Abstract
Targeted prospecting and screening for microfossils has revealed rich small mammal assemblages at many stratigraphic levels from late Miocene through Pliocene to early Pleistocene formations of the Yushe Basin. The recovered rodents, lagomorphs, bats, and insectivorans include species of small body size not previously known from Yushe. These assemblages represent North China small mammal communities from about 6.5 to 2 Ma and may be used to characterize four land mammal stage/ages: Baodean, Gaozhuangian, Mazegouan , and Nihewanian. The fossil succession establishes diversity and stability in Pliocene small mammal faunas for Yushe Basin before significant turnover at the beginning of the Pleistocene. The Yushe Basin habitat was relatively moist, probably without strong annual temperature extremes, supporting high species diversity.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Lou Taylor, Jon Baskin, and Louis Jacobs, who gave generously of their time to refine the present text through their constructive reviews. We appreciate their efforts and those of all reviewers who consistently supported our efforts in producing this volume.
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Flynn, L.J., Wu, WY. (2017). Dynamic Small Mammal Assemblages of Yushe Basin. In: J. Flynn, L., Wu, WY. (eds) Late Cenozoic Yushe Basin, Shanxi Province, China: Geology and Fossil Mammals. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1050-1_16
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