Early Pleistocene forerunners of Mammuthus-Coelodonta Faunal Complex in Nihewan Basin, North China

Abstract

The typical Mammuthus-Coelodonta Faunal Complex dominated the mid- and high latitudes of continental Eurasia during the Mid-Late Pleistocene; the dominant taxa include woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius), woolly rhino (Coelodonta antiquitatis), steppe bison (Bison priscus) and diverse horses (Equus spp.), etc. Recent excavations at the Early Pleistocene site Shanshenmiaozui in Nihewan Basin of North China resulted in the discoveries of rich mammalian fossils which include steppe mammoth (Mammuthus trogontherii), Nihowan woolly rhino (Coelodonta nihowanensis), archaic Chinese bison (Bison (Eobison) palaeosinensis) and rich collections of early horse fossil. In Nihewan Basin, a couple of sites (Xiashagou, Shanshenmiaozui and Yeniupo) yielded the Mammuthus-Coelodonta-Bison assemblage, which can be regarded as the closest ancestors of the Mammuthus - Coelodonta Faunal Complex or the forerunners of the later Mammuthus - Coelodonta Faunal Complex. Nihewan Basin bears the richest and most complete fossils of Early Pleistocene Coelodonta and Bison to date, and the juvenile specimens of M. trogontherii also represent the richest collection for its kind and its geologic age.