Suid is one of the most common taxa among the Pleistocene mammalian fauna in China.However,its phylogenetic taxonomy and evolution are far from clear.The newly recovered suid fossil materials from the Early Pleistocen...Suid is one of the most common taxa among the Pleistocene mammalian fauna in China.However,its phylogenetic taxonomy and evolution are far from clear.The newly recovered suid fossil materials from the Early Pleistocene Shanshenmiaozui site in Nihewan Basin in North China provide new insight into the evolution of its kind in North China.The new materials include partial skulls and mandibles of males,and most of their teeth were preserved in situ.The specimens can be referred to the species Sus lydekkeri,which is the only species of Sus found in North China from the Early Pleistocene.The fossils of the once reported Pleistocene species“Potamochoerus chinhsienensis”should also be provisionally included in the species S.lydekkeri according to its form and size,which at least now excludes it from Potamochoerus.The species S.lydekkeri is very close to the extant species S.scrofa,and even was combined into the latter as a chronological subspecies by some authors,while its larger size,prominent preorbital fossa,backwardly positioned infraorbital foramen,frequently appearing verrucosic type(at least the intermediate type of the male lower canine),and simple crown structures support its validness as an independent species.The Early Pleistocene forms are characterized by a larger size,lower L/W ratio of cheekteeth,both upper and lower M3s having no more than three lobes,and the male lower canine is exclusively of a verrucosic type.Suid fossils are a very good indicator of paleoenvironments and paleoclimate.Both the northern and the southern faunas in China contain suid fossils throughout the Pleistocene Epoch,while the southern fauna has prominently more diversified taxa and more abundant fossil collections;whether that is caused by different origins or by environmental modifications is still not clear.展开更多
文摘Suid is one of the most common taxa among the Pleistocene mammalian fauna in China.However,its phylogenetic taxonomy and evolution are far from clear.The newly recovered suid fossil materials from the Early Pleistocene Shanshenmiaozui site in Nihewan Basin in North China provide new insight into the evolution of its kind in North China.The new materials include partial skulls and mandibles of males,and most of their teeth were preserved in situ.The specimens can be referred to the species Sus lydekkeri,which is the only species of Sus found in North China from the Early Pleistocene.The fossils of the once reported Pleistocene species“Potamochoerus chinhsienensis”should also be provisionally included in the species S.lydekkeri according to its form and size,which at least now excludes it from Potamochoerus.The species S.lydekkeri is very close to the extant species S.scrofa,and even was combined into the latter as a chronological subspecies by some authors,while its larger size,prominent preorbital fossa,backwardly positioned infraorbital foramen,frequently appearing verrucosic type(at least the intermediate type of the male lower canine),and simple crown structures support its validness as an independent species.The Early Pleistocene forms are characterized by a larger size,lower L/W ratio of cheekteeth,both upper and lower M3s having no more than three lobes,and the male lower canine is exclusively of a verrucosic type.Suid fossils are a very good indicator of paleoenvironments and paleoclimate.Both the northern and the southern faunas in China contain suid fossils throughout the Pleistocene Epoch,while the southern fauna has prominently more diversified taxa and more abundant fossil collections;whether that is caused by different origins or by environmental modifications is still not clear.
