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New Evidence from the Middle Miocene Locality Damiao, Inner Mongolia, China

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New Evidence from the Middle Miocene Locality Damiao, Inner Mongolia, China Palaeoenvironments of the Pliopithecoid primates - New evidence from the middle Miocene locality Damiao, Inner Mongolia, China LEENA SUKSELAINEN ACADEMIC DISSERTATION To be presented, with the permission of the Faculty of Science of the University of Helsinki, for public examination in Auditorium XII, University main building, on December 10th 2016, at 12 noon. DEPARTMENT OF GEOSCIENCES AND GEOGRAPHY A46 / HELSINKI 2016 © Leena Sukselainen (synopsis and Paper III) © Elsevier (Paper I) © Vertebrata PalAsiatica (Paper II) Cover photo: Leena Sukselainen Author´s address: Leena Sukselainen Department of Geosciences and Geography P.O.Box 64, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland OHHQDVXNVHODLQHQ#KHOVLQNL¿ Supervised by: Professor Mikael Fortelius Department of Geosciences and Geography University of Helsinki, Finland Professor Terry Harrison Center for the Study of Human Origins New York University, USA Dr. Anu Kaakinen Academy research fellow Department of Geosciences and Geography University of Helsinki, Finland Reviewed by: Professor Yutaka Kunimatsu Faculty of Business Administration Ryukoku University, Japan Docent Suvi Viranta-Kovanen Institute of Biomedicine University of Helsinki, Finland Opponent: Dr. Lawrence J. Flynn Assistant director Peabody Museum, Harvard University, USA ISSN 1798-7911 ISBN 978-951-51-1365-8 (paperback) ISBN 978-951-51-1366-5 (PDF) KWWSHWKHVLVKHOVLQNL¿ Helsinki University Print Helsinki 2016 Sukselainen L., 2016. Palaeoenvironments of the Pliopithecoid primates - New evidence from the middle Miocene locality Damiao, Inner Mongolia, China. Helsinki University Press. Helsinki. 33 SDJHVDQG¿JXUHV Abstract Pliopithecoidea is an extinct and diverse super- isotope analyses. The aim is to understand the family of primitive catarrhine primates with no presence of humid-favouring pliopithecoid pri- NQRZQ GHVFHQGDQWV 7KH\ ¿UVW DSSHDU LQ WKH mates in central Asia after the middle Miocene fossil record in the late early Miocene China, climatic optimum (MMCO; ca. 17–15 Ma). The ca. 18–17 million years ago (Ma). They were reason this is interesting is because it seems to widely distributed throughout Eurasia between contradict the general trend of strengthening cli- FDDQG0DDQGZHUHDPRQJWKH¿UVWSUL- matic zonality and increasing aridity from the mates to be discovered and described. Despite early Miocene onwards. their wide distribution, pliopithecoids are rarely The results show that pliopithecoids inhabit- found together with the contemporaneous and ed more humid environments than other contem- equally widely distributed hominoid primates. porary primate groups, suggesting an inability The latest known occurrence of pliopithecoids to adapt to changing environmental conditions. is also from China where they co-existed with The conservative nature of pliopithecoid adapta- hominoids in the late Miocene ca 6.9–6.2 Ma. tions seems to have restricted the co-occurrence Continuing climatic deterioration and dispersal of pliopithecoids and hominoids, and has been of cercopithecoid primates from Africa may have therefore rarely documented. The study also sug- contributed to their demise. gests that direct ecometric analysis gives a bet- The main objective of this study is to pro- ter separation of the ecological preferences of duce new information on pliopithecoids, their these primates than do analyses of taxonomi- environments, as well as on environmental con- cally based community structure. ditions in Eurasia during the Miocene (23–5.3 The results in Damiao support previous infer- Ma), with a special focus on the middle Miocene ences concerning the presence of locally humid Inner Mongolian locality of Damiao. These goals environments within the increasingly arid sur- DUHDSSURDFKHG¿UVWE\LQVSHFWLQJWKHGLIIHUHQFHV roundings that characterized Central Asia. En- between pliopithecoid localities and other con- vironments within the DM01 locality may have temporaneous localities with particular focus on been more humid and possibly more forested the rare localities of co-occurring pliopithecoid and wooded, as suggested by hypsodonty, esti- and hominoid primates. To do this we used both mated mean annual precipitation (MAP), local traditional ecological diversity analysis as well as sedimentology and large mammal fossils. We direct ecometric method based on hypsodonty in compared our results with the adjacent fossil-rich mammalian herbivores. A closer examination of middle Miocene Tunggur localities. However, the Inner Mongolian pliopithecoid locality, Da- the small mammal fauna and isotope data are miao, will follow, using small mammal tapho- consistent with a mosaic of forest and grassland nomy, faunal similarity, ecometrics, and stable environment for all Damiao localities. Based on DEPARTMENT OF GEOSCIENCES AND GEOGRAPHY A46 our results, Tunggur may have been too season- FXPXODWHGE\SUHGDWRUVDQGGHSRVLWHGLQDÀXYLDO DORUQRWVXI¿FLHQWO\KXPLGIRUSOLRSLWKHFRLGV VHWWLQJ6RPHUHZRUNLQJE\ÀXYLDOSURFHVVWRRN This idea is supported by the higher mean hyp- place in DM01 and DM02. DM16 represents sodonty and lower predicted MAP estimates, as WKHGLVWDOSDUWRIWKHÀRRGSODLQ'0SRUWUD\V ZHOODVVOLJKWO\KLJKHUį13C values. We suggest DFKDQQHO¿OODQG'0LVDUHVXOWRIDQHSL- that DM01, the driest known Asian pliopithecoid VRGLFÀRRGGLVFKDUJHWRWKHÀRRGSODLQ:HDOVR locality, may have been a more humid refugium show that systematic excavation for small mam- within a generally drier regional context. mals is possible, and allows for the reduction of The bone material in Damiao was mainly ac- some of the damage collecting always causes. 4 Tiivistelmä Pliopithecoidea on sukuputtoon kuollut mon- korkeuteen. Sisä-Mongolian pliopithecoid- imuotoinen yläheimo primitiivisiä kapeanenäap- löytöpaikan, Damiaon, paleoympäristoöjä inoihin (Catarrhini) kuuluvia kädellisiä, joilla tutkitaan tarkemmin piennisäkkäiden tafo- ei ole tunnettuja jälkeläisiä. Ensimmäiset plio- nomian, nisäkäslajiston samankaltaisuuden, pithecoidit fossiiliaineistossa on löydetty Kiinas- ekometrian sekä hapen ja hiilen pysyviä ta ja ne ajoittuvat varhaisen mioseeniepookin isotooppien avulla. Työn tavoitteena on lopulle noin 18–17 miljoonan vuoden taakse ymmärtää syitä kädellisten esiintymiselle (Ma). Tämän kädellisryhmän edustajat olivat Damiaossa: kosteita alueita suosivien plio- laajasti levinneet läpi Euraasian noin 17–7 Ma pithecoid-kädellisten esiintyminen Keski- ja olivat ensimmäisten löydettyjen sekä kuvat- Aasiassa mioseeniepookin ilmasto-optimin tujen kädellisten joukossa. Huolimatta laajasta (noin 17–15 Ma) jälkeen näyttäisi olevan levinneisyydestään, pliopithecoideja on harvoin ristiriidassa mioseenin yleisen ilmaston kehi- löydetty yhdessä samanaikaisten ja levinnei- tyksen kanssa, jota leimasi vähittäinen keski- syydeltään vastaavanlaisten hominoidien kans- leveysasteiden kuivuminen ja ilmaston muut- sa. Myös viimeisimmät tunnetut pliopithecoidit tuminen vyöhykkeisemmäksi mioseenin tulevat Kiinasta, myöhäismioseenin (noin 6,9– alkupuolesta lähtien. 6,2 Ma) Lufengista, joka oli myös yksi har- Tulokset osoittavat, että pliopithecoidit voista pliopithecoidien ja hominoidien yhteise- asuttivat kosteampia ympäristöjä kuin muut siintymistä. Ilmasto-olojen jatkuva muutos sekä saman ajan kädellisryhmät, mikä viittaa ni- vanhan maailman häntäapinoiden (Cercopithe- iden kyvyttömyyteen sopeutua muuttuviin coidea) leviäminen Afrikasta saattoivat osaltaan ympäristöolosuhteisiin, mikä puolestaan vaikuttaa pliopithecoidien sukupuuttoon. näyttääkin olleen rajoittava tekijä niiden Tämän tutkimuksen päätarkoituksena ja hominoidien yhteisesiintymisissä,. Tut- on tuottaa uutta tietoa pliopithecoideista, kimuksessa selvisi myös, että suora ekomet- niiden elinympäristöistä sekä Euraasian rinen analyysi erottelee paremmin ekologiset ympäristöolosuhteista mioseeniepookissa mieltymykset kuin taksonomiaan perustuva (23–5,3 Ma). Tutkimuksen painopiste on yhdyskuntarakenneanalyysi. keskimioseenisessa Damiaon löytöpaikassa Damiaosta saadut tulokset tukevat aikais- Kiinan Sisä-Mongoliassa. Työssä tarkastel- empia päätelmiä, joiden mukaan Keski-Aa- laan ensin pliopithecoid-löytöpaikkojen ja sian jatkuvasti kuivuvassa ympäristössä oli muiden samanikäisten löytöpaikkojen eroja paikallisesti kosteita alueita. Sisä-Mongolian keskittyen erityisesti pliopithecoidien ja pliopithecoid-löytöpaikka, DM01, on saat- hominoidien harvinaisiin yhteisesiintymi- tanut olla kosteampi, rehevämpi ja metsäis- siin. Löytöpaikkojen eroavaisuuksia tutki- empi hypsodontia-analyysien ja niiden pe- taan käyttämällä perinteistä ekologista di- rustella arvioidun keskimääräisen vuotuisen versiteettianalyysiä sekä suoraa ekometristä sademäärän (MAP), paikallisen sedimentolo- menetelmää, hypsodontiaa, joka perustuu gian sekä suurnisäkäslajiston perusteella kuin kasvinsyöjänisäkkäiden poskihampaiden ympäröivät alueet. Saatuja tuloksa verrattiin 5 DEPARTMENT OF GEOSCIENCES AND GEOGRAPHY A46 viereiseen fossiilirikkaaseen keskimioseeni- ovat pääasiassa petojen kasaamia ja kerros- seen Tunggurin löytöpaikkaan. Piennisäkäsl- WXQHHW ÀXYLDDOLVHVVD \PSlULVW|VVl 1XRULP- ajisto ja isotooppiaineisto viittaavat mosaiik- milla löytöpaikoilla (DM01 ja DM02) on kimaisen metsä-ruohomaa ympäristön olleen jälkiä virtaavan veden uudelleenmuokkauk- vallitseva kaikilla Damiaon löytöpaikoilla. sesta. Vanhin löytöpaikka DM16 edustaa Tutkimustulosten perusteella Tunggur saat- tulvatasangon distaalia osaa; keskimioseenin toi olla ilmastoltaan liian kausiluontoinen pliopihtecoid-löytöpaikka DM01 edustaa tai ei ollut riittävän kostea pliopithecoideille. uoman täytettä; ja DM02
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