Farjand Arya, Fu Liya, Rummy Paul, Halaçlar Kazim, Wang Jian, You Qiong, Su Hui, Bi Shundong
Centre for Vertebrate Evolutionary Biology, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China.
Museum of Chuxiong Yi Nationality Autonomous Prefecture, Chuxiong, 675000, Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China.
Heliyon. 2024 Apr 26;10(9):e30072. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e30072. eCollection 2024 May 15.
This study reconstructs the Early Pleistocene paleoenvironment of the Yuanmou Basin through coproecology of the third member of the Yuanmou Formation. We examined 38 exceptionally well-preserved coprolites from a new fossil locality, and attributed the putative defecating agent to the hypercarnivorous diet canid, through geochemical and quantitative analyses. A new ichnogenus and ichnospecies, igen. et. isp. nov., was established based on distinctive characteristics. Multi-disciplinary analysis, including sediment palynology and lithostratigraphy, helped primarily reconstruct a significant climatic event during the early Pleistocene, coinciding with the emergence of Yuanmou Man during the fourth member of the Yuanmou Formation's deposition. The findings provide insights into coexistence between canids, hyaenas, hominoids, and other fauna, revealing a rich paleoecosystem and food chain in the region's history. This study contributes to understanding the complex ecological dynamics during this period in the Yuanmou Basin.
本研究通过元谋组第三段的粪化石群落重建了元谋盆地早更新世古环境。我们对一个新化石地点的38块保存异常完好的粪化石进行了研究,并通过地球化学和定量分析,将假定的排便者归因于食肉类犬科动物。基于独特特征建立了一个新的遗迹属和遗迹种,即新遗迹属及新遗迹种。包括沉积物孢粉学和岩石地层学在内的多学科分析,主要帮助重建了早更新世期间的一次重大气候事件,这与元谋人在元谋组第四段沉积期间的出现相吻合。这些发现为犬科动物、鬣狗、类人猿和其他动物之间的共存提供了见解,揭示了该地区历史上丰富的古生态系统和食物链。本研究有助于理解元谋盆地这一时期复杂的生态动态。