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The first Sinomastodon (Gomphotheriidae, Proboscidea) skull from the Quaternary in China

Chinese Science Bulletin volume 57, pages 4726–4734 (2012)Cite this article

Abstract

The first Sinomastodon (Gomphotheriidae, Proboscidea) skull of the Early Pleistocene, collected from the Renzidong Cave deposits in Anhui Province, Eastern China, is described here as S. jiangnanensis sp. nov. As the only brevirostrine trilophodont gomphotheriid known from the Old World, Sinomastodon was mainly indigenous to China from the Early Pliocene to the Pleistocene. Compared with a few single Pleistocene teeth previously found in China, S. jiangnanensis sp. nov. is represented by a relatively complete skull, mandible and dentition, which is the first discovery of a Quaternary Sinomastodon skull from China. With a brevirostrine, elephant-like skull, no lower tusks, and simple bunodont and trilophodont intermediate molars, the new species is morphologically distinct from other gomphotheres and should belong to the genus Sinomastodon. The new species is more progressive than S. hanjiangensis and the Pliocene type species S. intermedius in its skull and mandible morphology, but is evidently more primitive than the Pleistocene S. yangziensis in its molar morphology. The faunal analysis suggests that the emergence of S. jiangnanensis sp. nov. in Jiangnan area and its southward migration may have been related to a cooling event at the beginning of the Quaternary in Eastern China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China

    Yuan Wang, ChangZhu Jin & YaLing Yan

  2. Department of Geosciences and Don Sundquist Center of Excellence in Paleontology, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN, 37614, USA

    Yuan Wang

  3. State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China

    ChengLong Deng

  4. Chongqing Three Gorges Institute of Paleoanthropology, China Three Gorges Museum, Chongqing, 400015, China

    GuangBiao Wei

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  1. Yuan Wang
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  2. ChangZhu Jin
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Correspondence to Yuan Wang.

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Wang, Y., Jin, C., Deng, C. et al. The first Sinomastodon (Gomphotheriidae, Proboscidea) skull from the Quaternary in China. Chin. Sci. Bull. 57, 4726–4734 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-012-5519-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-012-5519-y

Keywords

  • Gomphotheriidae
  • Sinomastodon
  • China
  • Renzidong Cave
  • Early Pleistocene