Fossil leaves of Populus from the Middle Miocene of Yunnan,SW China

Today southern Yunnan, SW China, has a tropical or subtropical climate and seasonal rainforests. In the past, some temperate elements were also present. In this paper, a new species of Populus is reported from the Middle Miocene deposits in Zhenyuan. Its leaves are ovate or ovate-suborbicular, with serrate margins. They have a shallowly cordate to cuneate base without glands, short acuminate apex, and salicoid teeth with spherical glands. The veins are glabrous but unicellular hair bases occur on the lower epidermis of the lamina. Stomata are confined to the lower epidermis. The presence of Populus in the Middle Miocene of the region indicates an expansion of the genus into low-latitude Asia in the late Cenozoic and a more complicated history of vegetational change in southern Yunnan than has so far been assumed.     

First fossils of Zygogynum from the Middle Miocene of Central Yunnan,Southwest China,and their palaeobiogeographic significance

The collision of Gondwana and Laurasia effected plant exchanges between the two continents and thus affected the evolution of the flora of Yunnan, Southwest China. Consequently, the plant diversity in Yunnan has been enriched such that it has attracted the attention of botanical researchers. In this paper, we describe winteraceous fossil leaves collected from the Middle Miocene in Central Yunnan. Compared with the leaves of today’s plants, they share cuticular features and leaf morphological characters with Zygogynum Baillon (Winteraceae); the fossil plant is designated as a new species, Zygogynum poratus n. sp. Liang and Zhou. Based on its historical and recent distribution, the genus probably had migrated into Yunnan from Gondwana during or before the Middle Miocene, spreading beyond its current geographic range.     

New material of Hispanotherium matritense (Rhinocerotidae, Perissodactyla) from Laogou of Hezheng County (Gansu, China), with special reference to the Chinese Middle Miocene elasmotheres

New rhinocerotid teeth from Laogou in Hezheng (Gansu, China) are described and identified as Hispanotherium matritense. Comparing the other Chinese Middle Miocene elasmotheres with material of H. matritense from Iberian localities and Laogou, we confirm the synonymy proposed previously for the species Hispanotherium lintungensis, Tesselodon fangxianensis, Caementodon tongxinensis and Huaqingtherium qiui. The larger size of Hispanotherium tungurense proves that it is a different species from H. matritense. The age of Laogou fauna corresponds to MN6. Paleoenvironments of H. matritense in China include rivers and lakes, which are somewhat different from the arid environment in the Iberian Peninsula. The origin of the Hispanotherium lineage may be in southwestern Europe. After that, it dispersed eastward to Asia.     

Late Miocene Palaeocarya (Engelhardieae: Juglandaceae) from Southwest China and its biogeographic implications

Fossil fruits of Palaeocarya (Juglandaceae) are described from late Miocene sediments of southeastern Yunnan, China. The fruits present a tri-lobed wing consisting of an intact oblong-ovate middle lobe and two lateral lobes. The lobes are apically obovate, and have pinnate venation. The middle lobe is thicker at the base and gradually tapers to the apex. The nutlet, located at the base of the winged fruit, is round and hispid, and is subdivided by a septum into two compartments. Based on extensive morphological comparisons to previously documented fossil fruits, we found that the fossil fruits align most closely with members of the genusPalaeocarya, but have a unique combination of characters. Thus, we describe the fossils as a new species, Palaeocarya hispida sp. nov. This species represents an important range expansion for low-latitude occurrences of Palaeocarya in the late Miocene and therefore substantially improves our understanding of the biogeographic history of the genus. We propose that the wide distribution of Palaeocarya and relatively narrow distributions of close relatives, Engelhardia, Alfaropsis, and Oreomunnea, might be associated with a stepwise cooling and a major ice sheet expansion in the Antarctic and Arctic from the late middle Miocene to early Pliocene. In particular, the climatic oscillations during the Quaternary, such as the last glacial maximum, might have led to a decrease in the geographic distribution of Engelhardieae.     

Quantitative reconstruction of palaeoclimate from the Middle Miocene Shanwang flora, eastern China

The fossil leaf flora from the Shanwang Formation, Linqu County, Shandong Province, eastern China, is diverse, abundant, well preserved and discretely spaced, all of which make it suitable for the recognition and application of leaf physiognomic characters. This article is the first study of Chinese Tertiary floras using the CLAMP (Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program) approach. Numerous bedding planes yield leaf assemblages through over 20 m thickness of diatomaceous shales within the Middle Miocene Shanwang Formation. The diatomaceous shales, containing abundant fossils, have been divided into 19 units. A working platform (3×3 m) in the Diatomite Quarry of Shanwang was studied for about 3 months in 1998 and as many fossils as possible were recorded layer by layer. This collecting method, used for the first time in the history of Shanwang research, enabled us to record the presence or absence of megafossils in distinct units so that we could investigate leaf physiognomic characteristics and palaeoclimate for each time interval. Leaf fossils from six units (5, 6, 7, 13, 15 and 16) have been used to estimate palaeoclimate parameters of the Shanwang area using the CLAMP 3B dataset. The predicted climate is that of a lakeside setting, at over 1000 m above sea level and within the 17–15-Ma time interval. Meteorological factors have been estimated using the CLAMP approach, including mean annual temperature (MAT; 9.5–11.2°C), warmest month mean temperature (20.2–22.5°C), growing season length (5.9–6.8 months), mean growing season precipitation (83–165 cm) and relative humidity (73–79%). MAT estimates from leaf margin analysis (LMA) range from 12.5 to 15.2°C, which are a maximum of 4° higher than those from our CLAMP analyses and from previous results of LMA studies of the Shanwang flora (10–13°C). Nearest living relatives (NLR) of other biota (pollen, fish, insects, diatoms, microthyriaceous fungi, etc.) indicate warm and moist temperate to subtropical conditions in the Shanwang area during the Miocene. CLAMP predictions are similar to the climate predicted from NLRs although the MAT prediction is a few degrees cooler. The fact that the Shanwang leaf flora is from a lacustrine sequence may have biased the CLAMP analysis towards cooler (and possibly wetter) climates. The modern Yangtze River valley is a reasonable environmental analogue for the Shanwang Middle Miocene, though Shanwang may have had cooler summers, cooler MAT and less seasonality in rainfall. The climate was essentially constant during deposition of the sequence studied, with possible minor variations in precipitation.     

中国北方上中新统的早期玛姆象属(Mammut)及其在玛姆象科(Mammutidae)分化和演化中的意义

玛姆象属是长鼻类玛姆象科这一重要类群的最终成员.虽然这一属在上新世的欧亚大陆和更新世的北美大陆广泛分布,它早期的进化历史却鲜为人知.报道了中国北方上中新统发现的斜脊玛姆象(相似种)(Mammut cf.M.obliquelophus)的新材料,包括一个几乎完整的幼年头骨,这些材料显示了玛姆象科的许多原始特征,因此很好地解释了玛姆象属形态特征的形成过程.斜脊玛姆象(相似种)具有强烈向两侧扩展的枕部,在门齿窝的基部具有收缩,这些特征与莫罗托始轭齿象(Eozygodon morotoensis)和广河豕脊齿象(Choerolophodon guangheensis)均具有相似性,后两者分别为玛姆象科与豕脊齿象科的早期代表.因此,玛姆象科与豕脊齿象科(Choerolophodontidae)具有近的亲缘关系,二者同位于象形类(Elephantimorpha)系统发育中的基部.支序分析支持了这一结论.     

A new species of the rhinoceros Alicornops from the Middle Miocene of the Linxia Basin, Gansu, China

A new species of the genus Alicornops, A. laogouense , from Laogou in Hezheng County, Linxia Basin, Gansu, China, is described. It is mid-sized in the subfamily Aceratheriinae, but is the largest known species of Alicornops . It represents the first discovery of the genus in Asia. The Middle Miocene fauna bearing A. laogouense is contemporaneous with the Dingjiaergou fauna of Tongxin, Ningxia, China, and its age corresponds to MN 6 in Europe. The discovery of A. laogouense in the Linxia Basin implies that Alicornops dispersed from Europe to Asia. During MN 6 times it was relatively widespread throughout Eurasia. Alicornops laogouense lived in open woodland rich in lakes and rivers.     

Two new species of Electra (Bryozoa, Cheilostomata) from the Miocene of the Aquitaine Basin, France

Post-Cretaceous examples of Electridae, a primitive family of cheilostome bryozoans, are poorly represented in the fossil record, probably because of their thinly calcified zooids and preference for nearshore environments. Two new electrid species are here described from the Lower Miocene (Burdigalian) of Pontpourquey, Aquitaine, France: Electra triaurata nov. sp. and Electra aquitanica nov. sp. Both species belong to extant species groups, the E. indica and E. biscuta groups, respectively, that presently occur in the Indo-Pacific; both are the only fossil examples of these species groups. Whereas E. triaurata nov. sp. has uniserial colonies, zooids with porous gymnocysts, three flattened spines and basal windows allowing etching of the substrate to produce the trace fossil Leptichnus, E. aquitanica nov. sp. has multiserial colonies and zooids with a proximal gymnocyst bearing 2 to 5 spines.     

A new species of the genus Chlorencoelia (Helotiales) from China

Chlorencoelia collections from different regions of China were examined. A new species is discovered and named as C. macrospora. The most significant features to distinguish the new species from any other known species of the genus are its very large acsi and ascospores. Three of the five known species of the genus are found from China.     

Samaras of Ventilago (Rhamnaceae) from the upper Miocene of Lincang,Yunnan, China and their phytogeographic implications

The genus Ventilago Gaertn. usually occurs in hot, dry, and low-altitude tropical environments. The fossil record of this genus is meager, so its origin and geographic history are still poorly understood. We describe a fossil winged fruit species-Ventilago lincangensis K. N. Liu & S. P. Xie sp. nov. from the upper Miocene Bangmai Formation of Lincang city, Yunnan Province, China. The fossil conforms to the modern genus Ventilago in architecture of the prominent fruit wing including a prominent midvein, a set of minor longitudinally secondary veins extending the full length of the fruit and reticulate higher order venation. The elliptical fruit body at the base of the wing shows an equatorial rim and has a short pedicel. This is the first report of Ventilago fruits in China, and is significant for the investigation of the origin and evolutionary history of this genus.     

The fourth new species of the leafhopper genus Thaioneura Song,Li & Dietrich from China (Hemiptera,Cicadellidae, Typhlocybinae)

In this paper, one new species of the leafhopper genus Thaioneura Song, Li & Dietrich, 2016 from Guizhou Province, China are described and illustrated: Thaioneura huajiangensis sp. nov. And the female ovipositors are photographed and described. A key to distinguish all known species of the genus is provided. The hind wing venation of the new species are the same as the T. suphanburia and T. sinuata, and not common in the tribe Erythroneurini.     

A ctenodactylid rodent (Mammalia: Rodentia) from the Middle Miocene of Chios Island (Greece)

Field work carried out in 1991 and 1993 at the Middle Miocene locality of Thymiana (Chios Island, Greece), produced much rodent material including a number of ctenodactylid dental specimens. They represent a single taxon whose upper and lower cheek tooth morphology clearly differs from Prosayimys flynni and all Sayimys species known so far, except for Sayimys intermedius. The ctenodactylid teeth from the Middle Miocene of Chios are identified as pertaining to the latter species, despite minor differences from the Pakistani and Saudi Arabian representatives of S. intermedius.     

The genus Cryptopora (Brachiopoda) from the Miocene of France and its history and biogeography

The rhynchonellid brachiopod species Cryptopora lovisati(Dreger, 1911) has been identified in the Middle Miocene sandy deposits of France, and its ontogeny and variability are described. This is the first record of the genus Cryptopora Jeffreys from France, although several species of Cryptopora have been already reported from other regions of Europe. Being known since the Lower Palaeocene, Cryptopora is widely distributed in modern seas, ranging from about 60 m down to over 4000 m, and is represented by six extant and about 12 fossil species. C. lovisati has been interpreted as relatively shallow water species living attached to the sediment by a long pedicle. The affinity between C. lovisati and Recent C. curiosa Cooper is discussed.     

甘肃天水武山县南峪村的维曼嵌齿象及其生物地层学意义(英文)

报道了甘肃天水地区武山县四门镇南峪村地点发现的一件残破的未成年维曼嵌齿象(Gomphotherium wimani)下颌,标本保存有完整的p3,dp4,m1齿列。颊齿齿冠显示出嵌齿象属(Gomphotherium)的一些进步特征,例如齿脊前后压缩,齿谷宽阔,副齿柱后中心小尖凸显,中附锥和中心小尖趋于分裂,有弱的白垩质发育,符合维曼嵌齿象的鉴定特征。维曼嵌齿象此前发现于甘肃的中中新统,而南峪村地点的含化石地层可与周围其他地点的中中新统对比,因此,南峪村地点维曼嵌齿象层位的地质时代为中中新世。同时,结合孢粉学研究的结果,可能说明中中新世时期,天水地区气候温暖湿润,适宜低齿冠的哺乳类如嵌齿象等动物生存。     

Firmiana (Malvaceae: Sterculioideae) fruits from the Upper Miocene of Yunnan,Southwest China

A new species of Firmiana Marsili is recognized and described based on capsules from the Late Miocene Lincang flora of Yunnan, China. Firmiana yunnanensis nov. sp. is represented by opened, dehiscent, membranous follicles with a weak, sinuous midvein, obtuse secondary veins and thick marginal vein. The follicles conform in shape and venation with those of extant species of Firmiana, a genus now distributed in eastern Africa, Indo-Malaysia, and eastern and southeastern Asia. This fossil species occurred within the native distribution of extant Firmiana species. It provides new information on fossil history, paleoecology, as well as on the plant diversity of the Lincang flora.     

Northern Hemisphere megafossil of Dacrycarpus (Podocarpaceae) from the Miocene of South China and its evolutionary and paleoecological implications

The modern genus Dacrycarpus (Endl.) de Laub. of the family Podocarpaceae, containing nine species, is mainly distributed in tropical mountain rainforests of the southwestern Pacific region, ranging from New Zealand to low‐latitude Asia. This genus has abundant fossil records in both hemispheres, but all the known megafossils were limited to Australasia and South America. Here we report on Dacrycarpus guipingensis sp. nov. from the Miocene Erzitang Formation of Guangxi, South China. This is the first megafossil of Dacrycarpus in the Northern Hemisphere. The new species is represented by mummified dimorphic foliage, ovuliferous shoots, and a male cone with in situ pollen. It resembles the extant Dacrycarpus imbricatus (Blume) de Laub., which is common in rainforests from southern China and northern Myanmar to Fiji. This paper presents the first data on the anatomical structure of seed cone and exine ultrastructure of Dacrycarpus in situ pollen grains from a fossil material by using computed tomography scanning and ultrathin sectioning. For comparative purpose, data on the pollen morphology and ultrastructure were obtained for modern D. imbricatus for the first time. The D. guipingensis fossils strongly suggest the Miocene arrival of Dacrycarpus in Asia from the Southern Hemisphere. Based on the modern ecological niche and related fossil elements, this fossil locality was probably covered by conifer–broad‐leaved mountain rainforests during the Miocene.     

New Late Miocene murids from China (Mammalia, Rodentia)

New murids of Late Miocene (medial Baodean Chinese Mammal Unit) age from Inner Mongolia, northern China, and from Yunnan Province, southern China, are described. Hansdebruijnia perpusilla nov. sp. represents the earliest known and morphologically most primitive species of the genus, which is known from the latest Miocene of Europe and western Asia. The new species suggests an eastern Palaearctic origin of Hansdebruijnia. “Progonomys” yunnanensisQIU and STORCH, 1990 from Lufeng, Yunnan Province, is referred to Linomys nov. gen. New samples from Leilao, Yuanmou County, Yunnan Province, are included in this species, although this population is somewhat more primitive than that from Lufeng. Leilaomys zhudingi nov. gen. and sp. from Leilao shows a unique combination of apomorphic and plesiomorphic characters, which suggest an early divergence from the murid stem. The new findings indicate that our knowledge of the early radiation of murids in southeast Asia is still in its infancy.     

稻属分类的现状及存在问题

稻属(Oryza L．是禾本科中重要的植物类群,该属含20余种,广泛分布于全球热带和亚热带地区。未来水稻育种的重大突破还将有赖于对稻属基因库中丰富种质资源,特别是野生稻资源的利用和开发。由于稻属植物在农业生产中的重要作用,引起了众多的植物分类学家、遗传学家、育种学家和分子生物学家的广泛研究。稻属自Linnaeus于1753年建立以来的200多年中,无论在物种的数量和分类系统上都产生了很大的变化。多位学者对稻属的属以下等级和种间的分类都做了详细的工作,对稻属现代分类系统的建立起到了重要的作用。Roschevicz(1931)对稻属全面深入的研究为后来的稻属系统分类奠定了基础。Sharma &; Shastry (1965) 建立的稻属分类系统在很大程度上受了 Roschevicz(1931)工作的影响,对属以下种以上的分类等级也处理得较合理,但是他们对稻属的分类定义较为广泛,包括了好几个如今已不放在稻属的物种。Vaughan(1989)对全球的稻属标本进行了较为全面的查证和研究,他建立的稻属系统不仅在属的界定上更为合理,而且对稻属中各物种的形态变异、地理分布和种间的关系,都有更清楚的描述。遗憾的是,Vaughan (1989)采用的属下等级——“复合体”(complex),不符合国际植物命名法规(ICBN)的规定。Lu(1999)在对前人大量工作的基础上,结合现代对稻属的研究成果并包括了近年来发表的一些新种,建立了稻属3组7系24种的分类系统。本文结合最新的研究成果对稻属作了进一步的修订,列出了以形态特征为基础的分种检索表,并对稻属分类中仍存在的一些问题进行了讨论。     

Nacholapithecus skeleton from the Middle Miocene of Kenya

An almost entire skeleton of a male individual of Nacholapithecus kerioi (KNM-BG 35250) was discovered from Middle Miocene (approximately 15 Ma) sediments at Nachola, northern Kenya. N. kerioi exhibits a shared derived subnasal morphology with living apes. In many postcranial features, such as articular shape, as well as the number of the lumbar vertebrae, N. kerioi resembles Proconsul heseloni and/or P. nyanzae, and lacks suspensory specializations characteristic of living apes. Similarly, N. kerioi shares some postcranial characters with Kenyapithecus spp. However, despite the resemblance, N. kerioi and Proconsul spp. are quite different in their body proportions and some joint morphologies. N. kerioi has proportionally large forelimb bones and long pedal digits compared to its hindlimb bones and lumbar vertebrae. Its distinctive body proportions suggest that N. kerioi was more derived for forelimb dominated arboreal activities than P. nyanzae and P. heseloni. On the other hand, it exhibits a mixture of derived and primitive cranio-dental and postcranial features relative to the contemporaneous Kenyapithecus and Early MioceneMorotopithecus. While the phylogenetic position of N. kerioi is unsettled, it seems necessary to posit parallel evolution of cranio-dental and/or postcranial features in fossil and living apes.     

新疆准噶尔盆地北缘中中新世早期的原圆齿鼠(Promylagaulinae,Mylagaulidae)(英文)

<正>1988年吴文裕描述了产自新疆准噶尔盆地北缘铁尔斯哈巴合地点哈拉玛盖组下部层位的一枚圆齿鼠的P4,定名为Sinomylagaulus halamagaiensis。1997年中国科学院古脊椎动物与古人类研究所新疆考察队又在铁尔斯哈巴合的哈拉玛盖组下部层位中采集到两枚p4。1988年的研究工作仅依据一枚上前臼齿(P4),标本的稀缺决定了当时研究成果的局限性。新材料无疑为认识新疆的圆齿鼠类提供了新的信息