Taxonomy, age and environment status of the Yuanmou hominoids

The taxonomy, age and environment status of the Yuanmou hominoids had been contro-versial since their discovery. We launched new ex-cavations and investigations in the Yuanmou Basin and analyzed both old and newly collected data. We conclude that all hominoids from the Yuanmou Basin and the so-called Pliocene hominids can be attributed into a single species, and its valid nomination is Lufengpithecus hudienensis. It is different from Lufengpithecus lufengensis and Lufengpithecus kei-yuanensis. Based on the faunal comparison and pa-leomagnetic correlation, the strata yielding the Yuanmou hominoids are older than those of Lufeng hominoids and younger than those of the Kaiyuan hominoids. The age of the Yuanmou hominoids is Late Miocene. The environments of the Yuanmou hominoids were subtropical, hilly, with some dense forestry and partial transitional bushes and seasonal climate.