A newly discovered Gigantopithecus fauna from Sanhe Cave, Chongzuo, Guangxi, South China

Among the most important faunas in the Late Cenozoic, the Gigantopithecus faunas have received a good deal of attention. The Gigantopithecus fauna recently discovered in Sanhe Cave consists of more than 80 mammal species, including cf. Hominidae, Pongo sp., Hylobates sp., Sinomastodon yangziensis, Stegodon preorientalis, Cervavitus fenqii, Dicoryphochoerus ultimus and Sus xiaozhu. It is the southernmost Gigantopithecus fauna found so far in China. Its geological age is estimated to be Early Pleistocene based on the fauna and stratigraphic correlation. The significant increase in the estimated body sizes of Ailuropoda, Gigantopithecus and Tapirus shows that the Sanhe fauna is middle Early Pleistocene, later than those from Wushan and Liucheng (early Early Pleistocene). Paleomagnetic dating of the fossil-bearing strata in Sanhe Cave gives an age of approximately 1.2 Ma. The fauna is characterized by tropical-subtropical forest types, including Pongo sp., Tupaia sp., Ia sp., Typhlomys intermedius, etc., and it lacks Palaearctic types. It is a typical tropical forest fauna, suggesting an environment with a lush forest and a warm and humid climate. The discovery of the Sanhe Gigantopithecus fauna is significant for establishing the chronological stages of the Gigantopithecus faunas in China, and for discussing their origin, evolution and dynamics. Supported by Key Knowledge Innovation Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-106) and National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2006CB806400)     

A new orang-utan relative from the Late Miocene of Thailand

The fossil record of the living great apes is poor. New fossils from undocumented areas, particularly the equatorial forested habitats of extant hominoids, are therefore crucial for understanding their origins and evolution. Two main competing hypotheses have been proposed for orang-utan origins: dental similarities support an origin from Lufengpithecus, a South Chinese and Thai Middle Miocene hominoid; facial and palatal similarities support an origin from Sivapithecus, a Miocene hominoid from the Siwaliks of Indo-Pakistan. However, materials other than teeth and faces do not support these hypotheses. Here we describe the lower jaw of a new hominoid from the Late Miocene of Thailand, Khoratpithecus piriyai gen. et sp. nov., which shares unique derived characters with orang-utans and supports a hypothesis of closer relationships with orang-utans than other known Miocene hominoids. It can therefore be considered as the closest known relative of orang-utans. Ancestors of this great ape were therefore evolving in Thailand under tropical conditions similar to those of today, in contrast with Southern China and Pakistan, where temperate or more seasonal climates appeared during the Late Miocene.     

Juvenile hominoid cranium from the terminal Miocene of Yunnan, China

Fossil apes are known from several late Miocene localities in Yunnan Province, southwestern China, principally from Shihuiba (Lufeng) and the Yuanmou Basin, and represent three species of Lufengpithecus. They mostly comprise large samples of isolated teeth, but there are also several partial or complete adult crania from Shihuiba and a single juvenile cranium from Yuanmou. Here we describe a new, relatively complete and largely undistorted juvenile cranium from the terminal Miocene locality of Shuitangba, also in Yunnan. It is only the second ape juvenile cranium recovered from the Miocene of Eurasia and it is provisionally assigned to the species present at Shihuiba, Lufengpithecus lufengensis. Lufengpithecus has most often been linked to the extant orangutan, Pongo pygmaeus, but recent studies of the crania from Shihuiba and Yuanmou have demonstrated that this is unlikely. The new cranium reinforces the view that Lufengpithecus represents a distinct, late surviving lineage of large apes in the late Miocene of East Asia that does not appear to be closely affiliated with any extant ape lineage. It substantially increases knowledge of cranial morphology in Lufengpithecus and demonstrates that species of this genus represent a morphologically diverse radiation of apes, which is consistent with the dynamic tectonic and biotic milieu of southwestern China in the late Miocene.     

Enamel carbon isotope evidence of diet and habitat of Gigantopithecus blacki and associated mammalian megafauna in the Early Pleistocene of South China

Enamel stable carbon isotope analyses were conducted on the large fossil ape Gigantopithecus blacki and an associated mammalian megafauna from Longgudong Cave in Jianshi and Juyuandong Cave in Liucheng, South China. The range in δ13C values (-18.8‰ to -14.1‰) indicates that G. blacki and other large mammals fed on solely C3 biomass, and lived in forest habitats, and not open country or savannas. These results are consistent with other faunal and floral analyses for that time. The diet and habitat of G. blacki were significantly different from those of early hominins (Australopithecus and Paranthropus) from South and East Africa. Extinction of G. blacki probably was a result of forest habitat fragmentation and deterioration.     

Growth processes in teeth distinguish modern humans from Homo erectus and earlier hominins.

A modern human-like sequence of dental development, as a proxy for the pace of life history, is regarded as one of the diagnostic hallmarks of our own genus Homo. Brain size, age at first reproduction, lifespan and other life-history traits correlate tightly with dental development. Here we report differences in enamel growth that show the earliest fossils attributed to Homo do not resemble modern humans in their development. We used daily incremental markings in enamel to calculate rates of enamel formation in 13 fossil hominins and identified differences in this key determinant of tooth formation time. Neither australopiths nor fossils currently attributed to early Homo shared the slow trajectory of enamel growth typical of modern humans; rather, both resembled modern and fossil African apes. We then reconstructed tooth formation times in australopiths, in the approximately 1.5-Myr-old Homo erectus skeleton from Nariokotome, Kenya, and in another Homo erectus specimen, Sangiran S7-37 from Java. These times were shorter than those in modern humans. It therefore seems likely that truly modern dental development emerged relatively late in human evolution.     

Occurrence of Sciadopitys-like fossil wood （Coniferales） in the Jurassic of western Liaoning and its evolutionary implications

The genus Sciadopitys, containing a single species (S. verticillata), is the only extant representative of the Family Sciadopityaceae (Coniferales), and is a remarkable living fossil. Although some leafy fossils have been ascribed to Sciadopityaceae, fossil xylem material with a close affinity to this family is very rare, and there have been no fossils found showing both pith and primary xylem structures, which are of great importance for wood identification. Thus, it has been difficult to use fossils for the understanding of wood anatomy evolution in the sciadopityaceous plants over geological time. In this note we briefly report on Sciadopitys-like fossil wood found in the Middle Jurassic of western Liaoning, which bears well-preserved Protosciadopityoxylon-type secondary xylem, endarch primary xylem and heterogeneous pith. This is the first report of fossil specimens of the Sciadopityaceae with such detailed preservation of wood structures. The discovery provides precise anatomical evidence for reconstructing the evolu- tionary history and geographical distribution of Sciadopityaceae, as well as contributing to understanding of the fossil diversity of the Jurassic Yanliao Flora in northern China.     

Evolution of Miocene organic reefs and functions of algae’s reef-making in Xisha Islands

The data of lithology, mineralogy, lithoehemistry, palaeoorganism-palaeoecology of 455.25 m cores from Xichen-1 well have been obtained, the characteristics, types, models of fossil taphonomy and reef-making actions about different communities of 9 genera and 43 species algae have been discussed, and the evolution process of algae’s ecologic system from community succession to community replacement has been resumed. It is pointed out that organism evolution (phodophyta CorallinaceaeAethesolithon nanhaiensis community replaced by chlorophytsHalimeda, community) are related to palaeo-ocean changes (regression 135.51 m) from late period of earfy Miocene to middle Miocene. This conclusion is identical with the cycle curve of the global sequence, but different from the study of sediment basin area in the northern South China Sea.     

Extreme sexual dimorphism in a Miocene hominoid

Some Miocene hominoids may have been extremely sexually dimorphic for body size, inferred from the apparent dimorphism of dental and gnathic remains. But this has never been demonstrated convincingly for any fossil species because of small sample sizes, uncertainties about the number of species in most fossil samples, and the inability to reliably sex individual specimens. Here we demonstrate a case of extreme dental dimorphism, and presumed body-size dimorphism, in a Miocene hominoid sample in which these limitations have been overcome. Lufengpithecus lufengensis from the late Miocene site of Lufeng, China, was more dimorphic than the most dimorphic living hominoid, the orangutan, and may have been more dimorphic than any living anthropoid.     

Woody cover and hominin environments in the past 6 million years

The role of African savannahs in the evolution of early hominins has been debated for nearly a century. Resolution of this issue has been hindered by difficulty in quantifying the fraction of woody cover in the fossil record. Here we show that the fraction of woody cover in tropical ecosystems can be quantified using stable carbon isotopes in soils. Furthermore, we use fossil soils from hominin sites in the Awash and Omo-Turkana basins in eastern Africa to reconstruct the fraction of woody cover since the Late Miocene epoch (about 7 million years ago). (13)C/(12)C ratio data from 1,300 palaeosols at or adjacent to hominin sites dating to at least 6 million years ago show that woody cover was predominantly less than ～40% at most sites. These data point to the prevalence of open environments at the majority of hominin fossil sites in eastern Africa over the past 6 million years.     

Evolution of stomatal and trichome density of the Quercus delavayi complex since the late Miocene

A fossil oak species,Quercus tenuipilosa Q.Hu et Z.K.Zhou,is reported from the upper Pliocene Ciying Formation in Kunming,Yunnan Province,southwestern China.The establishment of this species is based on detailed morphologic and cuticular investigations.The fossil leaves are elliptic,with serrate margins on the apical half.The primary venation is pinnate,and the major secondary venation is craspedodromous.The tertiary veins are opposite or alternate-opposite percurrent with two branches.The stomata are anomocytic,occurring only on the abaxial epidermis.The trichome bases are unicellular or multicellular.The new fossil species shows the closest affinity with theextant Q.delavayi and the late Miocene Q.praedelavayi Y.W.Xing et Z.K.Zhou from the Xiaolongtan Formation of the Yunnan Province.All three species share similar leaf morphology,but differ with respect to trichome base and stomatal densities.Q.tenuipilosa.Q.praedelavayi,and Q.delavayi can be considered to constitute the Q.delavayi complex.Since the late Miocene,a gradual reduction in trichome base density has occurred in this complex.This trend is the opposite of that of precipitation,indicating that increased trichome density is not an adaptation to dry environments.The stomatal density(SD)of the Q.delavayi complex was the highest during the late Miocene,declined in the late Pliocene,and then increased during the present epoch.These values show an inverse relationship with atmospheric CO_2 concentrations,suggesting that the SD of the Q.delavayi complex may be a useful proxy for reconstruction of paleo-CO_2 concentrations.     

The oldest known anthropoid postcranial fossils and the early evolution of higher primates

The middle Eocene primate family Eosimiidae, which is known from sites in central and eastern China and Myanmar, is central to efforts to reconstruct the origin and early evolution of anthropoid or 'higher' primates (monkeys, apes and humans). Previous knowledge of eosimiid anatomy has been restricted to the dentition and an isolated petrosal bone, and this limited anatomical information has led to conflicting interpretations of early anthropoid phylogeny. Here we describe foot bones of Eosimias from the same middle Eocene sites in China that yield abundant dental remains of this primate. Tarsals of Eosimias show derived anatomical traits that are otherwise restricted to living and fossil anthropoids. These new fossils substantiate the anthropoid status of Eosimias and clarify the phylogenetic position of anthropoids with respect to other major primate clades. Early anthropoids possessed a mosaic of primitive and derived traits in their postcranial skeletons, reflecting their derivation from haplorhine ancestors that retained many prosimian-like features.     

Significance of enamel thickness in hominoid evolution

Enamel thickness has assumed unique importance in the debate about the hominid status of Ramapithecus, despite the fact that there is little agreement about the meaning of 'thick enamel' or the significance of enamel thickness for hominoid taxonomy. My aim here is to evaluate the usefulness of enamel thickness and microstructure as characteristics for determining the relationships of the later Miocene hominoids, based both on a quantitative study of enamel thickness in extant hominoids and four species of later Miocene Sivapithecus (including 'Ramapithecus') and on scanning electron microscope analysis of enamel microstructure. Four categories of enamel thickness are defined metrically here and have been related to enamel microstructure and developmental rates. Thin fast-formed (pattern 3) enamel represents the ancestral condition in hominoids; it increased developmentally to thick pattern 3 enamel in the great ape and human clade and that condition is primitively retained in Homo and in the fossil hominoid Sivapithecus (including 'Ramapithecus'). Enamel thickness has been secondarily reduced in the African apes and also, although at a different rate and extent, in the orang-utan. Thick enamel, previously the most important characteristic in arguments about the earliest hominid, does not therefore identify a hominid.     

Affinities of 'hyopsodontids' to elephant shrews and a Holarctic origin of Afrotheria

Macroscelideans (elephant shrews or sengis) are small-bodied (25-540 g), cursorial (running) and saltatorial (jumping), insectivorous and omnivorous placental mammals represented by at least 15 extant African species classified in four genera. Macroscelidea is one of several morphologically diverse but predominantly African placental orders classified in the superorder Afrotheria by molecular phylogeneticists. The distribution of modern afrotheres, in combination with a basal position for Afrotheria within Placentalia and molecular divergence-time estimates, has been used to link placental diversification with the mid-Cretaceous separation of South America and Africa. Morphological phylogenetic analyses do not support Afrotheria and the fossil record favours a northern origin of Placentalia. Here we describe fossil postcrania that provide evidence for a close relationship between North American Palaeocene-Eocene apheliscine 'hyopsodontid' 'condylarths' (early ungulates or hoofed mammals) and extant Macroscelidea. Apheliscine postcranial morphology is consistent with a relationship to other ungulate-like afrotheres (Hyracoidea, Proboscidea) but does not provide support for a monophyletic Afrotheria. As the oldest record of an afrothere clade, identification of macroscelidean relatives in the North American Palaeocene argues against an African origin for Afrotheria, weakening support for linking placental diversification to the break-up of Gondwana.     

Carbonate dissolution and deep-water paleoceanography of the South China Sea since the Middle Pleistocene

Based on the data of oxygen isotope, micropaleontology and paleomagnetism, we set up the detailed chronology of Core 17957-2 from the southern South China Sea and discuss the change of carbonate dissolution over the last 800 ka. Down-core variation of carbonate content records the “Pacific-type” cycle of higher glacial values and lower interglacial values, though the core lies above the modern lysocline. Carbonate dissolution indices indicate that several severe dissolution of CaCO₃happened during the transition from interglacial to glacial stages. Spectral analyses of these indices show that the carbonate dissolution periodicities are mainly made up of 500 ka and 100 ka. Compared with the cycles of carbonate dissolution of the Indian Ocean, the long-term (500-ka) periodicity reflects the characteristic of the deep-water circulation of the oceans.     

Two Jurassic salamanders with stomach contents from Inner Mongolia,China

Conchostracans and corixids are part of the diet of extant salamanders,an ecologically important fact in a lacustrine environment. Here we report their discovery in the guts of the aquatic Jurassic salamanders Jeholotriton paradoxus and Chunerpeton tianyiensis, formerly abundant at Daohugou,Ningcheng County,Inner Mongolia,China.This reveals something of the ecology of this im- portant,ancient,vertebrate and invertebrate assemblage.The new fossil evidence indicates the highly selective feeding of these Jurassic salamanders;Jeholotriton preyed only on juveniles of the conchostracan Euestheria luanpingensis,and Chunerpeton only on the corixid Yanliaocorixa chinensis.We can infer the dietary differences as a consequence of different jaw and hyoid structures; and thus niche partitioning in Jurassic salamanders.     

New hominid skull material from the late Miocene of Macedonia in northern Greece

Miocene hominoid material is very scarce and has previously only been reported as cranial fragments in the Old World. Here we describe a new specimen of Ouranopithecus macedoniensis, which consists of the right part of the face of an adult male with a portion of the frontal bone, a portion of the left part of the face and the maxilla with complete dentition except the right third molar. The characters of this specimen are not congruent with those of Sivapithecus and the pongids, but are more primitive and plesiomorphic for the recent hominid clade (Gorilla, Pan and Homo). The dental characters differ morphologically and metrically from those of the recent great apes and fit better with Australopithecus afarensis. Ouranopithecus now seems the best candidate forerunner of the Plio-pleistocene Homininae (Australopithecus and Homo). This specimen was discovered in September 1989, in the late Miocene deposits of central Macedonia (G.K., L. de B. and G.B.), and prepared by G.K. in Thessaloniki and G. Mouchelin in Poitiers. It comes from the new locality of Xirochori in the red sandstone of the Nea Messimbria formation. The fossil is the property of the University of Thessaloniki, Greece (catalogue number XIR-1).     

New fossil ommatid (Coleoptera: Archostemata: Ommatidae) from Jehol Biota of western Liaoning, China

In this paper one new genus and one new species of fossil ommatid, Odontomma trachylaena gen. et sp. nov., is described and illustrated from the Late Jurassic or Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation of western Liaoning, China. Based on wide epipleural space of elytron with several rows of cells, the new taxa is attributed to tribe Brochocoleini of Ommatidae and compared with genus Brochocoleus. Due to the fact that most other Chinese Mesozoic ommatids are not complete, the complete preservation of the new specimens reported here enabled us to determine the characteristics of the body of these ancient ommatid. Moreover, based on the well-preserved individual of this new genus, we may suppose the affinities of the new species with extant and extinct groups.     

Fertile organs andin situ spores of a matoniaceous fern from the Lower Jurassic of West Hubei

Fossil matoniaceous plants represented byPhlebopteris have been formerly described and illustrated from the Mesozoic of China mainly based on vegetative leaves, and no information is provided on the fine structure of fertile organs. Recent reinvestigation of the Hsiangchi Flora from the Lower Jurassic of West Hubei, China, obtained a rich collection of well preservedPhlebopteris specimens (both sterile and fertile). Studies onPhlebopteris polypodioides Brongniart using LM and SEM reveal not only the structures of sori and sporangia, but also the details ofin situ spores. Comparisons have been made between thein situ spores and other related fossil and extant matoniaceous spores, as well as the dispersed genera.     

The ecological sequence of Hipparion fauna in the middle reaches of the Yellow River during Neogene

The faunal ecological type and sequence in the Tertiary red clay indicate that Hipparion fauna during the period 7.4–6.1 Ma in the middle reaches of the Yellow River is composed mainly of dorcadoides and mixed types. This represents semiarid veld environment with small fluctuation. The fossil assemblages characterized by the abundance of gaudryi types and even the occurrence of some Hominoid and Chalicotherium indicate an obviously warm and humi period since 5.3 Ma. The fossil assemblages during 3.4 Ma show the typical steppe fauna representing dry climate. It is indicated by the changes of ecological sequence that the climatic conditions in Pliocene are drier than that in late Miocene. The clay-skin content of red clay, which has a synchronous change with faunal features, is a rather good replacing palaeoclimatic index.