DOCSLIB.ORG

Linxia Basin: an Ancient Paradise for Late Cenozoic Rhinoceroses in North China

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Linxia Basin: an Ancient Paradise for Late Cenozoic Rhinoceroses in North China Vol.24 No.2 2010 Paleomammalogy Linxia Basin: An Ancient Paradise for Late Cenozoic Rhinoceroses in North China DENG Tao * Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, CAS, Beijing 100044 he Linxia Basin is located and sometimes partially articulated several hundred skulls of the late on the triple-junction of the bones of large mammals, which often Cenozoic rhinoceroses are known from Tnortheastern Tibetan Plateau, occur in dense concentrations. Many the Linxia Basin. In addition, more western Qinling Mountains and the new species of the Late Oligocene abundant limb bones and isolated teeth Loess Plateau. The basin is filled with Dzungariotherium fauna, the Middle of rhinoceroses are found in this basin, 700−2000 m of late Cenozoic deposits, Miocene Platybelodon fauna, the Late especially from the Late Miocene mainly red in color and dominated by Miocene Hipparion fauna, and the Early red clay deposits. Rhinoceroses were lacustrine siltstones and mudstones, and Pleistocene Equus fauna have been over 70% in diversity during the Late the Linxia sequence represents the most described from the Linxia Basin since Oligocene, and they were dominant in complete and successive late Cenozoic 2000, including rodents, lagomorphs, population during the Late Miocene. section in China. The localities in the primates, carnivores, proboscideans, In the Middle Miocene and Early Linxia Basin are notable for abundant, perissodactyls and artiodactyls. Pleistocene faunas, rhinoceroses were relatively complete, well-preserved, Among these mammalian fossils, important members. Late Oligocene The Late Oligocene fauna of findings in Europe (Qiu and Wang, is estimated at 24 tons, and another the Linxia Basin comes from the 2007). Their giant size and some species Paraceratherium yagouense sandstones of the Jiaozigou Formation. features so distinctive from the living at 22 tons (Deng, 2009). In this At least eight species of rhinoceroses rhinoceroses have attracted much fauna, other rhinoceroses include were found from this fauna, including attention not only from specialists, but Hyracodontidae gen. et sp. indet., two forms of giant rhinos. The giant also from the public. According to Ardynia sp., A. altidentata, Allacerops rhinos, the largest land mammals, the fossil specimens from the Linxia sp., Ronzotherium sp., and Aprotodon are an endemic group almost Basin, the body weight of the giant lanzhouensis. Rhinoceroses dominated exclusively to Asia, with only sparse rhino Dzungariotherium orgosense the Late Oligocene fauna in the Linxia *Correspondences should be addressed at [email protected]. Bulletin of the Chinese Academy of Sciences 103 古脊椎专题.indd 103 2010-6-30 11:46:00 BCAS Vol.24 No.2 2010 Basin, where predators were relatively the global range, a great regression south and north sides of the Tibetan primitive, with creodonts represented took place at 30 Ma, with nearly Plateau indicate that the uplift of by Megalopterodon (Fig. 1) only simultaneous disappearance of the the plateau had no enough height to rarely seen. Turgai Strait. The first uplift of prevent dispersals of huge mammals, In the Siwalik area on the the “Tibetan Plateau” might have therefore giant rhinos, aprotodons and southern border of the Tibetan occurred in a large area at the latest chalicotheres were free to migrate Plateau, there was also distribution of Early Oligocene. On the other hand, between the south and north sides of giant rhinos in the Late Oligocene. In the discoveries of giant rhinos on the the “Tibetan Plateau.” Fig.1 A habitat of giant rhinos during the Late Oligocene. In the foreground, a creodont (Megalopterodon sp.) is attacking a giant rhino calf (Dzungariotherium orgosense). The top right corner shows the comparison of the upper second molars between D. orgosense (left) and Ardynia altidentata (right) to the same scale. Middle Miocene The Middle Miocene mammals H. matritense was found in Spain, Turkey. Alicornops laogouense is a of the Linxia Basin were collected Portugal, and France in Europe, and middle-sized acerathere, and its skull from the sandstones or conglomerates Turkey, Pakistan, Mongolia, and is the largest of the genus. The origins of the Dongxiang and Hujialiang China in Asia. H. matritense is small- of the Hispanotherium and Alicornops formations. The fossils of this fauna sized, with one nasal horn, and it lineages may be in southwestern are represented by the shovel- has subhypsodont cheek teeth with Europe. With the discovery of H. tusked elephant Platybelodon, and very thick cement cover. Alicornops matritense and A. laogouense in the the rhinoceroses Hispanotherium is distributed widespread in Europe Linxia Basin, it appears that they matritense and Alicornops laogouense during MN 6-10, and it was found dispersed from western Europe are important members. In Eurasia, from the Middle Miocene strata in through eastern Europe, western Asia 104 Bulletin of the Chinese Academy of Sciences 古脊椎专题.indd 104 2010-6-30 11:46:01 Vol.24 No.2 2010 Paleomammalogy and southern Asia, to the Far East. somewhat different from that of its In the Middle Miocene, Platybelodon H. matritense in Europe was European counterparts. A large number was found from many localities on the considered to live in dry and warm of fossils of Platybelodon, which north side of the Tibetan Plateau, while settings because of its hypsodont teeth favored habitats near water, were found this proboscidean form has no trace in with thick cement cover and slender with H. matritense and A. laogouense the Indian subcontinent on the south, limbs. In the Linxia Basin, the fossils in the Linxia Basin. This shows which suggested that the uplift of the of H. matritense came from fluvial that lakes and rivers were abundant Tibetan Plateau by this period was high grey-yellowish sandstones with gravel, in the environment in which these enough to baffle interchanges of large and its paleoenvironment in China was rhinoceroses lived (Deng, 2003, 2004). mammals. Late Miocene The Late Miocene fauna of the Linxia Basin was found from the red clays of the Liushu Formation and characterized by the three-toed horse Hipparion. In this fauna, the rhinoceros Chilotherium was dominant in population, and other rhinoceroses showed the largest diversity of this group during the geological history of the Linxia Basin, including Acerorhinus hezhengensis, Shansirhinus ringstroemi, Chilotherium primigenius, C. wimani, C. anderssoni, Iranotherium Fig.2 The fossil black rhino (Diceros gansuensis) from the Linxia Basin, the first discovery morgani, Parelasmotherium simplym, P. of this lineage from East Asia, is the ancestor form of the extant African black rhino (D. bicornis). Two skulls (left: D. gansuensis; right: D. bicornis) are shown herein to exhibit linxiaense, Ningxiatherium euryrhinus, the morphological similarities and differences between them. Dicerorhinus ringstroemi, and Diceros gansuensis. Chilotherium wimani is the most teeth, and its skull is particularly living black rhino D. bicornis (Fig. 2). abundant taxon in the Linxia Basin. elongate and dorsally concave. The Lacking fossils, the early evolutionary Remains of C. wimani are in fact sexually dimorphic characters of the history of the African rhinoceroses found practically everywhere in the male and female skulls of I. morgani remained poorly known until quite middle and upper parts of the Liushu show that the male skull is more recently. Diceros gansuensis is the Formation. C. wimani is a middle- massive, with stronger zygomatic first fossil species of the Diceros sized rhinoceros without any horn, arches. These features, especially the lineage ever found in East Asia, and its particularly wide mandibular huge nasal horn, could be used for and this discovery supports that the symphysis has two huge tusk-like defense or competition for mates. I. African rhinoceroses were split up into incisors. Iranotherium morgani is the morgani was a polygynous grazer its two living genera already at the only known rhinoceros with a rugosity lived in an open steppe. It is likely to beginning of the Late Miocene (Deng for larger masseteric and temporalis have first appeared in northwestern and Qiu, 2007). In the Late Miocene, musculature on each zygomatic China, later dispersing westward the Tibetan Plateau became a more arch of the male individual, which to central Asia (Deng, 2005). The sufficient barrier for animal dispersals. suggests that this species was sexually skull, mandible and teeth of Diceros Components of the Hipparion fauna at dimorphic. I. morgani has a large size gansuensis from the Linxia Basin high-level taxa were similar to those with a huge nasal horn and hypsodont are distinct from those of the African of the modern mammalian fauna. Early Pleistocene The Early Pleistocene fauna number of carnivore species is high, of herbivores. The representative Equus of the Linxia Basin comes from the and their specimens are particularly eisenmannae is a giant true horse, and Wucheng Loess. In this fauna, the numerous, even outnumbering the total its size implies that it inhabited a cold Bulletin of the Chinese Academy of Sciences 105 古脊椎专题.indd 105 2010-6-30 11:46:03 BCAS Vol.24 No.2 2010 Fig.3 The ecological environment of the Early Pleistocene fauna of the Linxia Basin. The foreground shows a skull of the earliest known woolly rhino (Coelodonta nihowanensis) collected from the Wucheng Loess and the reconstruction of this species. This discovery indicates that woolly rhinos might have originated from north China. environment
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Kapitel 5.Indd
    Cour. Forsch.-Inst. Senckenberg 256 43–56 4 Figs, 2 Tabs Frankfurt a. M., 15. 11. 2006 Neogene Rhinoceroses of the Linxia Basin (Gansu, China) With 4 fi gs, 2 tabs Tao DENG Abstract Ten genera and thirteen species are recognized among the rhinocerotid remains from the Miocene and Pliocene deposits of the Linxia Basin in Gansu, China. Chilotherium anderssoni is reported for the fi rst time in the Linxia Basin, while Aprotodon sp. is found for the fi rst time in Lower Miocene deposits of the basin. The Late Miocene corresponds to a period of highest diversity with eight species, accompanying very abundant macromammals of the Hipparion fauna. Chilotherium wimani is absolutely dominant in number and present in all sites of MN 10–11 age. Compared with other regions in Eurasia and other ages, elasmotheres are more diversifi ed in the Linxia Basin during the Late Miocene. Coelodonta nihowanensis in the Linxia Basin indicates the known earliest appearance of the woolly rhino. The distribution of the Neogene rhinocerotids in the Linxia Basin can be correlated with paleoclimatic changes. Key words: Neogene, rhinoceros, biostratigraphy, systematic paleontology, Linxia Basin, China Introduction mens of mammalian fossils at Hezheng Paleozoological Museum in Gansu and Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology The Linxia Basin is situated in the northeastern corner of and Paleoanthropology in Beijing. the Tibetan Plateau, in the arid southeastern part ofeschweizerbartxxx Gansusng- Several hundred skulls of the Neogene rhinoceroses Province, China. In this basin, the Cenozoic deposits are are known from the Linxia Basin, but most of them belong very thick and well exposed, and produce abundant mam- to the Late Miocene aceratheriine Chilotherium wimani.
    [Show full text]
  • Mammalia: Bovidae) from the Late Miocene Qingyang Area, Gansu, China
    Palaeontologia Electronica palaeo-electronica.org “Gazella” (Mammalia: Bovidae) from the late Miocene Qingyang area, Gansu, China Yikun Li, Qinqin Shi, Shaokun Chen, and Tao Deng ABSTRACT The rich collection from the late Miocene sediments from the Qingyang area, Gansu, China was discovered by E. Licent in the 1920s, and previous studies focused on the equids and hyaenids whereas little attention was given to the accompanying bovid material. The collection of Bovidae dug up from the Qingyang area and pre- served at Musée Hoangho Paiho, Tianjin, China, is dominated by “Gazella”. We describe and identify two species: “Gazella” paotehensis and “G.” dorcadoides. The nomenclatural issues surrounding those two species of gazelles are reviewed in this paper, and although the questionable mandible illustrated by Teilhard de Chardin and Young in 1931 may be excluded from “G.” paotehensis metrically and morphologically, the species is still considered valid. The subcomplete cranium M 3956, kept at Uppsala Universitet Evolutionsmuseet and studied by B. Bohlin, is selected here as the neotype of “G.” paotehensis, and emended diagnoses are given. Based on previous studies and insights from new material from the Qingyang area, we provide a table summarizing diagnostic morphological characters of “G.” paotehensis and “G.” dorcadoides. Yikun Li. Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Berlin 10115, Germany. [email protected] Qinqin Shi. Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China.
    [Show full text]
  • Timeline of Natural History
    Timeline of natural history This timeline of natural history summarizes significant geological and Life timeline Ice Ages biological events from the formation of the 0 — Primates Quater nary Flowers ←Earliest apes Earth to the arrival of modern humans. P Birds h Mammals – Plants Dinosaurs Times are listed in millions of years, or Karo o a n ← Andean Tetrapoda megaanni (Ma). -50 0 — e Arthropods Molluscs r ←Cambrian explosion o ← Cryoge nian Ediacara biota – z ←Earliest animals o ←Earliest plants i Multicellular -1000 — c Contents life ←Sexual reproduction Dating of the Geologic record – P r The earliest Solar System -1500 — o t Precambrian Supereon – e r Eukaryotes Hadean Eon o -2000 — z o Archean Eon i Huron ian – c Eoarchean Era ←Oxygen crisis Paleoarchean Era -2500 — ←Atmospheric oxygen Mesoarchean Era – Photosynthesis Neoarchean Era Pong ola Proterozoic Eon -3000 — A r Paleoproterozoic Era c – h Siderian Period e a Rhyacian Period -3500 — n ←Earliest oxygen Orosirian Period Single-celled – life Statherian Period -4000 — ←Earliest life Mesoproterozoic Era H Calymmian Period a water – d e Ectasian Period a ←Earliest water Stenian Period -4500 — n ←Earth (−4540) (million years ago) Clickable Neoproterozoic Era ( Tonian Period Cryogenian Period Ediacaran Period Phanerozoic Eon Paleozoic Era Cambrian Period Ordovician Period Silurian Period Devonian Period Carboniferous Period Permian Period Mesozoic Era Triassic Period Jurassic Period Cretaceous Period Cenozoic Era Paleogene Period Neogene Period Quaternary Period Etymology of period names References See also External links Dating of the Geologic record The Geologic record is the strata (layers) of rock in the planet's crust and the science of geology is much concerned with the age and origin of all rocks to determine the history and formation of Earth and to understand the forces that have acted upon it.
    [Show full text]
  • Artiodactyla and Perissodactyla (Mammalia) from the Early-Middle Eocene Kuldana Formation of Kohat (Pakistan)
    CO"uTK1BL 11015 FKOLI IHt \lC5tLL1 OF I' ALEO\ IOLOG1 THE UNIVERSITY OF IVICHIGAN VOI 77 Lo 10 p 717-37.1 October 33 1987 ARTIODACTYLA AND PERISSODACTYLA (MAMMALIA) FROM THE EARLY-MIDDLE EOCENE KULDANA FORMATION OF KOHAT (PAKISTAN) BY J. G. M. THEWISSEN. P. D. GINGERICH and D. E. RUSSELL MUSEUM OF PALEONTOLOGY THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN ANN ARBOR CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF PALEONTOLOGY Charles B. Beck, Director Jennifer A. Kitchell, Editor This series of contributions from the Museum of Paleontology is a medium for publication of papers based chiefly on collections in the Museum. When the number of pages issued is sufficient to make a volume, a title page and a table of contents will be sent to libraries on the mailing list, and to individuals upon request. A list of the separate issues may also be obtained by request. Correspond- ence should be directed to the Museum of Paleontology, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109. VOLS. II-XXVII. Parts of volumes may be obtained if available. Price lists are available upon inquiry. I ARTIODACTI L .-I A\D PERISSODACTYL4 (kl.iihlhlAL1A) FROM THE EARLY-h1IDDLE EOCEUE KCLD..I\4 FORMATIO\ OF KOHAT (PAKISTAY) J. G. M. THEWISSEN. P. D. GINGERICH AND D. E. RUSSELL Ah.strcict.-Chorlakki. yielding approximately 400 specimens (mostly isolated teeth and bone fragments). is one of four major early-to-middle Eocene niammal localities on the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent. On the basis of ung~~latesclescribed in this paper we consider the Chorlakki fauna to be younger than that from Barbora Banda.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Download
    European Journal of Taxonomy 753: 1–80 ISSN 2118-9773 https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2021.753.1389 www.europeanjournaloftaxonomy.eu 2021 · Tissier J. et al. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0). Monograph urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:8009DD3B-53B0-45C9-921E-58D04C9C0B48 New species, revision, and phylogeny of Ronzotherium Aymard, 1854 (Perissodactyla, Rhinocerotidae) Jérémy TISSIER 1,*, Pierre-Olivier ANTOINE 2 & Damien BECKER 3 1,3 Route de Fontenais 21, JURASSICA Museum, 2900 Porrentruy, Switzerland & Chemin du musée 4, Université de Fribourg, Department of Geosciences, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland. 2 Place Eugène Bataillon, Institut des sciences de l’évolution de Montpellier-CNRS-IRD-RPHE, Université de Montpellier, 34095 Montpellier, France. * Corresponding author: [email protected] 2 Email: [email protected] 3 Email: [email protected] 1 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:7418361D-FAA0-4D7D-AE4A-80B5C9288B31 2 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:61FBD377-963B-4530-A4BC-0AB4CBCAD967 3 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:author:E1D8E6B2-6F92-4B0B-A772-4F5C561851DB Abstract. Ronzotherium is one of the earliest Rhinocerotidae in Europe, which fi rst appeared just after the Eocene/Oligocene transition (Grande Coupure), and became extinct at the end of the Oligocene. It is a large-sized rhinocerotid, with a special position in the phylogeny of this group, as being one of the earliest-branching true Rhinocerotidae. However, its intra-generic systematics has never been tested through computational phylogenetic methods and it is basically unknown. Its taxonomical history has gone through numerous complications, and thus we aim to provide here a complete revision of this genus, through phylogenetic methods.
    [Show full text]
  • Hyracodons and Subhyracodons Early Rhinoceros by Ryan C
    The Fossils of the White River Badlands http://whiteriver.weebly.com/hyracodons.html Hyracodons and Subhyracodons Early rhinoceros by Ryan C. The discovery of rhinoceros in the Badlands of the American West was very exciting, most people never suspecting that such primitive forms of rhinoceros existed in North America. Today, living rhinoceroses consist of four genera that contain five species. Two are found in Africa; three others are restricted to Asia. Most are browsing animals but the largest species, the white rhinoceros of Africa, is a grazer. All living species possess "horns" that are composed of keratinized hair which decomposes at death and are not normally preserved in the fossil record. Although most New World rhinoceroses did not have horns, the widely distributed, males of the pig-sized Menoceros of the early Miocene had a lateral pair of horns. In North America, "rhinoceroses" of three similar lineages appeared from Asia during the Middle Eocene. Consisting of hippo-like Amynodontidae, "running rhinos" or Hyracodontidae, and true rhinoceroses, Rhinocerotidae, only true rhinoceroses adapted and diversified enough to survive into the early Pliocene. Amynodontids entered North America during the Bridgerian NALMA. Apparently adapted for a warm humid environment typified by lush forests, most amynodontids physically and ecologically resembled the hippopotamus of Africa. Remaining undiversified, only four genera are recognized and three of them contain but a single species. The massive and best known species is Metamynodon planifrons, a form characterized by having massive teeth with large tusks that give it the appearance of a hippopotamus. Some skeletons were 10 ft in length. Due to their skull structure, some believe this group supported a proboscis similar to that of a modern tapir.
    [Show full text]
  • From the Late–Middle Eocene of Eastern Thrace
    G Model PALEVO-993; No. of Pages 15 ARTICLE IN PRESS C. R. Palevol xxx (2017) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Comptes Rendus Palevol www.sci encedirect.com General Palaeontology, Systematics and Evolution (Vertebrate Palaeontology) First occurrence of Palaeotheriidae (Perissodactyla) from the late–middle Eocene of eastern Thrace (Greece) Première occurrence de Palaeotheriidae (Perissodactyla) du Miocène moyen–tardif de Thrace orientale (Grèce) a,b,∗ a Grégoire Métais , Sevket Sen a CR2P, Paléobiodiversité et Paléoenvironnements, UMR 7207 (CNRS, MNHN, UPMC), Sorbonne Université, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, 8, rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France b Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, 66045 Lawrence, Kansas, USA a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: A detailed assessment of postcranial fossils collected at Balouk Keui (Thrace, Greece) in the Received 11 July 2016 mid-19th Century by the naturalist Auguste Viquesnel enabled us to identify the material Accepted after revision 10 January 2017 as pertaining to Palaeotherium sp., cf. P. magnum, which constitutes the easternmost occur- Available online xxx rence of the genus during the Eocene. We have constrained the geographic and stratigraphic provenance of the fossil by reassessing information about Viquesnel’s itinerary and observa- Handled by Lars vanden Hoek Ostende tions. Although the exact age of the fossil remains uncertain, the occurrence of a palaeothere in the Thrace Basin during the Eocene indicates a wider geographic distribution for the Keywords: genus, which had previously been restricted to western and central Europe. The palaeothere Palaeotherium of Balouk Keui confirms that the palaeogeographic range of this group included the Balkans Thrace during the middle–late Eocene.
    [Show full text]
  • Meet the Gilded Lady 2 Mummies Now Open
    Member Magazine Spring 2017 Vol. 42 No. 2 Mummies meet the gilded lady 2 mummies now open Seeing Inside Today, computerized inside of mummies, revealing CT scans of the Gilded Lady tomography (CT) scanning details about the person’s reveal that she was probably offers researchers glimpses age, appearance, and health. in her forties. They also suggest of mummified individuals “Scans like these are noninvasive, that she may have suffered like never before. By combining they’re repeatable, and they from tuberculosis, a common thousands of cross-sectioned can be done without damaging disease at the time. x-ray images, CT scans let the history that we’re trying researchers examine the to understand,” Thomas says. Mummy #30007, known as the Gilded Lady, is one of the most beautifully preserved mummies from The Field Museum’s collection, and one of 19 now on view in the special exhibition Mummies. For decades, keeping mummies like this one well preserved also meant severely limiting the ability of researchers to study them. The result is that little was known about the Gilded Lady beyond what could be gleaned from the mummy’s exterior, with its intricate linen bindings, gilded headdress, and painted facial features. Exterior details do offer some clues. The mummy dates from 30 BC–AD 395, a period when Egypt was a province of the Roman Empire. While the practice of mummification endured in Egypt, it was being transformed by Roman influences. Before the Roman era, for example, mummies had been placed in wooden coffins, while the Gilded Lady is preserved in only linen wrappings and cartonnage, a papier mâché-like material.
    [Show full text]
  • Oligocene and Early Miocene Mammal Biostratigraphy of the Valley of Lakes in Mongolia
    Palaeobio Palaeoenv (2017) 97:219–231 DOI 10.1007/s12549-016-0264-x ORIGINAL PAPER Oligocene and early Miocene mammal biostratigraphy of the Valley of Lakes in Mongolia Mathias Harzhauser1 & Gudrun Daxner-Höck1 & Margarita A. Erbajeva2 & Paloma López-Guerrero1,3 & Olivier Maridet4,5 & Adriana Oliver 1,6 & Werner E. Piller7 & Ursula B. Göhlich1 & Reinhard Ziegler8 Received: 13 July 2016 /Revised: 28 October 2016 /Accepted: 10 November 2016 /Published online: 15 December 2016 # The Author(s) 2017. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Abstract The Taatsiin Gol Basin in Mongolia is a key area for data. Therefore, we test and evaluate the informal biozonation understanding the evolution and dispersal of Central Asian scheme that has been traditionally used for biostratigraphic mammal faunas during the Oligocene and early Miocene. correlations within the basin. Based on the analysis of the huge After two decades of intense fieldwork, the area is extraordi- dataset, a formalised biostratigraphic scheme is proposed. It narily well sampled and taxonomically well studied, yielding a comprises the Cricetops dormitor Taxon Range Zone large dataset of 19,042 specimens from 60 samples. The spec- (Rupelian), subdivided into the Allosminthus khandae Taxon imens represent 176 species-level and 99 genus-level taxa com- Range Subzone and the Huangomys frequens Abundance prising 135 small mammal species and 47 large mammals. A Subzone, the Amphechinus taatsiingolensis Abundance Zone detailed lithostratigraphy and new magnetostratigraphic and (early Chattian), the Amphechinus major Taxon Range Zone radiometric datings provide an excellent frame for these biotic (late Chattian), subdivided into the Yindirtemys deflexus This article is a contribution to the special issue BThe Valley of Lakes in Mongolia, a key area of Cenozoic mammal evolution and stratigraphy^.
    [Show full text]
  • 71St Annual Meeting Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Paris Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada, USA November 2 – 5, 2011 SESSION CONCURRENT SESSION CONCURRENT
    ISSN 1937-2809 online Journal of Supplement to the November 2011 Vertebrate Paleontology Vertebrate Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Society of Vertebrate 71st Annual Meeting Paleontology Society of Vertebrate Las Vegas Paris Nevada, USA Las Vegas, November 2 – 5, 2011 Program and Abstracts Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 71st Annual Meeting Program and Abstracts COMMITTEE MEETING ROOM POSTER SESSION/ CONCURRENT CONCURRENT SESSION EXHIBITS SESSION COMMITTEE MEETING ROOMS AUCTION EVENT REGISTRATION, CONCURRENT MERCHANDISE SESSION LOUNGE, EDUCATION & OUTREACH SPEAKER READY COMMITTEE MEETING POSTER SESSION ROOM ROOM SOCIETY OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS SEVENTY-FIRST ANNUAL MEETING PARIS LAS VEGAS HOTEL LAS VEGAS, NV, USA NOVEMBER 2–5, 2011 HOST COMMITTEE Stephen Rowland, Co-Chair; Aubrey Bonde, Co-Chair; Joshua Bonde; David Elliott; Lee Hall; Jerry Harris; Andrew Milner; Eric Roberts EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Philip Currie, President; Blaire Van Valkenburgh, Past President; Catherine Forster, Vice President; Christopher Bell, Secretary; Ted Vlamis, Treasurer; Julia Clarke, Member at Large; Kristina Curry Rogers, Member at Large; Lars Werdelin, Member at Large SYMPOSIUM CONVENORS Roger B.J. Benson, Richard J. Butler, Nadia B. Fröbisch, Hans C.E. Larsson, Mark A. Loewen, Philip D. Mannion, Jim I. Mead, Eric M. Roberts, Scott D. Sampson, Eric D. Scott, Kathleen Springer PROGRAM COMMITTEE Jonathan Bloch, Co-Chair; Anjali Goswami, Co-Chair; Jason Anderson; Paul Barrett; Brian Beatty; Kerin Claeson; Kristina Curry Rogers; Ted Daeschler; David Evans; David Fox; Nadia B. Fröbisch; Christian Kammerer; Johannes Müller; Emily Rayfield; William Sanders; Bruce Shockey; Mary Silcox; Michelle Stocker; Rebecca Terry November 2011—PROGRAM AND ABSTRACTS 1 Members and Friends of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, The Host Committee cordially welcomes you to the 71st Annual Meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology in Las Vegas.
    [Show full text]
  • Aix-En-Provence June 7Th-12Th, 2010
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by RERO DOC Digital Library 8th Meeting of the European Association of Vertebrate Palaeontologists Aix-en-Provence June 7th-12th, 2010 Abstract Volume Abstract Volume 8th EAVP Meeting, Aix-en-Provence 2010 Fieldtrip 2 - Saturday, June 12th The "Parc Naturel Regional du Luberon": A palaeontological paradise Loïc Costeur1 & Christine Balme2 1Naturhistorisches Museum Basel, Augustinergasse 2, 4001 Basel, Switzerland ([email protected]) 2Parc Naturel Regional du Luberon, 60 Place Jean Jaurès, 84400 Apt, France Introduction The Parc Naturel Régional du Luberon represents a geographical zone limited to the North by the Ventoux and Lure massifs and to the East and South by the Durance River. It is a sedimentary basin that accumulated several thousand meters of marine and continental sediments. Today, sediments from the Late Jurassic to the Recent oucrop (Fig. 1). The diversity of the landscapes reflects the variety of rocks exposed there (from coal, to limestones, marls, sandstones, sands, clays or plattenkalke, etc.), as well as the dynamics of particular structures, such as Oligocene massive salt diapirs in the East side near Manosque. The area is protected since 1987 because of this great geological richness and because many palaeontological sites with a worldwide fame are spread all over the "Parc Naturel Regional du Luberon", just to cite two of them: the Aptian stratotype or La Débruge, a reference level of the Palaeogene mammal biochronological timescale. The "Parc Naturel Regional du Luberon" has the duty to protect these sites against despoilers and to pursue scientific work to improve the geological and palaeontological knowledge of the region.
    [Show full text]
  • Investigating Sexual Dimorphism in Ceratopsid Horncores
    University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2013-01-25 Investigating Sexual Dimorphism in Ceratopsid Horncores Borkovic, Benjamin Borkovic, B. (2013). Investigating Sexual Dimorphism in Ceratopsid Horncores (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/26635 http://hdl.handle.net/11023/498 master thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY Investigating Sexual Dimorphism in Ceratopsid Horncores by Benjamin Borkovic A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES CALGARY, ALBERTA JANUARY, 2013 © Benjamin Borkovic 2013 Abstract Evidence for sexual dimorphism was investigated in the horncores of two ceratopsid dinosaurs, Triceratops and Centrosaurus apertus. A review of studies of sexual dimorphism in the vertebrate fossil record revealed methods that were selected for use in ceratopsids. Mountain goats, bison, and pronghorn were selected as exemplar taxa for a proof of principle study that tested the selected methods, and informed and guided the investigation of sexual dimorphism in dinosaurs. Skulls of these exemplar taxa were measured in museum collections, and methods of analysing morphological variation were tested for their ability to demonstrate sexual dimorphism in their horns and horncores.
    [Show full text]