Protalactaga major, CHINESE NEOGENE RODENT FAUNAS

ZHUDING, QIU & CHUANKUEI, LI, 2003, Chapter 22: Rodents from the Chinese Neogene: Biogeographic Relationships with Europe and North America, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 279, pp. 586-602 : 588-590

MAJOR CHINESE NEOGENE RODENT FAUNAS

Neogene rodent localities are centered largely in northern and northwestern China, scattered in southwestern areas and the area between the Yangtze River and the Huai River, but so far not known in southeastern and northeastern parts of China. A set of local rodent faunas in central Inner Mongolia and the middle part of the Yellow River valley characterize very well the history of Chinese Neogene rodents in North China. The best representative and highly significant Neogene local faunas are the Suosuoquan fauna, Xiejia fauna, Sihong fauna, Tunggur fauna, Amuwusu fauna, Shihuiba fauna of Lufeng, Yushe faunas, Ertemte fauna, Wenwanggou faunas of Lingtai, Bilike fauna, Daodi fauna, and Wushan fauna.

The Suosuoquan fauna has been variously considered late Oligocene ( Tong et al., 1995) and early Miocene ( Qiu and Qiu, 1995; Qiu et al., 1999). It is here referred to the earliest Neogene fauna of China because the nine rodents associated with other mammals are derived species of the genera present in latest Oligocene faunas, such as at Taben­buluk.

The Xiejia fauna well represents the early Miocene in northwestern China, and contains survivors of endemic Oligocene forms, but with definitely advanced species characters ( Li and Qiu, 1980). The species of Parasminthus in this fauna shows more derived morphology than that of Suosuoquan.

The Sihong (Xiacaowan or Hsiatsaowan) fauna, consisting of 17 species of rodents from the Songlinzhuang, Zhengji, and Shuanggou sites, represents the very few early Miocene assemblages of eastern China ( Li et al., 1983). It is composed of quite a number of rodents and other mammals either particular to the present Palearctic region or distributed over the Oriental region and tropical/ subtropical areas today. The fauna is closely related to the early Miocene Li Mae Long fauna of Thailand.

The Third Central Asiatic Expedition organized by the American Museum of Natural History initially investigated the Tunggur fauna. The site was re­collected by Chinese paleontologists in 1986, who recovered 21 rodent taxa to be added to the so­called Platybelodon fauna. This is the most diverse and abundant middle Miocene fauna known in China and all of Asia ( Stirton, 1934, 1935; Wood, 1936; Li, 1963; Qiu, 1996a).

The Amuwusu fauna (19 taxa) contains either Tunggurian relict forms or very primitive Baodean elements ( Qiu and Wang, 1999), and is considered an earliest late Miocene fauna in China.

The Shihuiba fauna from the Lufeng hominoid locality, including 19 species of rodents, is the best represented late Miocene fauna in South China. It exhibits a quite different composition from that of the contemporary faunas of North China and is obviously Oriental in character ( Qiu et al., 1985).

The Ertemte fauna was first discovered in 1919 and studied by Schlosser in 1924. Recollection in 1980 added a rodent fauna with up to 32 forms and made it the richest fauna among the numerous late Miocene rodent assemblages in North China ( Schlosser, 1924; Fahlbusch et al., 1983). It reflects a typical temperate steppe or forest–grassland environment, like that of the present day Palearctic province.

The Yushe faunas (containing Mahui, Gaozhuang, Mazegou, and Haiyan assemblages) and Wenwanggou fauna, spanning from about 6–7 Ma to 2 Ma, have long composites of successive rodents and magnetostratigraphic control ( Flynn, 1993, 1997; Flynn et al., 1995, 1997; Zheng and Zhang, 2000). They have the potential to provide a key reference for the late Neogene faunas of North China.

The Bilike fauna, containing 30 rodents, shows strong similarities with the Ertemte fauna and represents, on the whole, a sort of modernized Ertemte fauna ( Qiu and Storch, 2000).

The Daodi fauna is a younger Neogene assemblage with 13 well­represented rodents and one of the best records of a late Pliocene small mammal community in North China ( Cai, 1987).

The Wushan fauna from cave deposits of Central China consists of 30 rodents. It was considered Pleistocene in age by Zheng in 1993. The assemblage represents the youngest Neogene fauna, that is, late Pliocene rather than Pleistocene in age, if the age interpretation of 2 Ma for the locality is correct ( Huang and Fang, 1991).