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- Title
The divergence and dispersal of early perissodactyls as evidenced by early Eocene equids from Asia.
- Authors
Bai, Bin; Wang, Yuan-Qing; Meng, Jin
- Abstract
The earliest perissodactyls are represented by some basal equoid fossils from Euramerica near the Paleocene/Eocene boundary. Unequivocal early equoids have yet to be reported from the early Eocene of Asia, although other groups of early perissodactyls were indeed present in Asia. Here we report the earliest Eocene Asian equid, Erihippus tingae gen. et sp. nov., based on partial specimens initially assigned to the ceratomorph Orientolophus hengdongensis, from the Hengyang Basin of Hunan Province, China. The specimens previously assigned to 'Propachynolophus' hengyangensis from the same Lingcha fauna are split and now reassigned as an ancylopod Protomoropus? hengyangensis and a brontothere Danjiangia lambdodon sp. nov. The nearly simultaneous appearance of equids, ceratomorphs, ancylopods, and brontotheres in the Hengyang Basin suggests that the four main groups of perissodactyls diverged as early as, or no later than, the beginning of the Eocene (about 56 Ma), and displayed different dispersal scenarios during the early Eocene. Bin Bai et al. report a simultaneous appearance of equids, ceratomorphs, ancylopods, and brontotheres from the earliest Eocene Lingcha Fauna of the Hengyang Basin, China. This study suggests that the four main groups of perissodactyls diverged as early as the beginning of Eocene, and displayed different dispersal scenarios during the early Eocene.
- Subjects
ASIA; EQUIDAE; PERISSODACTYLA; MAMMAL dispersal; EOCENE Epoch; PALEOCENE Epoch; FOSSIL classification
- Publication
Communications Biology, 2018, Vol 1, Issue 1, pN.PAG
- ISSN
2399-3642
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/s42003-018-0116-5