First record of Machairodus aphanistus KAUP, 1833 (Carnivora, Felidae, Machairodontinae) in East Asia from a late Miocene deposit of the Linxia Basin, Gansu Province, China

ABSTRACT

A hemi-mandible specimen from a primitive machairodont from the early late Miocene deposit of the Shanzhuang locality (Linxia Basin, northwestern China) is described in this work. It is attributed to the species Machairodus aphanistus after detailed comparisons, as it fits well with the morphological and metrical features characteristic of that species, showing clear differences from other species of the genus. The record of M. aphanistus also confirms the age of the Shanzhuang locality, which is likely to correspond to the early late Vallesian. M. aphanistus was previously considered to be restricted to Europe, however, this study of the new specimen confirms the existence of M. aphanistus in China, and even possibly across East Asia. The discovery of East Asian evidence for this species has filled the gap between European and North American forms in terms of the immigration path of the primitive machairodontine.

Abbreviations

HMV: Hezheng Palaeozoological Museum, Gansu, China; IVPP: Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology, Beijing, China; IPS: Specimen number of the Institut Catalàde Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònomade Barcelona; HLMD: Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt, Germany; NMU: Neogene land Mammal Zones of China; MN: Neogene land Mammal Zones of Europe; c: lower canine; p: lower premolar; m: lower molar.

KEYWORDS:

• Machairodonts
• Pleistocene
• Biostratigraphy
• Paleobiogeography

Acknowledgments

Editor Dr. Gareth Dyke and two reviewers considerably improved our manuscript. Profs. Zhan-Xiang Qiu and Tao Deng (IVPP) support this research work. Dr. Qinqin Shi (IVPP) helped on R script, Dr. Jiao Ma (IVPP) helped in confirmation of some measurements. Dr. Lei Xia and Ms. Min Qu (Yunnan University) helped in modification of figures and references. We appreciate to their effort. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41902015, 41902001), State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology, CAS) (Grant No.193116), the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDB26030302, XDA20070203), the Special Research Program of Basic Science and Technology of the Ministry of Science and Technology (grant no. 2015FY310100), award of Youth Innovation Promotion Association, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. 2021069).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences [XDA20070203, XDB26030302]; National Natural Science Foundation of China [41902001, 41902015]; Special Research Program of Basic Science and Technology of the Ministry of Science and Technology [2015FY310100]; State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology, CAS) [193116]; Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS [2021069].