ΐῒ῏ῑῐ ῍῎῍῎ῌThe Quaternary Research.1 , p. 2+ 3, April ,**2

Small mammal fauna of Early Pleistocene age from the site in the Nihewan Basin, , northern China

Yingqi Zhang*+,- , Yoshinari Kawamura*,a and Baoquan Cai*

A large amount of sediments was taken from the horizon stratigraphically equiva- lent to the artifact layer in the Xiaochangliang site, an important archaeological site of Early Pleistocene age. The sediments were washed with fine-mesh screens to col- lect small mammal remains. The layer is dated as+4-0 Ma by paleomagnetic measure- ments. Small mammal remains are important for biostratigraphic and paleoenviron- mental studies, but they have been hardly collected from the site before the present study. A large number of the remains collected by the screen-washing have revealed the characteristics of the small mammal fauna of the site. The fauna is compared with those of the four well-dated localities in the adjacent area. On the basis of the faunal characteristics and comparisons, we discuss the biostratigraphy and faunal turnover in the Late Pliocene and Pleistocene. Furthermore, we reconstruct the paleoenviron- ment around the site in the Early Pleistocene.

Keywords : small mammal fauna, biostratigraphy, Early Pleistocene, Xiaochangliang site, Nihewan Basin, China

Since then, thousands of artifacts and more I. Introduction than+* forms of mammals have been exca- The Nihewan Basin situated about+/* km vated from the site (Tanget al., +33/ ; Chen et westo north o west of Beijing (Fig. + ) has beenal., +333 ), but the knowledge on small mammals well known for geologists and paleontologists has been quite limited in previous works. since the discovery of abundant mammalian Because the site is important for considering remains of Early Pleistocene age in the later human immigration into during the +3,*’s. The remains have occurred from fluvio- Early Pleisotcene, Zhuet al. (,**+ ) tried to de- lacustrine sediments called the Nihewan For- termine the detailed numerical age of the arti- mation. In spite of a piece of information on fact layer of the site by paleomagnetic meas- the occurrence of a “stone artifact” from the urements. They concluded that the layer was basin (Breuil,+3-/ ), archaeologists had paid dated as +4-0 Ma. Their conclusion is more de- little attention to the sediments of the basin, tailed and more reliable than the results of until artifacts were discovered at faunal dating by previous authors. the Xiaochangliang site in+312 (Youet al., +32* ). In order to obtain su$ cient knowledge on

Received July,+, ,**1. Accepted November +1 , ,**1 . * + Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. P.O. Box0.- , Beijing, +***.., China (Present address : Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University.-ῌῌ - +-2 Sugimoto, Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka,//2ῌ 2/2/ , Japan). *Dep,+artment of Earth Sciences, Aichi University of Education. Hirosawa, Igaya-cho,Kariya, Aichi Prefecture, ..2ῌ 2/.,,Japan. *Dep-artment of History, Xiamen University. Xiamen, Fujian, -0+**/,China. * a Corresponding author:[email protected]. ac. jp 82 Zhang, Y.Q., Kawamura, Y. and Cai, B.Q. April ,**2

Fig.+oo Map showing the topographynear the east north easternendof the Nihewan Basin, where the Xiaochangliang site (X) is situated AP : alluvial plain of the Sangganhe River,PS:plateau surface, M : another archaeological site at Majuangou (“new cultural layer”ofCai and Li,,**- ). small mammals of the paleomagnetically well- plateau surface about+/* m higher than the dated layer, a large amount of sediments was plain (Fig.+ ). Several paleolithic archaeologi- sampled from the layer, and was washed with cal sites found after the Xiaochangliang site fine-mesh screens. The screen-washing resulted are also distributed in the hilly area (for exam- in obtaining more than,** remains of small ple, the Donggutuo and Majuangou sites). Cai mammals assignable to+* forms, most of which et al. (,**. ) divided the sediments in the area were new to the mammalian fauna of this site. and in the neibourhood with the same topogra- Small mammals are generally more important phy into such four units as+ ) “Hipparion red for biostratigraphy and paleoenvironmental re- clay” of early Pliocene age,, ) red, gray and construction than large mammals. Thus in this grayish black fluvio-lacustrine silty clay of late paper, we describe the small mammal fauna of Pliocene age,- ) brownish yellow to grayish yel- the site, compare it with other faunas, and dis- low fluvio-lacustrine clay and gravel of Pleisto- cuss small mammal biostratigraphy, faunal turn- cene age, and. ) overlying loess forming the over and paleoenvironment. The systematic plateau surface, in ascending order. The unit - descriptions for each form of small mammals is sometimes subdivided into the Nihewan For- will be given in subsequent papers. mation of Early Pleistocene age and the Xiao- dukou Formation of Middle Pleistocene age II. Geological setting (Yanget al., +330 ; Wei, +331 , etc.). The Xiaochangliang site is situated near the The Xiaochangliang site was found on a eastoo north eastern end of the Nihewan Basin small ridge called Xiaochangliang which means which shows a slender shape extending from a small but long hill ridge in Chinese (Fig.,ῌ A). this end toward westoo south west along the The ridge extends north o westward from the Sangganhe River into Shanxi Province. Around plateau edge near Guanting (Fig.+ ). The sec- the site, Pliocene and Pleistocene sediments are tion of the sediments are observable along the well exposed in a hilly area between the allu- ridge. In the section, the units+, and of Cai et vial plain of the Sangganhe River and a flatal. (,**. ) are lacking, while the units - and . are ,**2῎῍ . Small mammal fauna from the Xiaochangliang site 83

Fig. , Sampling site in “Location A” of the Xiaochangliang site A:overall view from “Location B” showing the sampling site (arrow) on the westernslope of the ridge extending from the plateau surface (PS), B : close-up photo of the sampling site showing the sampling horizon (SH). present. The unit- overlies directly the Juras- chapter. Zhuet al. ( ,**+ ) estimated the age of sic basement rocks with an unconformity and the layer to be+4-0 Ma, because the average is covered by the unit. . Zhuet al. ( ,**+ ) showed accumulation rate between the Jaramillo and a detailed stratigraphic sequence of the section Olduvai Subchrons was calculated at about .40 with a thickness of1- m, which was composed cm/ka in the “Donggou” section which interca- mainly of silt and/or clay (Fig.- ). They also lated a thin marker layer of black silty clay described a thicker sequence of the “Donggou”+-4. m below the Jaramillo onset ( +4*1 Ma), and section+oo km west south west of the Xiaochang- because the same layer was also found at the liang site (outside the map of Fig.+ ). Unfortu- top of the artifact layer of the Xiaochangliang nately, they did not show the exact position of site. this section, and “Donggou” by them is di#,40 er- In the present paper, we adopt Ma as the ent in position from the same place-name used boundary age of the Pliocene and Pleistocene by other authors, as discussed in the subse- instead ofca. +42 Ma, the end of the Olduvai quent chapter. The “Donggou” section is cor- Subchron, as generally done among Chinese relative with the Xiaochangliang section, be- scientists. cause the sequences of the two sections are III. Sampling site and horizon almost identical, and contain sedimentological marker layers. Zhuet al. (,**+ ) carried out de- Since the first excavation, the Xiaochang- tailed paleomagnetic measurements, and deter- liang site has been divided into Locations A mined two normal and two reversed magneto- and B (Fig.. ). The geographic coordinates are zones in the Xiaochangliang section (N+ , N , ++.ῌῌ -341/,ῌῌ E and .* +-4+2+ N for A, and ++. ῌ and R+, , R ), and three normal and two reversed -3403,ῌῌE and .*ῌ +-4+22 N for B (Chenet al., +333 ). magnetozones in the “Donggou” section (N+ , The excavations of the site have been conduct- N,- , N and R +, , R ). They correlated the mag- ed in many grids as shown in Figure. . We de- netozones with the standard geomagnetic time- cided the sampling site on the western slope near scale, as shown in Figure-- . N correlative with the most southo western grid of Location A (Figs. the Olduvai Subchron is recognized only in the,.ῌ A and ), because each layer of the sediments “Donggou” section, while N, correlative with are horizontal and the artifact layer is expected the Jaramillo Subchron is found in both of to expose in the sampling site. As a result of the sections. The sampling horizon of the pre- our excavation, the marker layer of black silty sent study (SH in Fig.-, ) is identical with the clay with a thickness of cm was found in the artifact layer of the site as stated in the next lower part of the section of the sampling site. 84 Zhang, Y.Q., Kawamura, Y. and Cai, B.Q. April ,**2

Zhuet al. (,**+ ) already described the marker screen-washing. layer lying just above the artifact layer of the IV. Screen-washing Xiaochangliang site. Thus the sediments just below the marker layer in our section is stra- The excavation, sampling and screen-washing tigraphically equivalent to those of the artifact were conducted by one of us (Zhang, Y.Q.) with layer (SH in Fig.,ῌ B). They were sampled for assistance of two employed villagers in the summer of,**/ . More than +40 tons of raw sediments taken from the sampling horizon were transported to the riverbed of the Sang- ganhe River near Xiaodukou (Fig.+ ). A double- layered screen box was used for washing the sediments. The box comprises the upper part with,4* mm mesh screen and the lower part with*4/ mm mesh screen. The upper part is removable, but nested into the lower part to prevent sample leakage. Before the screen- washing, the raw sediments were soaked in water to facilitate the following washing pro- cedure. If necessary, large clods of the sedi- ments were crumbled. Then the sediments were stirred in water, until they dissolved com- pletely. The dissolved sediments were poured into the screen box, and then flushed with the box being swayed. After finer grains were completely washed away from the sediments, coarser grains as well as bones and teeth of small vertebrates remained on the screens. They were taken out from the screen box, and dried naturally. Then the bones and teeth were sorted by naked eyes from grains on the,4* mm mesh screen and by using a dissecting microscope from those on the*4/ mm mesh screen. V. Small mammal fauna The previous papers on the Xiaochangliang site (Youet al.,+32* ; Tang et al., +33/ ; Chen et Fig.- Columnar section and paleomagnetic data of al., +333) reported the occurrence of mammal the Xiaochangliang site modified from Zhu remains, but most of them were large mam- et al. (),**+ mals (Table+ ). Among the papers, Tang et al. The section shows the lithofacies of the sediments (+33/ ) is the only paper which describes small from the plateau surface (PS) to the sampling hori- mammals, but the specimens described is only zon (SH) whichis equivalent to the artifact layer of two, each of which is assigned to a di# erent the site. Zhu et al. (,**+ ) dated the artifact layer as form of arvicolid rodents. +4-0 Ma on the basis of the paleomagnetic data (VGP : The screen-washing procedure mentioned in vertial geomagnetic pole) from this section as well as the nearby “Donggou” section. Note that the age the preceding chapter has succeeded in collect- ,-- of the layer was determined by the average accu- ing specimens of small mammals identi- mulation rate between the Jaramillo and Olduvai fiable at the generic or specific level with con- Subchrons inthe“Donggou” section whichinterca- fidence. Almost all of the specimens are iso- lated the marker layer equivalent to that of the lated teeth (Table, ). The specimens are allo- Xiaochangliang site (see text). cated to+* forms listed in Tables + and , . ,**2῎῍ . Small mammal fauna from the Xiaochangliang site 85

Among the forms, six are classified at thenihowanicus ) and one extant species ( Micromys specific level, and comprise five extinct speciesminutus ). Thus in species number, the extinct (Ochotona youngi , Yangia cf. tingi , Borsodia chi- species are considerably dominant in the small nensis,and Allophaiomys deucalion Chardinomys mammal fauna (more than2*ῌ ).

Fig.. Detailed planofthe Xiaochangliang site showing the position of the sampling site The planis cited from Chenet al. (+333 ) with slight modification.

Table+ Mammals from the Xiaochangliang site recorded bytheprevious authors comparing with those bythis study 86 Zhang, Y.Q., Kawamura, Y. and Cai, B.Q. April ,**2

Table, Number of the identifiable specimens wanicus, while the remainders are referred to the collected by this study extant harvest mouse,Micromys minutus. The specimens of Cricetidae are much fewer (14*ῌ of the rodent specimens), and belong to the extant hamster genusCricetulus or Phodopus. Only one specimen of Siphneidae is recognized in the rodent specimens, and is referred to the extinct mole-rat,Yangia cf. tingi. All the lagomorph specimens are assigned to Ochotonidae, while Leporidae is absent in the specimens. They are classified into a smaller form referable to the extict pika,Ochotona youngi , and a larger form,Ochotona or Ochotonoides sp. The former is a relatively abundant element in the small mammal fauna, and occupies +/4/ῌ of all the small mammal specimens. If the frag- ments possibly assigned toO. youngi are added, its percentage becomes higher (see Table, ). All the soricomorph specimens are referred to the extant shrew genus Sorex. VI. Comparison with other faunas The small mammal fauna of the Xiaochang- liang site is compared with those of paleo- magnetically and/or radiometrically dated sedi- ments in the Nihewan Basin and its adjacent In specimen number, rodents show a high area, which are the faunas of the three layers of percentage (2*4-ῌ ) in the fauna, while lago- Qianjiashawa o Donggou, the new cultural layer morphs are subordinate (+04-ῌ ), and sorico- of Majuangou, Layers . to ++ of Locality + of morphs are much fewer than them (-4.ῌ ). The the site in Beijing, and Upper rodents are composed of such four families as Cave of the same site (Fig./ ). Cricetidae, Siphneidae, Arvicolidae and Muri- The small mammal faunas of Qianjiashawao dae, but lack Sciuridae, Castoridae, Rhizomyi- Donggou were reported by Zhenget al. (,**0 ). dae, Dipodidae and Hystricidae which are some- They referred to the locality situated/** m times found in the Pliocene and Pleistocene of northeast of the village of Qianjiashawa as Dong- China. Among the four families, Arvicolidae is gou, although Zhuet al. (,**+ ) already used the very abundant, and attains to1,41ῌ of all the same place-name “Donggou” as mentioned in rodent specimens (/24.ῌ of all the small mam- the previous chapter. Donggou by the former mal specimens). Almost all the arvicolid speci- authors is obviously di# erent from “Donggou” mens are allocated to the extinct vole with by the latter authors in geographic position, rooted molars,Borsodia chinensis , and to the and both of them are probably+4/ km apart other extinct vole with rootless molars, Allo- from each other. Furthermore, they are also dif- phaiomys deucalion. The remainders are only ferent in elevation. The section shown in Zheng two specimens, which are assigned to the ex-et al. (,**0 ) is considered to be placed lower tinct vole genusMimomys. Arvicolidae is fol- than the “Donggou” section of Zhu et al. (,**+ ). lowed by Muridae in specimen number, which To avoid confusion, we here use Qianjiashawao occupies+342ῌῌ of the rodent specimens ( +/43 Donggou for Donggou of Zhenget al. ( ,**0 ) of the total). About two thirds of the murid which means Donggou near Qianjiashawa, and specimens are allocated to the extinct mouse “Donggou” for the same place-name by Zhu et with characteristic molars,Chardinomys niho- al. (,**+ ). *2. ,**2 ῍ῌ ml amlfuafo h iohnlagsite Xiaochangliang the from fauna mammal Small

Fig. / Chrono-stratigraphic positions of the small mammals from the Xiaochangliang site, and related forms from QianjiashawaoDonggou,

the new cultural layer (NCL) of Majuangou, and Locality + and Upper Cave of Zhoukoudian 87 cf : confer determination, J : Jaramillo, O : Olduvai. ῌextant species. 88 Zhang, Y.Q., Kawamura, Y. and Cai, B.Q. April ,**2

In the Qianjiashawao Donggou section, seven changliang site contain extant species in a low layers yield small mammal remains. The fau- percentage (less than,*ῌ ), as mentioned be- nas of the upper three (Layers++ , +0 and +3 ) of fore. the seven are compared with the fauna of the In the new cultural layer, arvicolid rodents Xiaochangliang site. These layers were dated are highly predominant as in the Xiaochang- from the late Gauss Chron to early Matuyama liang site. They comprise four forms, among Chron by paleomagnetic measurements (Yang which two are common to the fauna of the et al.,+330, Fig. / ), although Zheng et al. ( ,**0 ) Xiaochangliang site ( B. chinensis and A. deuca- considered the Gauss/Matuyama boundary lion). One of the remaining two, Prolagurus prae- placed at Layer++ on the basis of small mam-pannonicus is an extinct vole with rootless mo- mal faunas. The faunas of these layers com- lars, and is abundant in the fauna of the new prise only extinct species, when small mammal cultural layer. The identification with this spe- forms classified at the specific level are con- cies is problematic, because it does not occur cerned. Among the extinct species,Ochotona from all the other faunas compared (Fig./ ). youngi, Yangia tingi , Borsodia chinensis and Al- Murid rodents are abundant in the fauna of the lophaiomys deucalion are common to the fauna new cultural layer as in that of the Xiaochang- of the Xiaochangliang site. These species oc- liang site. Moreover the components of the cur from two layers or more in Qianjiashawao murids (Micromys sp. and Chardinomys nihowa- Donggou, and are possibly major elements. Fur- nicus) and their relative abundance are similar thermore, they are dominant and/or character- to those in the Xiaochangliang site. In siphneid istic elements in the fauna of the Xiaochang- rodents,Y. tingi is common to both of the fau- liang site. Thus the overall characters of both nas, and is rare in both of them. Ochotonid the faunas are similar to each other. But a few lagomorphs are also composed of a smaller and minor di# erences are also observed between larger forms, as in the fauna of the Xiaochang- them. The faunas of Qianjiashawao Donggou liang site. The smaller form is allocated to O. contain such extinct species asOchotona magna , minor by Cai and Li (,**- ), but is probably iden- O.a.# intermedia , Ochotonoides complicidens , Se- tical withO. youngi, judging from the descrip- ricolaguscf. brachypus , Yangia trassaerti , Cro- tion of Erbajeva and Zheng (,**/ ). Leporid meromys gansunicusand Allophaiomys pliocae- lagomorphs are absent, as in the fauna of the nicus, which are absent from the fauna of the Xiaochangliang site. It can be concluded that Xiaochangliang site. Most of them occur from the fauna of the new cultural layer generally only one layer in Qianjiashawao Donggou, and resembles that of the Xiaochangliang site. are possibly minor elements. Additionally, the The small mammal remains from Locality + fauna of the Xiaochangliang site contains one and Upper Cave of the Zhoukoudian (Choukou- extant species. tien) site were described in the monographs of The small mammal fauna of the new cultural Young (+3-. ) and Pei ( +3.* ). The classification layer of Majuangou was described by Cai and of some small mammal forms was later emended Li (,**- ). This layer is equivalent to MJGῌ III of by Zheng ( +32. , +33+ ) and Zhanget al. ( +33- ). Zhuet al. (,**. ) and the artifact horizon of the Kahlke and Chow ( +30+ ) showed the strati- Goudi site by Gaoet al. (,**/ ). Zhu et al. ( ,**. ) graphic distributions of mammals in the thick determined the age of the layer as+400 Ma by sediments of Locality + , which are shown in paleomagnetic measurements. Cai and Li (,**- ) Figure/ with the later emendation. On the also reported the specimen numbers of the other hand, the sediments of the two localities mammal remains obtained, and thus it is possi- were dated by paleomagnetic, radiometric and ble to compare the abundance of each small other non-faunal methods, and the results were mammal form between the new cultural layer summarily given in Liet al. (+32/ ) and Zhao et and the Xiaochangliang site.al. (+32/ ). On the basis of them, the chronologi- All the small mammal forms classified at the cal positions of the two localities are shown in specific level are extinct in the new cultural Figure/ . layer, while the small mammals of the Xiao- The small mammal faunas of Locality+ and ,**2῍ῌ . Small mammal fauna from the Xiaochangliang site 89

Upper Cave are considerably di# erent from that of the extinct species characterizing the Late of the Xiaochangliang site. All the extinct spe- Pliocene and Early Pleistocene of northern Chi- cies occurred from the site are absent in the na (for example,Ochotona youngi , Borsodia chi- faunas of Locality+ and Upper Cave, which arenensis , Allophaiomys deucalion and Chardino- dominated by extant species (Fig./ ). They alsomys nihowanicus ). This fauna was somewhat di# er in having more diversified faunas, which changed between +400 Ma and +4-0 Ma by the include sciurid, castorid, rhizomyid and hystricid appearance of the extant species, Micromys mi- rodents as well as leporid lagomorphs, although nutus, in the uppermost stage of the biozone+ . the di# erence in diversity partly depends on Much greater change occurred between +4-0 that in their sedimentary conditions (cave ver- Ma and*40 Ma, namely between the biozones + sus fluvio-lacustrine, as shown in Fig./, ). and . The extinct species disappeared com- pletely, and were replaced by many extant spe- VII. Biostratigraphy cies characteristic to the fauna of the biozone , On the basis of the data given in Figure/ , we (for example, extant species ofOchotona , Micro- discuss the biostaratigraphy of small mammals tus, Apodemus , Niviventer and Mus ). This change herein. The faunas of Qianjiashawao Donggou is important for considering the origin of the (Layers++ , +0 and +3 ) are similar to that of the present-day fauna of northern China. The tim- new cultural layer of Majuangou (NCL in Fig. ing, process and environmental backgrounds /). Both of them include no extant species, and of the change are expected to be clarified by are characterized by the occurrences of such future studies on small mammal faunas dated extinct species asOchotona youngi , Ochoto- between+4-0 and *40 Ma. noides complicidens,, Yangia tingi Borsodia chi- IX. Paleoenvironment nensis,and Cromeromys gansunicus Allophaio- mys deucalion. Thus they constitute a single The small mammal specimens obtained by zone (biozone+/ in Fig. ). The fauna of the the present study are relatively well-preserved, Xiaochangliang site (SH in Fig./ ) is generally and show no trace of water abrasion by trans- similar to those of the underlying sediments portation. Thus it is inferred that carcasses of (Layers++ , +0 and +3 , and NCL), and di # ers small mammals inhabiting near an ancient lake only in having the extant species,Micromys were transported for short distance into the minutus. On the basis of the overall similarity, lake or an flood plain along it by running wa- it can be regarded that the biozone+ includes ter, and their bones and teeth were buried by the fauna of the Xiaochangliang site which rep- rapid sedimentation. This inference is roughly resents its uppermost stage (Fig./ ). The fauna consistent with the taphonomic process of arti- of Locality+# is considerably di erent from that facts and larger mammal remains from the of the Xiaochangliang site in much higher Xiaochangliang site stated by Chenet al. (+333 ). percentage of extant species and higher diver- The small mammal fauna of the site consists sity of small mammals. The clear di# erence leads mainly of temperate grassland elements. Ex- to recognize a di#, erent zone (biozone in Fig. tant species ofOchotona live mostly in open /+). The boundary between the biozones and plains and steppes, often associated with rocky , is obscure, because well-dated information outcrops. The abundant occurrence of Ocho- on small mammals is laking in the time interval tona in the fauna suggests a similar vegetation. between the age of the Xiaochangliang site Extant species ofCricetulus and Phodopus pre- and Locality+- . The biozone represented by fer arid areas (steppe to semi-desert), and thus the fauna of Upper Cave is distinguished from the occurrence ofCricetulus or Phodopus sp. in the biozone, by its more modernized nature the fauna also indicates arid environment. The of the fauna (for example, very low percentage arvicolid species highly predominant in the fau- of extinct species). na (Borsodia chinensis and Allophaiomys deuca- lion) have high-crowned prismatic molars adap- VIII. Faunal turnover tive to grass-eating. This suggests that they The fauna of the biozone+ is composed mostly are grassland dwellers. The extant species, 90 Zhang, Y.Q., Kawamura, Y. and Cai, B.Q. April ,**2

Micromys minutus, mainly inhabits areas with koudian site, Fig./ ). The faunal comparison tall grasses and bushes along rivers, ponds and results in recognizing the three small mammal lakes. This also suggests grasslands with shrubs biozones, among which the uppermost stage of near a lake. the lowest biozone is represented by the fauna Apart from the small mammals, grassland of the Xiaochangliang site. The faunal turnover vegetation is also suggested by such larger is also considered. The fauna dominated by the mammals as horses (Proboscidipparion sinense , extinct species characterizing the Late Plio- Hipparionsp. and Equus sanmeniensis ) reported cene and Early Pleistocene of northern China from the site by the previous authors (Table+ ). was somewhat changed between +400 Ma and Palaeoloxodon sp. also reported by them were+4-0 Ma by the appearance of the extant spe- recently emended as the steppe mammoth, Mam- cies (Micromys minutus ). Much greater change muthus trogontherii, by Wei et al. (,**0 ), which occurred between +4-0 Ma and *40 Ma. During is considered to have lived mainly in grass- this period, the above-mentioned extinct spe- lands. cies disappeared, while many extant species The paleoenvironment around the site is newly appeared. This change resulted in the inferred to have been grasslands with sparse modernization of the fauna. As regards the shrubs near a lake under temperate climate. It paleoenviornment, the fauna of the Xiaochang- is almost identical with the paleoenvironment liang site indicates grasslands with sparse shrubs reconstructed for the new cultural layer of Ma- near a lake under temperate climate. juangou by Cai and Li (,**- ). Thus the envi- Acknowledgments ronment had not changed from+400 Ma to +4-0 Ma. We are grateful for the helpful discussion with Professor Shaohua Zheng from Institute X. Conclusion of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthro- The knowledge on the small mammal fauna pology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. We also of the Xiaochangliang site with the age of +4-0 acknowledge the great convenience provided Ma has greatly expanded by the present study. for the present study by Professor Shusaku The fauna comprises+* forms identifiable at Yoshikawa and the graduate students of Natu- the generic or specific level, among which five ral History of Anthropogene Laboratory, Gradu- are extinct species, and one is extant species ate School of Science, Osaka City University. (Tables+, and ). In species number, therefore, The present study was supported by the Na- more than2*῍ are extinct. In specimen num- tional Science Foundation of China (Grant No. ber,2*4-῍ of the identifiable specimens are ro- .*.1,*+,). dents. Among the rodents, the arvicolids are References highly predominant (1,41῍ of the rodent speci- +3-/ ÿ mens), the murids are subordinate (+342῍ ), the Breuil, H. ( ) L’etat actuel de nos connaissances sur les industries paleolithiquesÿ de Choukoutien. 14*῍ cricetids are much fewer ( ), and the siph- L’anthropologie,./ , 1.*ῌ 1.0 . neids are rare (*4.῍ ). Almost all the arvicolid Cai, B.Q. and Li, Q. (,**- ) Human remains and the specimens are allocated to such extinct species environment of Early Pleistocene in the Nihewan asBorsodia chinensis and Allophaiomys deuca- Basin. Science in China, Ser. D,-- , .+2ῌ .,. . (C) lion. The lagomorphs are much fewer than the Cai, B.Q., Zhang, Z.Q., Zheng, S.H., Qiu, Z.D., Li, Q. and Li, Q. (,**. ) New advances in the stratigraphic rodents (+04-῍ of the identifiable specimens). study on representative sections in the Nihewan Most of the lagmorphs are assigned to the ex- Basin, Hebei. Professional Papers of Stratigraphy tinct species, Ochotona youngi. and Palaeontology,,2 , ,01ῌ ,2/ . (Cῌ E) The small mammal fauna of the Xiaochang- Chen, C., Shen, C., Chen, W.Y. and Tang, Y.J. (+333 ) liang site is compared with the four faunas +332 excavation of the Xiaochangliang site at Yang- +2 ,,/ῌ from the well-dated sediments in the Nihewan yuan, Hebei. Acta Anthoropologica Sinica, , ,-3.(Cῌ E) o Basin and the adjacent area (Qianjiashawa Erbajeva, M.A. and Zheng, S.H. (,**/ ) New data on Late Donggou, the new cultural layer of Majuangou, Mioceneo Pleistocene ochotonids (Ochotonidae, Lag- and Locality+ and Upper Cave of the Zhou- omorpha) from North China. Acta Zoologica Cra- ,**2῏῎ . Small mammal fauna from the Xiaochangliang site 91

coviensia,.2 A, 3-ῌ ++1 . dentia and Primates other thanSinanthropus from Gao, X., Wei, Q., Shen, C. and Keates, S. (,**/ ) New Locality + at Choukoutien. Palaeontologia Sinica, light on the earliest hominid occupation in East Ser. C,2 , fasc. - , +ῌ +0+ . Asia. Current Anthropology,.0 (supplement), ++/ῌ Zhang, S.S., Wang, C.L., Li, Y.S., Cui, D.W., You, Y.Z., +,*. Han, D.F., Ye, X.K., Hou, L.H., Zheng, S.H., Yu, Q.L., Kahlke, H.D. and Chow, B.S. (+30+ ) A summary of strati- Wang, P.F., Xia, Y.M. and Chen, W.Y. (+33- ) Com- graphical and paleontological observations in the prehensive study on the Jinniushan paleolithic site. lower layers of Choukoutien, Locality+ , and on the Memoirs of Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology chronological position of the site. Vertebrata Pal- and Palaeoanthropology, Academia Sinica,+3 , +ῌ Asiatica,+30+ , ,+,ῌῌ ,.* . (C῍῍ E) +0- , pl. + +0 . (C E) Kormos, T. (+3-. ) Premiere Ÿ preuve de l’existence du Zhao, S.S., Pei, J.X., Guo, S.L., Liu, S.S., Qian, F., Chou, genreMimomys en Asie orientale. Travaux du Labo- S.H. and Li, X.G. (+32/ ) Study of chronology of Pe- ratoire de Geologieÿÿ de la Faculte des Sciences de king Man site. Multi-disciplinary study of the Pe- Lyon,,. , -ῌ 2 . king Man site at Zhoukoudian :,-3ῌ ,.* , Science Li, X.G., Liu, G.L., Xu, G.Y., Wang, F.L., Chou, S.H. and Press. (C) Cai, L.Z. (+32/ ) Radiocarbon dating of fossil mam- Zheng, S.H. ( +32. ) Revised determination of the fossil mal bones from the Upper Cave and New Cave of Cricetinae (Rodentia Mammalia) of Choukoutien Zhoukoudian. Multi-disciplinary study of the Pe- District. Vertebrata PalAsiatica,,, , +13ῌ +31 . (C῍ E) king Man site at Zhoukoudian :,0+ῌ ,0, , Science Zheng, S.H. ( +33+ ) Rodentia Bowdich, +2,+ . Wushan Press. (C) hominid site :/,ῌ 2/ , China Ocean Press. (C῍ E) Pei, W.C. (+3.* ) The Upper Cave fauna of Choukou- Zheng, S.H. ( +33. ) Classification and evolution of the tien. Palaeontologia Sinica, New Ser. C,+* , +ῌ +*+ . Siphneidae. National Science Museum Monographs, Tang, Y.J., Li, Y. and Chen, W.Y. (+33/ ) Mammalian 2 , /1ῌ 10 . fossils and the age of Xiaochangliang paleolithic Zheng, S.H. (+331 ) Evolution of the Mesosiphneinae site of Yangyuan, Hebei. Vertebrata PalAsiatica, (Siphneidae, Rodentia) and environmental change. --, 1.ῌ 2- , pl. + . (C῍ E) Tong, Y.S., Zhang, Y.Y., Wu, W.Y., Li, J.L. and Shi, Wei, G.B., Taruno, H., Kawamura, Y. and Jin, C.Z. L.Q. (eds.) Evidence for evolutionῌ Essays in honor (,**0 ) Pliocene and Early Pleistocene primitive mam- of Prof. Chungchien Young on the hundredth anni- moths of northern China : Their revised taxonomy, versary of his birth :+-1ῌ +/* , China Ocean Press. (C biostratigraphy and evolution. Journal of Geosci-῍ E) ences, Osaka City University,.3 , /3ῌ +*+ . Zheng, S.H., Cai, B.Q. and Li, Q. ( ,**0 ) The Plio o Pleis- Wei, Q. (+331 ) The framework of archaeological geol- tocene small mammals from Donggou section of ogy of the Nihewan Basin. Tong, Y.S., Zhang, Y.Y., Nihewan Basin, Hebei, China. Vertebrata PalAsia- Wu, W.Y., Li, J.L. and Shi, L.Q. (eds.) Evidence for tica,.. , -,*ῌ --+ . (C῍ E) evolutionῌ Essays in honor of Prof. Chungchien Zhu, R.X., Ho# man, K.A., Potts, R., Deng, C.L., Pan, Y. Young on the hundredth anniversary of his birth : X., Guo, B., Shi, C.D., Guo, Z.T., Yuan, B.Y., Hou, Y.M. +3-ῌ ,*1, China Ocean Press. (C῍ E) and Huang, W.W. (,**+ ) Earliest presence of hu- Yang, Z.G., Lin, H.M., Zhang, G.W. and Wang, S.J. mans in northeast Asia. Nature,.+- , .+-ῌ .+1 . (+330 ) Lower Pleistocene in the Nihewan Basin. Zhu, R.X., Potts, R., Xie, F., Ho# man, K.A., Deng, C.L., Yang, Z.G. and Lin, H.M. (eds.) Quaternary strati- Shi, C.D., Pan, Y.X., Wang, H.Q., Shi, R.P., Wang, Y. graphy in China and its international correlation : C., Shi, G.H. and Wu, N.Q. (,**. ) New evidence on +*3ῌ +-*, Geological Publishing House. (C) the earliest human presence at high northern lati- You, Y.Z., Tang, Y.J. and Li, Y. (+32* ) Discovery of the tudes in northeast Asia. Nature, .-+ , //3ῌ /0, . paleoliths from the Nihewan Formation. Quater- naria Sinica,/+++ ,ῌ . (C) (C) in Chinese, (C῍ E) in Chinese with English ab- Young, C.C. (+3-. ) On the Insectivora, Chiroptera, Ro- stract or summary. 92 Zhang, Y.Q., Kawamura, Y. and Cai, B.Q. April ,**2

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