Chalicotheriidae (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) from the Lufengpithecus locality of Lufeng, Yunnan Province, China

Abstract

Shihuiba in the Lufeng Basin, Yunnan Province, China, is a very important hominoid locality. Chalicotheriidae from this locality are referred to Anisodon yuanmouensis based on the size and morphology of the cheek teeth. This species has a variable protoloph on upper molars, a markedly ‘three-lophed’ structure on P4, longer M2 than M3 and narrower lower cheek teeth than other species in this genus. Including specimens described in this paper, this species has been found from the Yuanmou and Lufeng basins in Yunnan Province, China and the Irrawaddy Formation in Myanmar. Relationships within Anisodon are proposed wherein Anisodon salinus constitutes a sister group with Anisodon yuanmouensis. The absence of Anisodon to the north of the Tibetan Plateau likely indicates the uplift of the plateau to an elevation which prevented the free immigration of anisodonts during the Mid-Late Miocene. The appearance of Anisodon in the Lufeng hominoid fauna confirms a subtropical forest local environment.

Keywords::

• Chalicotheriidae
• Anisodon
• Lufeng
• Late Miocene

Acknowledgements

The first author wants to show his special thanks to Dr Margery C. Coombs (University of Massachusetts, USA) for her kindly help on studying chalicotheres. We thank Dr Zhijie Jack Tseng (American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA) for his improvement in English. Dr Martin Pickford (Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France) provided important references and Dr Olivier Chavasseau (Université de Poitiers, Poitiers, France) supplied the photos of the Anisodon mandible from Myanmar. The two reviewers' comments greatly improved the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 41430102]; the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences [grant number XDB03020104] the National Basic Research Program of China [grant number 2012CB821906] and the National Commission on Stratigraphy of China.