The micromammal fossils collected from the Shangzhuang Formation of the Linxia Basin,Gansu,are described here.The assemblage consists of 16 species of 13 genera belonging to 7 families,including one new species and on...The micromammal fossils collected from the Shangzhuang Formation of the Linxia Basin,Gansu,are described here.The assemblage consists of 16 species of 13 genera belonging to 7 families,including one new species and one taxon previously unknown from China.Among them 5 genera are Oligocene holdovers and 11 genera/species are known to make their first appearances in Early Miocene,indicating an Early Miocene age for the Gucheng Fauna.The absence of Oligocene survivors such as Tataromys,Yindirtemys,Eucricetodon and Tachyoryctoides,which usually occur in the Xiejian age of Early Miocene,and the presence of newcomers Protalactaga,Megacricetodon and Gobicricetodon,that made their first appearance only in the Shanwangian age of late Early Miocene,suggest that the Gucheng Fauna is of a later age of Early Miocene.The new species,Sinolagomys guchengensis,showing more derived morphology than in S.ulunguensis,seems to support an assessment of the fauna in Shanwangian age.Thus,the Gucheng Fauna may belong to late Early Miocene Shanwangian,partially equivalent to MN 3/4 of the European land mammal zonation.Ecological analysis of the fauna indicates that the palaeoecological condition of the Gucheng area might still be a predominantly arid shrub-steppe in late Early Miocene.展开更多
Linxia Basin is a late Cenozoic fault-block basin along the border between the Tibet plateau and the Loess plateau in Northwestern China. Its formation and sediments record may be directly affected by the structural d...Linxia Basin is a late Cenozoic fault-block basin along the border between the Tibet plateau and the Loess plateau in Northwestern China. Its formation and sediments record may be directly affected by the structural dynamics and the uplift of the Tibet Plateau. For this reason, we studied the mineral characteristics of the Maogou formation of Miocene sediments using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The XRD results showed that quartz, chlorite, illite, calcite, plagioclase, orthoclase, kaolinite, and trace palygorskite are present throughout the sequence of the cross-section in Linxia basin. In contrast, gypsum and ankerite occur occasionally in the upper portion of the Miocene deposits. The content of calcite varied with layers in the profile and was relatively concentrated in mudstone. Chlorite and illite were observed transforming into palygorskite under SEM observation. Based on the mineral characteristics and the change of mineral composition, especially the clay minerals, it could be inferred that an arid environment prevailed in the region with warm and cold intervals during Miocene time.展开更多
文摘The micromammal fossils collected from the Shangzhuang Formation of the Linxia Basin,Gansu,are described here.The assemblage consists of 16 species of 13 genera belonging to 7 families,including one new species and one taxon previously unknown from China.Among them 5 genera are Oligocene holdovers and 11 genera/species are known to make their first appearances in Early Miocene,indicating an Early Miocene age for the Gucheng Fauna.The absence of Oligocene survivors such as Tataromys,Yindirtemys,Eucricetodon and Tachyoryctoides,which usually occur in the Xiejian age of Early Miocene,and the presence of newcomers Protalactaga,Megacricetodon and Gobicricetodon,that made their first appearance only in the Shanwangian age of late Early Miocene,suggest that the Gucheng Fauna is of a later age of Early Miocene.The new species,Sinolagomys guchengensis,showing more derived morphology than in S.ulunguensis,seems to support an assessment of the fauna in Shanwangian age.Thus,the Gucheng Fauna may belong to late Early Miocene Shanwangian,partially equivalent to MN 3/4 of the European land mammal zonation.Ecological analysis of the fauna indicates that the palaeoecological condition of the Gucheng area might still be a predominantly arid shrub-steppe in late Early Miocene.
文摘Linxia Basin is a late Cenozoic fault-block basin along the border between the Tibet plateau and the Loess plateau in Northwestern China. Its formation and sediments record may be directly affected by the structural dynamics and the uplift of the Tibet Plateau. For this reason, we studied the mineral characteristics of the Maogou formation of Miocene sediments using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The XRD results showed that quartz, chlorite, illite, calcite, plagioclase, orthoclase, kaolinite, and trace palygorskite are present throughout the sequence of the cross-section in Linxia basin. In contrast, gypsum and ankerite occur occasionally in the upper portion of the Miocene deposits. The content of calcite varied with layers in the profile and was relatively concentrated in mudstone. Chlorite and illite were observed transforming into palygorskite under SEM observation. Based on the mineral characteristics and the change of mineral composition, especially the clay minerals, it could be inferred that an arid environment prevailed in the region with warm and cold intervals during Miocene time.
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2023YFF0804501)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.42102001)+1 种基金the R+D+I project PID2020-116220GB-I00 funded by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation(MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/)the Research Group UCM 910607.