板齿犀牙齿及前脚骨化石,是泥河湾盆地发现的最好材料,尤其是大黑沟出土的板齿犀牙齿化石,是迄今在泥河湾盆地首次发现的完整材料;依据冠面结构和测量数据,该批材料可归入裴氏板齿犀(Elasmotherium peii);裴氏板齿犀特征鲜明,是有效名称,我国早更新世的板齿犀均应归入该种。我国第四纪的板齿犀与高加索板齿犀之间存在显著差异,表现在釉质层厚度较大但褶皱不够强烈、下颊齿的下后尖发育、颊齿冠面的前后径多数大于颊舌径、M3比M2小、M3后附尖欠发育,后脊与外脊已完全融合、上颊齿的齿脊更厚。此外,我国的板齿犀与西伯利亚板齿犀也有差异,后者的牙齿齿冠更高、无齿根、釉质层薄且褶皱强烈、上颊齿无后窝。最新地层研究表明,我国含板齿犀属的地层时代不晚于早更新世,且集中出现于下更新统。在晚新生代期间,犀牛在泥河湾盆地十分常见,先后出现过如下属种:大唇犀(Chilotherium sp.)(上新世)、裴氏板齿犀(Elasmotherium peii)(早更新世)、泥河湾披毛犀(Coelodonta nihowanensis)(早更新世)、梅氏犀Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis(早-中更新世)和真披毛犀(Coelodonta antiquitatis)(中-晚更新世)。     

New fossils of Eucladoceros boulei (Artiodactyla,Mammalia) from Early Pleistocene Nihewan Beds,China

Recent excavations at Shanshenmiaozui site in Nihewan Basin of North China uncovered a rich collection of comb-antlered deer, which includes the first discovery of the yearling antler, complete upper and lower dentitions (both deciduous and permanent), associated limb bones including the longest metapodials ever recovered. Based on toothrow length and the dental characters as well as the postcranial bones, the new fossil materials can be referred to Eucladoceros boulei that is estimated to be 350 kg and represents the largest Pleistocene cervid ever recovered in China. Besides the large size, E. boulei is also characterized by the pronounced anterior cingulids and entostylid ribs on lower molars as well as the moderately pachyostosed mandibles. The present study shows that the body weight of large cervids can be estimated by the length of toothrow and metacarpal, with exception for Cervus elaphus, which has larger toothrow length, but shorter metacarpal and smaller body size. E. boulei is a typical element of the Early Pleistocene fauna in northern China. The early Villafranchian is a bottleneck period for cervid evolution in northern China, which is characterized by the following features: decrease of cervid diversity, disappearance of archaic groups, and the rise of the medium to large-sized three-tined cervini taxa. The sudden appearance of the very large and/or multi-tined cervids at the Pliocene–Pleistocene transition may represent a great migration event of mammals. The Early Pleistocene cervids from Nihewan Basin are very diverse, and are in need of more taxonomic work.     

The Paleolithic in the Nihewan Basin,China: Evolutionary history of an Early to Late Pleistocene record in Eastern Asia

The Nihewan Basin of China preserves one of the most important successions of Paleolithic archeological sites in Eurasia. Stratified archeological sites and mammalian fossils, first reported in the 1920s, continue to be recovered in large‐scale excavation projects. Here, we review key findings from archeological excavations in the Nihewan Basin ranging from ~1.66 Ma to 11.7 ka. We place particular emphasis on changes in stone tool technology over the long term. Though Pleistocene lithic industries from East Asia are often described as simple in character, re‐evaluation of the stone tool evidence from the Nihewan Basin demonstrates significant, though periodic, innovations and variability in manufacturing techniques through time, indicating adaptive and technological flexibility on the part of hominins. Synthesis of paleoenvironmental and archeological data indicate changes in hominin occupation frequency in the Nihewan Basin, with chronological gaps suggesting that continuous presence in high, seasonal latitudes was not possible prior to the Late Pleistocene.     

Récentes découvertes de restes d'Hominidés fossiles en Chine du Sud

After the discovery of the controversial hominids and artefacts at the Longgupo site, three Early Pleistocene sites in the southern valleys of the Changjiang (Yangtze) were excavated from 1998 to 2000 in order to test the hypothesis that the hominids exist in China before 2 Ma. Three cheek teeth of Meganthropus palaeojavanicus, more than six hundreds pieces of artefacts of Mode 1 technology and thousands pieces of mammal fossils of Villafranchian age were unearthed in situ at the Longgudong Site in Hubei Province. More than 120 pieces of artefacts of Mode 1 technology and seven thousands pieces of mammal fossils of Villafranchian age were unearthed in situ at the Renzidong Site in Anhui Province. Although no new materials of hominids and artefacts were unearthed at the Yuanmou Man Site at Danawu in Yunnan Province, new materials of mammalian fauna confirm the horizon yielding the Yuanmou Man fossils is of the Early Pleistocene. These new discoveries imply that the appearance of hominids in China is very likely before 2 Ma. If the new report of 3 Ma artefact from Yuxian of the Nihewan Basin in northern China can be confirmed, it will be a strong support for the Continuity Theory.     

泥河湾盆地洞沟剖面上新世/更新世小哺乳动物

洞沟剖面6个层位(第2、4、7、11、16和19层)的小哺乳动物化石揭示剖面第10与第11层间是晚上新世／早更新世界限。界限之上Ochotona youngi、Borsodia chinensis、Allophaiomys deucalion和Yangia trassaerti等首次出现;界限之下Yangia omegodon和Hypolagus schreuderi首次出现以及Paenelimnoecus、Nannocricetus mongolicus、Sinocricetus progressus、Mesosiphneus para- tingi、Micromys tedfordi和Dipus fraudator最后绝灭。根据小哺乳动物组成及其属种转换事件判断,2．58 Ma左右往后气候环境显著向干冷方向转变。     

MURID RODENTS FROM THE LATE PLIOCENE OF YANGQUAN AND YUXIAN, HEBEI

<正> Daodi is considered to be a late Pliocene locality near Nihewan, a classic site well known for its abundant and diverse Plio-Pleistocene mammalian fossils. An assemblage of micromammals was collected by the first author from eight quarries at Daodi by screen-washing in 1984. Preliminary reports on 26 species of small mammals collected and more detailed studies of lagomorphs have been given (see Cai, 1987; 1989). This paper deals with the material of the rodent family Muridae in the collections.     

泥河湾盆地三棵树遗址ESR年代学

泥河湾盆地因发育良好的晚新生代湖相地层、丰富的旧石器遗址和哺乳动物化石而广受关注。盆地内已发现旧石器遗址100余处,被学术界称为“东方奥杜韦（Olduvai）峡谷”。由于缺乏合适的年代测定方法,许多重要的遗址,尤其是中更新世时间段的遗址缺乏年龄数据,如三棵树遗址,使得旧石器遗址研究少了时间轴合理的年代学框架。电子自旋共振（ESR）测年技术是上世纪60年代发展起来的一种测年技术,并在实践中得到了地质学界的广泛认可。对于中更新世遗址年龄的测定,ESR测年法具有明显的优势。本文利用石英Ti-Li心ESR法对三棵树遗址沉积物样品进行了独立年代测定,得到三棵树遗址文化层的年龄为599±70 kaBP。该年龄对于了解泥河湾盆地古人类的生存演化提供了必要的年代学依据。     

Sequence of mammalian fossils, including hominoid teeth, from the Bubing Basin caves, South China

A Plio-Pleistocene to Holocene faunal sequence has been recovered from four carefully excavated caves in the Bubing Basin, adjacent to the larger Bose Basin of South China. The caves vary in elevation; we suggest that the higher caves were formed and filled with sediments prior to the lower caves. The highest deposits, which are from Mohui Cave, contain hominoid teeth and other fossilized remains of mammalian taxa most similar to late Pliocene and early Pleistocene faunas. Wuyun Cave ( approximately 50m lower in elevation than Mohui) contains a late middle Pleistocene fauna, which is supported by U-series age constraints from 350 to 200ka. Lower Pubu Cave ( approximately 23m below Wuyun) is assigned to the late Pleistocene, while the Cunkong Cave (the lowest, approximately 2m lower elevation than Lower Pubu) preserves a Holocene fauna. The four faunal assemblages indicate species-level changes in Ailuropoda, Stegodon, and Sus, the appearance of Elephas, the local disappearance of Stegodon, and the migration of Equus hemionus to South China. These initial results of our work call into question the continued value of the Stegodon/Ailuropoda Fauna, a category long used to characterize the Pleistocene faunas of South China. Excavation of karstic caves of varying elevation within the basins of South China holds promise for defining local sequences of mammalian fossils that can be used to investigate faunal variations related to climate change, biogeographic events, and evolutionary change over the past two million years. Stable isotopic analysis of a small sample of mammalian teeth from Bubing Basin caves is consistent with 100% C(3) vegetation in the Bubing/Bose region, with certain delta(13)C values consistent with a canopied woodland or forest. A preliminary assessment of the hominoid teeth indicates the presence of diverse molar and premolar morphologies including dental remains of Gigantopithecus blacki and a sample with similarities to the teeth reported from Longgupo.     

泥河湾山神庙嘴化石点直隶狼埋藏学研究

长期以来,泥河湾盆地的脊椎动物化石研究聚焦于类群演化和生物地层,缺乏对化石埋藏过程和居群生态的专门研究。近年来,山神庙嘴化石点的正规发掘及丰富的化石发现为引入化石埋藏学方法探讨上述问题提供了可能。本文对山神庙嘴化石点直隶狼化石的骨骼部位组成、居群死亡年龄和生物成层过程进行了研究。骨骼部位组成的分析显示直隶狼的不同骨骼部位存在明显的差异保存,但在居群层面可能仍具有相当的可信度。本文借鉴现生灰狼中常用的牙齿磨耗法、犬齿髓腔闭合率法对山神庙嘴直隶狼的死亡年龄进行了判断。直隶狼的死亡年龄以老年为主,死亡方式为衰老、疾病导致的磨耗型死亡,可能对应了较小的生态压力。直隶狼的埋藏方式为快速的原地埋藏,在被埋藏前受到其他食肉动物和湖滨水流的的改造。     

泥河湾盆地早更新世山神庙咀遗址动物群及其时代意义

狭义（或经典）泥河湾动物群主要产自桑干河北岸的下沙沟村周边,化石来源于不同地点;该动物群被作为我国北方早更新世的代表,但其绝对年代一直饱受争议,最新古地磁测年数据是2.2-1.7 MaBP。由于受河流及断层切割影响,泥河湾盆地内部不同区域尤其是桑干河两岸的地层对比,一直是个科学难题,其根本原因在于长期以来在桑干河南岸未发现重要化石点。最近,在桑干河南岸的岑家湾台地发现了山神庙咀化石点,目前已在此地点做过9次正规发掘,出土哺乳动物化石1526件,鉴定出25个种（含未定种）,其中23种属于狭义泥河湾动物群的成员。由此看出,山神庙咀动物群的时代应当与狭义泥河湾动物群的时代接近,其地质年代应当不晚于1.7 MaBP。山神庙咀遗址与小长梁遗址隔沟相望,但其化石层稍高于小长梁文化层;山神庙咀动物群的研究结果还表明,小长梁遗址年代要比先前所测得的1.36 MaBP要早;小长梁周边的史前遗址的地质年代应当再做深入研究。小长梁地区的泥河湾层底部普遍存在砾石层,但其出现的水平位置以及砾石在分选和磨圆程度等方面都各不相同。调查清楚不同剖面中底砾层的分布状况及其性质,将会对本地区地层对比研究以及推断当时泥河湾盆地的古环境都将具有十分重要意义。     

First Early Hominin from Central Africa (Ishango,Democratic Republic of Congo)

Despite uncontested evidence for fossils belonging to the early hominin genus Australopithecus in East Africa from at least 4.2 million years ago (Ma), and from Chad by 3.5 Ma, thus far there has been no convincing evidence of Australopithecus, Paranthropus or early Homo from the western (Albertine) branch of the Rift Valley. Here we report the discovery of an isolated upper molar (#Ish25) from the Western Rift Valley site of Ishango in Central Africa in a derived context, overlying beds dated to between ca. 2.6 to 2.0 Ma. We used µCT imaging to compare its external and internal macro-morphology to upper molars of australopiths, and fossil and recent Homo. We show that the size and shape of the enamel-dentine junction (EDJ) surface discriminate between Plio-Pleistocene and post-Lower Pleistocene hominins, and that the Ishango molar clusters with australopiths and early Homo from East and southern Africa. A reassessment of the archaeological context of the specimen is consistent with the morphological evidence and suggest that early hominins were occupying this region by at least 2 Ma.     

Aeretesmelanopterus (Pteromyinae, Rodentia) from Tianyuan Cave near Zhoukoudian (Choukoutien) in China

The materials of Aeretesmelanopterus from the Tianyuan Cave, a Late Pleistocene site with human fossils recovered recently near Zhoukoudian, are the richest of this species ever reported in North China. Aeretesmelanopterus is an endemic species of China, its relationship with Petaurista and Trogopterus is still controversal. Studies based on the dental characters show that Aeretesmelanopterus resembles Petaurista more closely than Trogopterus. The earliest fossil record of Aeretesmelanopterus was found in South China in Middle Pleistocene deposits. The earliest records in the Beijing area are from Upper Cave and Tianyuan Cave at Zhoukoudian are of late-Late Pleistocene age, around 30 kyrs BP. The geographical distributions of this species are very limited. In evolution, Aeretesmelanopterus experienced both the increase and the decrease in tooth size; but its crown height of cheek teeth was continuously increasing.     

Early Pleistocene Dicerorhinus sumatrensis remains from the Liucheng Gigantopithecus Cave, Guangxi, China

The Liucheng Gigantopithecus Cave is very famous for its rich mammalian fauna and Gigantopithecus fossils. The Gigantopithecus Cave Fauna has been regarded as the typical Early Pleistocene fauna in South China. The majority of the fossils unearthed has been studied and published during the past decades. The only group remaining unpublished is the rhinoceros, which is studied in this paper. The rhino materials available today are only mandibles and lower cheek teeth. The dimensions of the tooth rows and the isolated teeth fall well within the range of the recent Dicerorhinus sumatrensis. Therefore, the rhino fossils from the Liucheng Gigantopithecus Cave can be referred to this living species. The reduced lower incisors and the U-shaped lingual contour of the mandible also support this taxonomic determination. The rhino materials from the Liucheng Gigantopithecus Cave represent the earliest known record of this species and the smallest Pleistocene rhinocerotid in China.     

First discovery of colobine fossils from the early to middle Pleistocene of southern Taiwan

Here we report on two kinds of cercopithecid fossil monkeys (Cercopithecinae and Colobinae) from the early to middle Pleistocene sediments of the Chochen (=Tsochen) area (Tsailiao-chi or Shinhua Hill), southern Taiwan. The fossil specimens include the first fossil record of colobine monkeys from Taiwan, where only macaque monkeys now occur. All cercopithecine fossils were identified as Macaca cf. Macaca cyclopis, the extant Taiwan macaque, except for one extremely large isolated upper molar, which may belong to another macaque species. On the other hand, all colobine specimens fall within the size variation of extant and extinct Rhinopithecus, but its specific status cannot be determined because of the scantiness of the fossil material. In Taiwan, Rhinopithecus presumably became extinct in the late Pleistocene, probably owing to global cooling and vegetation change, whereas macaques, which are of almost the same body size as Rhinopithecus, survived as M. cyclopis to the present. The contrasting history of survival between the two kinds of monkeys may be due to ecological/behavioral differences between them or as a result of accidental events that occurred in the Pleistocene of Taiwan.     

First evidence of faunal succession in terrestrial vertebrates of the Plio-Pleistocene of the Balearic Islands,western Mediterranean

Terrestrial vertebrates from the karst filling in Cap d’Artrutx, situated in the extreme Southwest of Menorca (Balearic Islands, western Mediterranean) have yielded interesting information on the migration and extinction dynamics in the terrestrial island vertebrate faunas in Mallorca and Menorca between the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene. In this site, remains of the Menorcan giant tortoise (“Testudo” gymnesica Bate, 1914) and two mammals (Nesiotites sp. and Hypnomys sp.) have been found. The remains of the Menorcan giant tortoise represent the youngest record of this species and of the so-called second faunistic group of the island. The morphology and size of Nesiotites sp. are comparable to those of Nesiotites aff. ponsi Reumer, 1979 from the Plio-Pleistocene of Pedrera de S’Ònix (Mallorca) and Nesiotites meloussae Pons and Moyà, 1980 (= Nesiotites aff. ponsi sensu Pons-Monjo et al., 2012) from the lower Pleistocene of Binigaus (Menorca). Hypnomys sp. can belong to an archaic species not yet described. They represent the first evidence of the entrance of the third faunistic group, which originally evolved on the neighbouring island of Mallorca. This association is interpreted, therefore, as the first evidence of a faunal succession in the Plio-Pleistocene in the Balearic Islands.     

蔚县盆地2017-2018年旧石器考古调查简报

蔚县盆地地处泥河湾盆地（广义）的东南端,是更新世人类活动的重要区域。2017-2018年,中国科学院古脊椎动物与古人类研究所等在盆地内开展系统的旧石器考古调查,新发现并确认了27处旧石器地点。相关地貌、地层对比显示,新地点年代可大致分为中更新世和晚更新世晚期两个阶段,文化遗物分别埋藏于泥河湾河湖相堆积和黄土堆积中。中更新世石制品类型包括石核、石片、石器和断块等,原料以火山岩为主,均采用锤击法进行剥片和修理石器;晚更新世晚期遗址包括石核、石片和细石叶等,原料以白云岩和燧石居多,火山岩次之,以硬锤锤击法为主要剥片技术,软锤技术少量发现。对石制品初步分析表明,蔚县盆地中更新世地点表现出了一套与阳原盆地早-中更新世不同的原料及石制品组合,且在蔚县盆地晚更新世晚期存在小型石片石器和细石器两种工业。本次调查扩大了泥河湾盆地古人类活动的地理范围与文化内涵,为揭示泥河湾盆地（广义）早期人类的迁徙与适应行为提供了有价值的线索。     

早、中更新世中国古人类年代序列与区域演化特征

我国早、中更新世古人类和旧石器遗址蕴含着丰富的早期人类活动和生存环境的背景信息,建立精确的遗址年代序列是分析古人类活动的基础。近二十年来,旧石器时代考古和测年研究为建立我国早期人类活动的年代框架提供了丰富的材料。本文分析了目前我国已发表的95个有独立测年数据的早、中更新世遗址,将其纳入黄土-古土壤年代框架,初步建立自200多万年至末次间冰期的古人类活动年代序列,根据它们的时空分布,进一步阐释了古人类在不同区域活动强度演变的时空特征。总体来看,这些遗址在泥河湾-周口店、秦岭山地、长江下游及长江流域以南（南方）四大区域呈现出聚集分布的特征;区域古人类活动强度主要表现在从早更新世的泥河湾-周口店、中更新世的秦岭山地、到中更新世晚期的长江中下游和南方区域的时空序列上。此外,仍有较多已发掘遗址缺少年代研究或存在测年问题,今后需要加强遗址的精确测年研究。     

Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis (Mammalia,Rhinocerotidae) from the late early Pleistocene deposits of the Denizli Basin (Anatolia,Turkey)

Pleistocene rhinoceroses are poorly documented in Turkey where they have been reported only from the late early Pleistocene (1.3–1.1 Ma) travertine deposits of the Denizli Basin. In this work, new rhinoceros remains collected from this basin are assigned to a relatively large-sized Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis on the basis of their morphology and morphometry. The first Turkish record of this species is approximately coeval with the first appearance of S. hundsheimensis in Europe, chronologically referred to the late early Pleistocene, ca. 1.2 Ma. During that time, S. etruscus still survived in Iberian Peninsula, central Italy and Dacian Basin. The presence of two successive evolutionary morphs for S. hundsheimensis during the Pleistocene is not confirmed.