中国南方早更新世主要哺乳动物群层序对比和动物地理

我国南方早更新世哺乳动物群中学术界十分关注是含巨猿的"巨猿动物群"。上世纪50年代广西仅发现个别有确切层位的巨猿地点,现已扩展到鄂、桂、黔、琼和渝5省市12个地点;同时也发现了重要的人猿超科化石及文化遗存。这对探讨人类进化和古文化发展具有重要的意义。依动物群和年代学的研究,本文将早更新世哺乳动物群划分为早、中、晚三期。根据多重地层划分和对比,文中对含哺乳动物主要层位(遗址)的厘定、层序对比提出了一些不同的意见,以供讨论;同时对我国南北动物地理区系间过渡带作了必要的阐明。     

Significance of primate petrosal from Middle Eocene fissure-fillings at Shanghuang, Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China

An isolated petrosal bone belonging to a diminutive primate is reported from Middle Eocene fissure-fills near Shanghuang (southern Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China), the type locality of several newly described primates (Eosimias sinensis, a basal anthropoid; Adapoides troglodytes, a basal adapinan; Tarsius eocaenus, a congener of extant tarsiers; and Macrotarsius macrorhysis, the first Asian representative of an otherwise exclusively North American genus). Because of its fragmentary condition and unique combination of characters, the Shanghuang petrosal cannot be assigned unambiguously to any of the Shanghuang primate taxa known from dental remains. However, the possibility that the petrosal represents either an adapid or a tarsiid can be dismissed because it lacks defining basicranial apomorphines of these groups. By contrast, the element does present arterial features consistent with its being haplorhine. Deciding between the likeliest candidates for its allocation—Omomyidae and Eosimiidae—is difficult, in part because it is not known what (or even whether) basicranial characters can be used to distinguish these clades. If the Shanghuang petrosal is that of an cosimiid, as both direct and indirect evidence appears to indicate, the following implications emerge: (1) as long suspected on other grounds, anthropoids share a closer evolutionary history with Omomyidae (and Tarsiiformes) than they do with Adapidae (and Strepsirhini); (2) the specialised basicranial anatomy of extant anthropoids and their immediate cladistic relatives is derived from a primitive precursor whose otic morphology was like that of omomyids in most known respects; (3) the evolution of the defining dental and basicranial apomorphies of extant Anthropoidea has been distinctly mosaic in pattern.     

贵州兴义中三叠世拉丁期兴义动物群粪化石

粪化石是重要的遗迹化石,其内含物信息可为讨论生物行为、生理、相互关系、古环境等提供重要证据,进而对恢复和重建地质历史时期的生态系统等有重要意义。本文首次报道了贵州省兴义市泥麦古剖面中三叠世拉丁期兴义动物群化石层第35自然层的7种不同形态的粪化石。通过观察粪化石的内含物情况,发现其主要由贵州龙骨骼和鱼鳞组成,极少含有无脊椎动物碎片,表明粪化石来源于非壳食性的肉食性动物。依据粪化石的尺寸、缺少螺旋结构及相对较小的内含物碎片等信息,排除动物源是无脊椎动物、大型肉食性鱼类及大型鱼龙类的可能。结合兴义动物群下部化石组合海生爬行类实体化石的信息,进一步推断所研究粪化石的动物源应为非鱼龙的海生爬行动物,很可能是幻龙类、鸥龙类或海龙类。本文报道的7种形态的粪化石显示该下部化石层中的海生爬行动物之间至少存在1级营养等级的差异,这为恢复和重建中三叠世拉丁期海洋生态系统提供了重要依据。另外微生物的参与及泥质含量较高的厌氧环境使得该层的粪化石保存完好。     

Middle Triassic Xingyi Fauna: Showing turnover of marine reptiles from coastal to oceanic environments

The late Ladinian (Middle Triassic) Xingyi Fauna from the Zhuganpo Member of the Falang Formation yields abundant and well-preserved marine reptiles. Bed-by-bed excavation at Wusha in Xingyi of Guizhou Province reveals two marine vertebrate assemblages in a fossiliferous horizons that span 5.1 m in total thickness. The lower assemblage is marked by the near-shore sauropterygians, including the pachypleurosaur Keichousaurus, the nothosaurians Nothosaurus and Lariosaurus, with a strong paleobiogeographic affinity to western Tethys. The upper assemblage consists of oceanic ichthyosaurs and pistosaurs, including the large shastasaurid ichthyosaur Guizhouichthyosaurus, the euichthyosaur Qianichthyosaurus, pistosaurs Yunguisaurus and Wangosaurus, and the thalattosaur Xinpusaurus, with a closer paleobiogeographic affinity to North America. The coastal pachypleurosaur and nothosaurid sauropterygians disappeared in the upper assemblage, suggesting that they were replaced by an oceanic marine reptile community that emerged. The reptilian composition of the upper assemblage is similar to that of the Guanling Biota, which is of the Early Carnian (Late Triassic) in age and thus somewhat younger than the Xingyi Fauna. The ecological turnover of marine reptiles from near-shore to the open ocean community corresponds to the paleoenvironmental changes indicated by lithofacies analysis, δ¹³C and the global sea level changes.     

湖北郧西白龙洞中更新世古人类遗址的哺乳动物化石

白龙洞是位于鄂西北部郧西县的一处出土物丰富的古人类洞穴遗址,先后在此出土了8枚古人类牙齿化石、若干石制品和骨制品及大量哺乳动物化石。但有关白龙洞遗址的形成时间却一直存在争议,主要原因之一是动物群没有得到充分研究。基于郧西县文管所和中科院古脊椎所收藏标本,本文首次对白龙洞历年出土的哺乳动物化石进行了综合研究;研究结果表明,白龙洞动物群由32种（含未定种）哺乳动物组成,优势属种是谷氏大额牛、岩羊、野猪及各种鹿类(水鹿、斑鹿、麂、毛冠鹿);此外,还有豪猪、竹鼠、变异狼、貉、豺、猪獾、黑熊、大熊猫、中国硕鬣狗、锯齿剑齿虎、虎、豹、金猫、云豹、剑齿象、苏门犀、梅氏犀、巨貘、鬣羚及水牛等;该动物群缺乏猴类动物,并且豪猪化石也很少,这与其所处的时空位置很不相符;但总体面貌属于大熊猫-剑齿象动物群。白龙洞的大熊猫、中国硕鬣狗、猪獾、虎及巨貘的牙齿测量数值均达到或接近我国各自记录的最大值。白龙洞动物群组成与盐井沟动物群及南京猿人动物群最为接近;从动物群组合及有关属种的演化阶段来综合判断,白龙洞动物群的地质时代应当是中更新世中期。     

Early Eocene lagomorph (Mammalia) from Western India and the early diversification of Lagomorpha

We report the oldest known record of Lagomorpha, based on distinctive, small ankle bones (calcaneus and talus) from Early Eocene deposits (Middle Ypresian equivalent, ca 53 Myr ago) of Gujarat, west-central India. The fossils predate the oldest previously known crown lagomorphs by several million years and extend the record of lagomorphs on the Indian subcontinent by 35 Myr. The bones show a mosaic of derived cursorial adaptations found in gracile Leporidae (rabbits and hares) and primitive traits characteristic of extant Ochotonidae (pikas) and more robust leporids. Together with gracile and robust calcanei from the Middle Eocene of Shanghuang, China, also reported here, the Indian fossils suggest that diversification within crown Lagomorpha and possibly divergence of the family Leporidae were already underway in the Early Eocene.     

Lineage of Arxina schwageri (Silvestri, 1928) new genus (Nummulitacea) from Middle Eocene of Egypt and Sultanate of Oman

Four species, Arxina parva (Douville, 1930), Arxina cf. schwageri (Silvestri, 1928) A. schwageri (Silvestri, 1928) and Arxina sp. cf. alpina (Douville, 1916) assigned to the newly erected genus Arxina, are recorded from the Middle Eocene of Egypt and Sultanate of Oman. The phylogenetic trend of these species exhibits a progressive increase in the size, a flattening of the test and a general trend of the coalescence of granules which become smaller in size.     

A new genus and species of triggerfish from the Middle Eocene of the Northern Caucasus,the earliest member of the Balistidae (Tetraodontiformes)

Until now, the earliest known members of the triggerfish family Balistidae have been two genera from the Oligocene. Herein is described the new balistid Gornylistes prodigiosus gen. et sp. nov. from the uppermost Middle Eocene (Kuma Horizon) of the Northern Caucasus (Gorny Luch locality); it is as thoroughly modern in its bauplan as the taxa of balistids from the Oligocene and more recent periods, and far more advanced morphologically than the several stem taxa of the balistoid + ostracioid clade known from earlier in the Middle and Lower Eocene and from the Upper Paleocene.     

Middle Eocene Ostracods from southeast Fayoum area,Egypt: Systematics,paleobathymetry and paleobiogeography

This study deals with the Middle Eocene ostracods from southeast Fayoum area, Egypt. To carry out this investigation, three outcrops are examined, Gebel Elwe El Breig, Gebel Sath El Hadid and Gebel Munqar El-Shinnara. This study is based on the Midawara Formation that consists mainly of fossiliferous limestone, marly limestone and clay. The studied ostracod assemblage includes thirty-one species and subspecies, belonging to twenty-three genera and seventeen families. The ostracod group belonging to Cytheroidea Baird, 1850 represents the most abundant group that reaches 81.99% in Munqar El-Shinnara section, 81.88% in Sath El Hadid section, and 61.12% in Elwe El Breig section. The structure of the investigated assemblages (abundance of ostracods, number of taxa, Fisher's alpha, Shannon index, and equitability) indicates deposition in an environment belonging to the neritic zone. Moreover, this study tries to use the multivariate analyses to distinguish the paleobiogeographic provinces in Tethyan region during the Middle Eocene. These analyses are applied on a matrix consists of some nominated Middle Eocene species from 13 countries. The results point to two distinctive provinces, Southern Tethys Province (Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Jordan) and the Northern Tethys Province (England, Germany, Spain, France, Belgium, Ukraine, Hungary and Turkey). The reasonable similarities between these provinces may reflect a possible connection between both sides of the Tethys during the Middle Eocene age.     

Paleoecology of early middle Eocene bats from Messel,FRG. aspects of flight,feeding and echolocation

By their diversified flight apparatus Messel bats occupied specific flight niches similar to those of extant tropical bats. The small Palaeochiropteryx tupaiodon is considered to be most specialized for hunting close to the ground and for hovering inside dense vegetation. Contrarily, Hassianycteris spp. most likely were high and fast flyers in the open space.

The analysis of gut contents proves that Palaeochiropteryx spp. exclusively fed on small moths and caddis flies, i.e. slow and low flying insects. For P. tupaiodon this confirms the foraging strategy independently from wing morphology. Hassianycteris spp. preyed mainly on beetles or other insects with thick cuticules.

Inner ears of Messel microbats are less specialized compared to those of recent species. Especially P. tupaiodon shows no acoustical specialization with regard to its hunting habitat. Thus, we assume that during the early evolution of bats the development of different flight styles and wing shapes preceded acoustical refinements of the echolocation system.     

Lutetian calcareous nannofossil events in the Agost section (Spain): implications toward a revision of the Middle Eocene biomagnetostratigraphy

This paper presents a detailed calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy of the entire Lutetian of the Agost section (Betic Cordillera, SE Spain). This investigation integrates and improves on previous study performed through the Ypresian/Lutetian boundary by the authors on this succession. The new revision of the integrated bio‐magnetobiochronology of the Early/Middle Eocene interval revealed highly diversified calcareous nannofossil assemblages, characterizing more than 8 Myr of climatic variability. The studied interval spans from Zone CP11 to Subzone CP14a and from the upper part of Zone NP13 to the base of Zone NP16 of calcareous nannofossil standard zonations. The revision of the calcareous nannofossil content enabled the identification of numerous secondary events which greatly improved the stratigraphic resolution of this time interval. An important re‐organization of the nannoflora was observed during the Y/L transition, when Reticulofenestra and Dictyococcites (Noelaerhabdaceae) became the most important genera in terms of abundance and dispersal, dominating the Middle Eocene nannofossil assemblages and replacing Toweius and Discoaster taxa characteristic of the lower Eocene. Pentaliths and Blackites experience a great expansion and diversification, whereas Discoaster and Chiasmolithus which are well diversified but never abundant during the Lutetian show a slow turnover. A reassessment of the major bio‐events observed in the Noelaerhabdaceae family as well as revision and correlation of these events with the classical Italian sections (Contessa and Bottaccione) are presented. The new results show that biostratigraphic problems related to the Middle Eocene chronology are not limited to the correlation between calcareous nannofossils and planktonic foraminiferans at the Y/L transition but extend to calcareous nannofossil events commonly used for correlating the Bartonian.     

豫鼠化石在我国阿尔金地区的发现

记述了在新疆巴音郭楞蒙古族自治州若羌县阿尔金山地区彩虹沟首次发现的豫鼠一新种:阿尔金豫鼠(Yuomys altunensis sp.nov.).其主要特征是臼齿的尺寸较大,比例上较宽,齿冠较高,臼齿的后小尖与后尖明显分开,后脊相对较长,但不完全,次尖明显小于原尖,舌侧内凹伸达臼齿齿冠基部,后齿带与后尖舌侧连;M3后尖为新月形,后齿带较短等.根据豫鼠臼齿的进化趋势和新种臼齿的尺寸较大、齿冠较高和舌侧内凹伸达齿冠基部的特征与Y.cavioides,Y.eleganes和Y.huangzhuangensis相近,但颊齿比例较宽判断,Y.altunensis可能与该3种处于同样的进化阶段或稍进步.其产出的地层时代很可能与它们相近或稍晚,即为晚中始新世或稍晚.     

Isopollen maps as a tool for the reconstruction of a coastal swamp from the Middle Eocene at Helmstedt (Northern Germany)

Summary In the Middle Eocene lignite bearing succession at Helmstedt, isopollen maps have been constructed from a thin, highly carbonaceous horizon in the interbed between two seams of the Wulfersdorf member. During mining progress this carbonaceous band could be traced in the mine high wall over an area of 2 km by 0.5 km and is considered to represent an isochronous horizon. 28 samples were collected and analyzed. On the basis of the isopollen maps it is possible, to distinguish between allochthonous and autochthonous elements. Ultimately, by comparison of the maps individual plant associations and environmental conditions may be recognized. In case of the carbonaceous horizon of the Wulfersdorf seam group a coastal swamp succession can be traced from a mangrove fringe through a brackish marsh and a freshwater marsh to a mire forest. The distribution of mangrove elements likeRhizophora, Avicennia andNypa in this horizon clearly shows that the shoreline was to the northwest and advanced from there inland to the southeast. A fourth element,Psilodiporites iszkaszentgyoergyi, is restricted in distribution and closely associated with the other known mangrove types and therefore considered here to be a part of the mangrove fringe. Behind the mangrove zone, pollen of Restionaceae and Sparganiaceae as well as fern spores are more abundant than elsewhere in the Wulfersdorf seam section suggesting that a reed-like vegetation with fern and aquatic herbs developed here under rather wet conditions. A hammocky distribution of corresponding plants is indicated by the isopollen map of palms likeArecipites spp. and other elements. The main peat forming vegetation, however, was a mire forest dominated by Fagaceae alternating with a Betulaceae dominated forest including Myricaceae and Juglandaceae.     

Eocene fossil rodent assemblages from the Erlian Basin (Inner Mongolia,China): Biochronological implications

Rodents from the Nuhetingboerhe-Huheboerhe area in the Erlian Basin, Inner Mongolia, differ stratigraphically: primitive ctenodactyloids such as Chenomys and Yuanomys are dominant in the upper part of the Nomogen Formation; Tamquammys dominates in the Arshanto Formation; Asiomys, Pappocricetodon, and Yuomys appear in the lower part of the Irdin Manha Formation and Tamquammys is rarer in this formation than in the Arshanto Formation. The assemblage of the upper part of the Nomogen Formation is similar to that of the Lingcha Formation of Hunan, the Wutu Formation of Shandong, the Yuhuangding Formation of Hubei, and the Bumban Member of the Nara-Bulak Formation of Mongolia. The assemblage in the upper part of the Arshanto Formation is correlated with that from the locality Andarak 2 in Kyrgyzstan. The assemblage from the lower part of the Irdin Manha Formation resembles that of the lower part of the Hetaoyuan Formation of Henan.On the basis of the comparison of the rodent assemblages, I consider that the age of upper part of the Nomogen Formation corresponds to the Bumbanian land mammal age. The Bumbanian, Arshantan, and Irdinmanhan land mammal ages are correlated respectively to the early Ypresian, the middle–late Ypresian, and the early Lutetian of the Geological Time Scale. The Bumbanian and Irdinmanhan land mammal ages are also correlated to the early Wasatchian and the early Uintan (or the later Bridgerian) of the North American Land Mammal Ages.     

The laminated lake sediments of the Eckfeld maar (Middle Eocene, Germany): Types of stratification and role of organic matter

Summary The Middle Eocene lake sediments of the Eckfeld maar are situated on the southwestern margin of the Tertiary High-Eifel volcanic field (Germany) and are well known for excellently preserved fossil remains. During a driling campaign in 1996 six well sections were cored at three different locations. Three cores (E1/96, E2/96 and E3/96) penetrated deposition of the central lake facies, which is dominated by laminated organic-rich pelites within the uppermost 40 m. It is the aim of this paper to present a brief survey over the main types of stratification observed within the organic-rich portions of the Eckfeld lake sediments. Based on the varying distribution of mineral and organic matter three sediment sequences are distinguished representing different phases of lake development. The “minerogenic laminites” represent the purely clastic mineral sedimentation in a lake, which was surrounded during this early phase by a tephra rim barren of vegetation. The gradual overgrowth of the tephra rim by vegetation is reflected by the predominance of land plant detritus in the sediments of the “transtion beds”, though the siliciclastic input is still significant. In contrast, the succeeding sequence of the “biogenic laminites” is characterised by the frequent occurrence of centric diatoms (mainly of the planktonic speciesAulacoseira cf.granulata) and Chlorophyceae (mainlyBotryococcus andTetraedron) documenting the increase in autochthonous organic sedimentation in a meromictic lake.     

The oldest representative of Entelodontoidea (Artiodactyla,Suiformes) from the Middle Eocene of Khaichin Ula II,Mongolia, and some evolutionary features of this superfamily

The oldest representative of the family Entelodontidae (suborder Suiformes), Proentelodon minutus gen. et sp. nov, is described from the Middle Eocene Khaichin Ula II Fauna in Mongolia. In addition to the genus Proentelodon, the new subfamily Proentelodontinae includes the genus Eoentelodon from the Middle-Upper Eocene of China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan. The new data bring clues to the origin and systematic position of Entelodontidae, features of their evolution, dispersal, and changes in taxonomic diversity. They also elucidate the early evolutionary stages of Suiformes.     

The skeleton of early Eocene Cantius, oldest lemuriform primate

A recently discovered partial skeleton of the adapid Cantius trigonodus from the early Eocene Willwood Formation of the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, documents substantial new information about the anatomy of the oldest lemuriform primates. It is very similar in all features to its descendant, middle Eocene Notharctus, and both exhibit numerous resemblances to certain extant Malagasy lemurs, particularly Lepilemur, Propithecus, Lemur, and Hapalemur griseus. Like these forms, Cantius had relatively long hind limbs and short forelimbs. Forelimb traits (prominent brachialis flange of the humerus, well-developed olecranon process of the ulna, and strong shafts of the ulna and radius) suggest active use of the forelimbs in progression. Specializations in the hind limb (e.g., expanded articular surface of the femoral head, narrow and elevated patellar trochlea and prominent lateral trochlear ridge, posteriorly oriented femoral and tibial condyles, narrow and elongate talus, and hallucal metatarsal with prominent peroneal tubercle) indicate capabilities for leaping and for powerful grasping with an opposable hallux. Cantius was presumably primitive in having a relatively long ischium and much more distal inferior tibial tuberosity than most extant lemurs--traits suggesting that powerful extension of the thigh and flexion at the knee were important in its locomotion and posture. We interpret Cantius as an active arboreal quadruped with a propensity for leaping. The existence of this skeletal structure in one of the oldest primates of modern aspect suggests that it represents the primitive lemuriform morphology.     

Fossil legumes from the Middle Eocene (46.0 Ma) Mahenge Flora of Singida, Tanzania

Middle Eocene age caesalpinioid and mimosoid legume leaves are reported from the Mahenge site in north-central Tanzania. The Mahenge flora complements a sparse Paleogene tropical African fossil plant record, which until now consisted of a single macrobotanical assemblage, limited palynological studies in West Africa and Egypt, and fossil wood studies primarily from poorly dated deposits. Mahenge leaf macrofossils have the potential to add significantly to what is known of the evolutionary history of extant African plant groups and to expand our currently limited knowledge of African Paleogene environments. The site is associated with a kimberlite eruption and demonstrates the potential value of kimberlite-associated lake deposits as much-needed resources for African Paleogene floras. In this report we document a relatively diverse component of the flora consisting of the leaves of at least five species of Leguminosae. A new species of the extant genus Acacia (Mimosoideae), described herein, is represented by a bipinnate leaf. Another taxon is described as a new species of the extant genus Aphanocalyx (Caesalpinioideae), and a third leaf type may be related to the extant genus Cynometra (Caesalpinioideae). Two additional leaf types are less well understood: one appears to be referable to the Caesalpinioideae and subfamily affinities of the other taxon are unknown.     

Middle Ordovician Aporthophyla brachiopod fauna from the roof of the World,southern Tibet

A Darriwilian (late Middle Ordovician) brachiopod fauna from the Lower Formation of the Chiatsun Group at Jiacun, northern Nyalam, southern Tibet, consists of ten brachiopod species, forming a distinct Aporthophyla–Paralenorthis Association. Its taxonomic composition is typical of the Aporthophyla Fauna that occupied lower BA2 to upper BA3 benthic environments on sandy lime mud substrates. The occurrence of Paralenorthis in southern Tibet is confirmed for the first time, represented by P. costata sp. nov. Numerical analyses (PCA and CA) of 18 Darriwilian brachiopod faunas from ten palaeoplates or terranes indicate that: (1) the Aporthophyla Fauna was confined to a specific latitudinal belt although it had a wide lateral distribution from the large palaeocontinents of Gondwana to Laurentia; (2) the Saucrorthis Fauna, a typical late Middle Ordovician regional fauna, is limited to a much smaller area, marginal to the Gondwana supercontinent; (3) the strong provincialism persistent in the late Middle Ordovician contributed to increased gamma biodiversity during the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event.     

First substantial Middle Eocene record of the Lithornithidae (Aves): A postcranial skeleton from Messel (Germany)

A postcranial skeleton of a representative of the palaeognathous Lithornithidae (Aves) is described from the Middle Eocene of Messel in Germany. The specimen is slightly smaller than Lithornis plebius from which it, however, differs in limb bone proportions. It constitutes the latest fossil record of the Lithornithidae in Europe, whose only other Middle Eocene record is a fragmentary tibiotarsus from North America.