The first fossil record of Rhinoceros sondaicus from the Pleistocene of China
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    Abstract:

    Fossil rhinos of the genus Rhinoceros are commonly preserved in the Pleistocene strata in South China. In this paper, the morphological characteristics of Rhinoceros fossils found in Sanhe Cave were described, and compared with the related species from the Quaternary in South China, the fossils found in Southeast Asia and some current species. Based on aspects of dental morphology including size, together with some other evidence, the specimens found in Sanhe Cave are hereby interpreted as conspecific to the extant Javan rhinoceros Rhinoceros sondaicus. In the context of the relevant literature, the fossils of R. sondaicus discovered here should be the first report concerning R. sondaicus fossils from Pleistocene in China, and it is also the earliest record of the Javanese rhino in China. Morphological studies have shown that Rhinoceros fusuiensis, which was discovered in the the Yanliang Cave in Fusui, the Baikong Cave in the Liyu Mountain, and the Juyuan Cave in the Boyue Mountain from the beginning of the early Pleistocene, may be the direct ancestors of the Javanese rhinoceros. The discovery of the Javanese rhinoceros in Sanhe Cave further enriched the species abundance of the horned rhinoceros in South China and filled the gap in the lack of fossil records of this species in China.

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YAN Yaling, ZHANG Yang, JIN Changzhu, ZHANG Yingqi, WANG Yuan.2020. The first fossil record of Rhinoceros sondaicus from the Pleistocene of China[J]. Geological Review,66(1):198-206.

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History
  • Received:June 14,2019
  • Revised:November 27,2019
  • Adopted:
  • Online: January 17,2020
  • Published: