The Oldest Cranium of Sinomastodon (Proboscidea, Gomphotheriidae), Discovered in the Uppermost Miocene of Southwestern China: Implications for the Origin and Migration of This Taxon
The Oldest Cranium of Sinomastodon (Proboscidea, Gomphotheriidae), Discovered in the Uppermost Miocene of Southwestern China: Implications for the Origin and Migration of This Taxon
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DOI：
10.1007/s10914-015-9311-z
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发表时间：
2016-11
影响因子：
1.9
通讯作者：
Shi-Qi Wang;X. Ji;N. Jablonski;Denise F. Su;J. Ge;Changping Ding;Tengsong Yu;Wenqi Li;J. Duang
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Shi-Qi Wang;X. Ji;N. Jablonski;Denise F. Su;J. Ge;Changping Ding;Tengsong Yu;Wenqi Li;J. Duang
关于中国乳齿象的起源问题一直存在着激烈的争论。本文报道的中国乳齿象头盖骨的发现，支持了其地方性起源，并反驳了其北美起源的流行理论。新发现的颅骨产于中国西南部的水塘坝地区，其年代约为6.5- 6.0Ma，相当于中新世晚期。新发现的中国乳齿象化石表明，中国乳齿象在中国西南部和东南亚地区经历了一个漫长的演化过程。该物种的遗骸经常伴随着剑齿虎科物种的遗骸。这两个群体可能有一个相似的迁移路线，在中新世晚期入侵中国北方和日本，并在上新世末从古北界撤退或灭绝。长鼻虫的迁移可能是由主要的古环境变化引发的，即，中新世晚期（~7-8 Ma）开始的夏季风加强和上新世中期至更新世早期冰盖扩张导致的全球变冷。这一新发现揭示了中国北方上新世早期动物群与中国西南部中新世晚期动物群的密切关系，从而为中国北方上新世动物群的起源和组成提供了新的认识。
The origin of the Old World brevirostrine gomphotheriid taxonSinomastodonhas been debated intensively. The discovery of the oldest knownSinomastodoncranium, reported herein, supports its endemic origin and contradicts the prevalent theory of its North America origin. The new cranium was discovered from the Shuitangba locality, southwestern China, and is dated at about 6.5–6.0 Ma, corresponding to the latest Miocene. The new specimen shows distinct characters from the other species ofSinomastodonand was therefore namedSinomastodon praeintermedius, sp. nov. Newly discovered, isolatedSinomastodon-like teeth from the upper Miocene to the lower Pleistocene of southwestern China and Southeast Asia indicate a long evolution ofSinomastodonendemically. Remains of this species are frequently accompanied by those of stegodontid species. These two groups may have had a similar migration route, invading northern China and Japan during the latest Miocene, and retreating or becoming extinct from the Palearctic realm by the end of the Pliocene. The migrations of proboscideans may have been sparked by major paleoenviromental changes, i.e., the strengthened summer monsoon beginning in the late Miocene (~7–8 Ma) and global cooling due to the expansion of ice sheets from the middle Pliocene to the early Pleistocene. The new finding reveals a close relationship of the early Pliocene fauna of northern China and the latest Miocene fauna of southwestern China, and thus provides novel insight into the origin and components of Pliocene fauna in northern China.