Stegolophodon is an age-informative genus of mammals that had a widespread distribution during the Neogene.This paper reports the discovery of Stegolophodon fossils from the Middle Miocene lower Fotan Formation at the...Stegolophodon is an age-informative genus of mammals that had a widespread distribution during the Neogene.This paper reports the discovery of Stegolophodon fossils from the Middle Miocene lower Fotan Formation at the Zhangpu locality,Fujian Province,China.This discovery represents the first evidence of Neogene proboscidean fossils in southeastern China.The newly found molar materials have low tooth crowns,very straight lophs/lophids,and an indistinct median sulcus.The mesoconelets and posterior cingulum are well-developed,while the second posterior pretrite central conule is significantly reduced.These specimens closely resemble Stegolophodon pseudolatidens in cheek tooth morphology,and can thus be attributed to the same species.This discovery fills a gap in the fossil record of large mammals in this region during the Neogene and provides valuable insights into the evolution of proboscideans and paleoenvironments.展开更多
The southern of the Iberian Peninsula preserves a diverse ichnological record of vertebrates from the late Neogene-Quaternary.While the ages of several tracksites,such as those from the Miocene-Pliocene transition and...The southern of the Iberian Peninsula preserves a diverse ichnological record of vertebrates from the late Neogene-Quaternary.While the ages of several tracksites,such as those from the Miocene-Pliocene transition and the middle-late Pleistocene,are well-established,others remain undated or have unknown ages.This paper reports the discovery of the southernmost tracksite in the Iberian Peninsula and continental Europe on the Island of Tarifa(C adiz).The tracksite contains over 600 vertebrate footprints from the early Pleistocene that are grouped in four morphotypes.Morphotypes 1,2 and 3(M1,M2 and M3)are predominantly didactyl-shaped,rounded to ovoid and elongated,and associated with tracks left by artiodactyls.Morphotype4(M4),suboval to subcircular in outline,is the largest and is probably related to the imprint left by proboscideans.We also document the progressive transition from morphotype 2 with isolated,rounded footprints to morphotype 3 with elongated tracks formed by overlapping two tracks of the same animal which is observed.The consistency of the substrate,together with the trackmaker limb dynamics,conditioned the final morphology of the tracks,which were produced in a very soft clay-rich substrate of late Oligocene,that was folded and tilted in the latest Pliocene.This relief configuration gave rise to a narrow,partially or totally flooded corridor through which the trackmaker animals passed continuously,simultaneously,and in opposite ways.This discovery from the southernmost tip of continental Europe is the first one from the early Pleistocene in the Iberian Peninsula and a rare example from the Mediterranean region.展开更多
文摘Stegolophodon is an age-informative genus of mammals that had a widespread distribution during the Neogene.This paper reports the discovery of Stegolophodon fossils from the Middle Miocene lower Fotan Formation at the Zhangpu locality,Fujian Province,China.This discovery represents the first evidence of Neogene proboscidean fossils in southeastern China.The newly found molar materials have low tooth crowns,very straight lophs/lophids,and an indistinct median sulcus.The mesoconelets and posterior cingulum are well-developed,while the second posterior pretrite central conule is significantly reduced.These specimens closely resemble Stegolophodon pseudolatidens in cheek tooth morphology,and can thus be attributed to the same species.This discovery fills a gap in the fossil record of large mammals in this region during the Neogene and provides valuable insights into the evolution of proboscideans and paleoenvironments.
基金supported by the R+D+i Project PCM-00096,the Project PID2019-104625RB-100funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033+1 种基金the grants to the Research Group RNM276(Junta de Andalucía)the CCTH from University of Huelva。
文摘The southern of the Iberian Peninsula preserves a diverse ichnological record of vertebrates from the late Neogene-Quaternary.While the ages of several tracksites,such as those from the Miocene-Pliocene transition and the middle-late Pleistocene,are well-established,others remain undated or have unknown ages.This paper reports the discovery of the southernmost tracksite in the Iberian Peninsula and continental Europe on the Island of Tarifa(C adiz).The tracksite contains over 600 vertebrate footprints from the early Pleistocene that are grouped in four morphotypes.Morphotypes 1,2 and 3(M1,M2 and M3)are predominantly didactyl-shaped,rounded to ovoid and elongated,and associated with tracks left by artiodactyls.Morphotype4(M4),suboval to subcircular in outline,is the largest and is probably related to the imprint left by proboscideans.We also document the progressive transition from morphotype 2 with isolated,rounded footprints to morphotype 3 with elongated tracks formed by overlapping two tracks of the same animal which is observed.The consistency of the substrate,together with the trackmaker limb dynamics,conditioned the final morphology of the tracks,which were produced in a very soft clay-rich substrate of late Oligocene,that was folded and tilted in the latest Pliocene.This relief configuration gave rise to a narrow,partially or totally flooded corridor through which the trackmaker animals passed continuously,simultaneously,and in opposite ways.This discovery from the southernmost tip of continental Europe is the first one from the early Pleistocene in the Iberian Peninsula and a rare example from the Mediterranean region.
