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This chapter analyzes the existing stages/ages in the Chinese Neogene in relation to the current widely adopted approaches in terrestrial stratigraphy (Neogene Mammal unit [MN] and North American Land Mammal Age [NALMA]) and from the point of view of the International Stratigraphic Guides. More specifically, it discusses the principles, methods, and working procedures used for the establishment of Chinese stages/ages in the past. It also examines some issues in Neogene land mammal stratigraphy, with particular emphasis on the use of terrestrial mammal fossils vs. marine microfossils as tools of stratigraphic subdivision, and the zoogeographic division of Chinese Neogene land mammals. The chapter proposes a new Neogene chronostratigraphic framework that it deems to be more consistent with the reality of the state of research and conditions in China, to be used as a foundation for the establishment of a formal Chinese Regional Land Mammal Stage/Age system.

This chapter analyzes the Neogene succession of the Muridae and Dipodidae families of rodents from Anatolia, with particular emphasis on taxa known from Asia and/or Europe. The latest Oligocene/earliest Miocene assemblages contain seven genera that are neither known from older levels nor from other areas. These genera might be immigrants from the Iranian block. This chapter begins with an overview of the Early Miocene assemblages of Muridae and Dipodidae, along with their assemblages in the Middle and Late Miocene as well as Pliocene. It then describes the biostratigraphical correlation of the assemblages of Muridae and Dipodidae from Anatolia with successions from Europe and China. It also examines the distribution patterns and migrations of Neogene Muridae and Dipodidae.

This chapter examines the assembly of modern faunas in South America during the Neogene period. It presents a Brooks Parsimony Analysis (BPA) of published species-level phylogenies for freshwater fishes of tropical South America. The result indicates that the taxonomic composition of the modern river basins predates the rise of the Michicola, Fitzcarrald, and Vaupes Arches that fragmented the Sub-Andean Foreland. The findings also suggest that the semipermeable watershed barriers facilitated a mosaic assembly of regional species pools, intermittently separating and mixing the faunas of adjacent basins.

While the Neogene record of fossil mammals in Africa is considerably more substantial than that of the Paleogene, it remains far from the relative completeness of the record in, for example, Europe and North America. Many West and Central African countries are completely devoid of a Neogene mammal record, while other countries have only a handful of localities that at best serve as a modest window into what might exist there. Even in regions or countries where there is a record, such as South Africa, that record is very uneven. In some regions, such as the Turkana Basin of northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia, the dating is unsurpassed. In other regions, such as the Miocene of southern and northern Africa, dating is poor and controversial, dependent mainly on biochronologic correlations with faunas outside Africa. Finally, the dating of karstic cave sites such as the australopithecine sites in Gauteng and Limpopo provinces of South Africa is notoriously difficult and rife with controversy. This chapter provides a brief overview of several African sites that have yielded mammalian fossils and their chronology.

The order Insectivora was formerly used to comprise a miscellany of eutherians with primitive characters, thought to be relatively little modified descendants from the ancestral eutherian stock. Subsequent investigations of eutherian phylogeny have resulted in the removal of a number of insectivoran families to separate orders. The African families consist of the Macroscelididae (order Macroscelidea), Tenrecidae, Chrysochloridae (order Tenrecoidea), Erinaceidae, and Soricidae. Erinaceidae and Soricidae have a wide distribution outside Africa, with a fossil record going back to the Eocene, but they appear in Africa only in the Miocene, as immigrants. This chapter describes the systematic paleontology of Neogene Insectivora.

Most of western California was still underwater during the Paleogene, as evidenced by marine fossils, but continued to form and emerge throughout the Cenozoic. Fossil evidence indicates the first archaic mammals appeared in the Jurassic Period of the Mesozoic, approximately 225–210 Ma. Mammalia and Aves, evolutionarily constrained by predation and competition from non-avian Archosaurians, were already present in California and adaptively radiated throughout the Cenozoic across a diverse landscape. Migration among the northern continents was extensive during the early Paleogene. Generally, Paleogene California hosted a warm-humid climate and associated vegetation. The Miocene was a time of major change throughout the California landscape. Around 23 Ma, North America crashed into South America, forming the minor supercontinent America. Throughout the late Neogene, sea levels fluctuated with glaciations into the late Pleistocene. These fluctuations resulted in extinctions of estuary biota from the Miocene and Pliocene and the input of new biota from other areas. In general terms, throughout the Paleogene and Neogene, California was part of a mostly contiguous forest that was present across both sides of the Bering land bridge, which also served as a migratory corridor.

This chapter proposes a methodology for the establishment of the North China mammalian record as the nucleus of a regional Chinese Neogene biochronology, supported by local examples having stratigraphic successions of proven or potential utility in this regard. The Neogene record of fossil land mammals in China is both temporally extensive and representative as well as geographically diverse. Based on this fact, the chapter argues that Neogene chronologic analysis in China will be best served when an endemic standard is developed that is independent of other biochronologic systems. Focusing on the fossil record in North China, a region coextensive with the past and present distribution of myospalacine and certain microtine rodents, it introduces a revised Chinese Neogene mammal biochronology. A well-developed late Neogene Chinese chronostratigraphy will provide a stable chronologic framework from which to illustrate faunal interrelationships with other areas and enhance our understanding of paleozoogeographic and evolutionary patterns across Holarctica in the Neogene.

This chapter investigates the Neogene faunal succession and biochronology of central Nei Mongol in Inner Mongolia. Neogene land mammals in the Nei Mongol Autonomous Region (or Chinese Inner Mongolia) are among the earliest in Asia described by pioneering explorers in the beginning of the twentieth century. Not surprisingly, vertebrate paleontology in Nei Mongol played some of the key roles in the establishment of a continental biochronological record in Asia. In addition to reviewing the main framework of Neogene mammal faunal succession in central Nei Mongol based on current studies, this chapter updates the biochronologic definition and characterization of faunas in the region through the analysis of assemblages. It also integrates the faunal evidence with isotopic ages and magnetostratigraphy.

This chapter analyzes the mammalian biochronology of the late Miocene Bahe Formation in China. It first describes the lithostratigraphy and depositional environments in the Lantian region, followed by a discussion of fossil localities in the Bahe and Lantian formations. It then considers the lithologic profile of the Bahe Formation, plots old localities and new fossil localities in it, updates the faunal list, and calibrates the age of the main localities by paleomagnetic dating. It also discusses the concept of the Bahean age and tentatively proposes its resurrection. It shows that the late Neogene record of mammalian fossils unearthed from the sedimentary sequence in Lantian is among the most complete in China. On the basis of sedimentological observations and isotope composition, the chapter finds moderately stable and dry conditions for the Bahe Formation, in accord with land mammals adapted to relatively open and arid conditions. Fossil mammals reveal little evidence of faunal change in the Bahe Formation.

This chapter describes the Neogene mammalian biostratigraphy and geochronology of the Tibetan Plateau. The interior Tibetan Plateau features a unique assemblage of living land mammals, roughly fifty percent of which are endemic. The Himalaya Range and its lateral extensions form the most impenetrable zoogeographic barrier within a continent, as well as mark sharp climatic, environmental, and vegetational boundaries. Important questions arise concerning the timing and extent of mammalian evolution in response to the formation of the proto–Tibetan Plateau. In addition, there is a keen sense of urgency for a better understanding of faunal divergences between successive mammal faunas from the Siwaliks of Pakistan and north of the Himalaya. This chapter begins with a brief overview of Neogene vertebrate faunas and their chronology within and around the margins of the Tibetan Plateau before analyzing the faunal succession and magnetostratigraphy of the region.

This chapter characterizes the Siwaliks and Neogene evolutionary biology in South Asia, paying special attention to the distribution of fossiliferous terrestrial deposits of late Cenozoic age across the Indian Subcontinent and the development of a chronostratigraphic framework in Pakistan and India. The Siwalik Group is a thick and laterally expansive wedge of sub-Himalayan nonmarine clastic deposits best developed in the northern Indian Subcontinent, extending southeastward through Nepal and into Assam. Siwalik deposits helped vertebrate fossils from southern Asia become known to the Western world as early as the 1830s. The transformative factor that led to accurate dating of the Siwaliks was the application of magnetostratigraphy to detailed biostratigraphic sections. This chapter discusses the significance of the Siwalik deposits as a window on a subtropical ecosystem of the Miocene world, a window that was open during the late Paleogene and most of the Neogene.

This chapter characterizes the Neogene Siwaliks of the Potwar Plateau in northern Pakistan. The Siwalik formations of the Indian Subcontinent comprise fluvial sediments of Miocene through Pleistocene age deposited in a series of basins along the southern margin of the collision zone between peninsular India and Asia. The deposits are thick and fossiliferous, with a diverse fauna of terrestrial and freshwater vertebrates. Research on Siwalik fossils and sediments has addressed diverse subjects, but a recent focus has been on a fundamental problem in paleobiology: the relationship between biotic evolution and environmental change. This chapter begins with an overview of the distribution of Siwalik sediments on the Indian Subcontinent before describing the chronological framework constructed for the Siwalik formations on the Potwar Plateau as well as the methods of estimating the ages of the fossil localities. It then analyzes the temporal distribution of the fossil sites, their taphonomic characteristics, and the implications for biostratigraphy. Finally, it summarizes some of the important changes in the faunas as documented on the Potwar Plateau.

This chapter focuses on the mammalian Neogene biostratigraphy of the Sulaiman Province in Pakistan. The Sulaiman Range, a north–south-trending band of rugged mountains rising 1000–3400 meters above sea level, bears Late Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary rocks that are primarily marine and accumulated in the Tethys Sea in what is now the Indus Basin. The east side of the Sulaiman Range is of particular interest since a relatively thick, well-exposed mid-Cenozoic sequence registers the transition from marine shelf to terrestrial deposition episodes related to the uplift and erosion of the orogenic Himalayan highlands and the related closure of the Tethys Sea. This chapter describes the stratigraphic and historical context of the Sulaiman Province and the land mammals from the Upper Member of the Chitarwata Formation (earliest Miocene), Vihowa Formation (late early to middle Miocene), and Litra Formation (late Miocene). It also examines Neogene faunal succession in the Sulaiman Province and biostratigraphical correlation between the Bugti and Zinda Pir areas.

This chapter provides an overview of Neogene Siwalik mammalian biostratigraphy in India. Siwalik freshwater deposits exposed all along the Himalayan foothills are noted for their great wealth of mammalian fossils. In recent years, extensive multidisciplinary studies, particularly in Pakistan, have resolved several issues concerning biotic changes in the Late Miocene and their relationship with fluvial dynamics and climatic trends. In order to elucidate the mammalian biostratigraphy of the Indian Siwaliks, this chapter integrates the available mammalian locality data to sections with independent dating using magnetostratigraphy and tephrochronology. A few other important sections that have not been geochronologically dated are placed in the temporal framework using mammal biochronology. This results in a revision of the first and last appearances of several Neogene Siwalik land mammals, including those of the Miocene apes. Two major faunal turnovers, one at the Late Miocene and the other at the Gauss-Matuyama boundary, coincide with global climate and local tectonic events.

This chapter analyzes the fossil record of South Asia's Neogene small land mammals in the context of its paleobiogeography. Within the Indian Subcontinent, high faunal similarity can be observed among local small mammal assemblages distributed on a scale of 1000 kilometers, and these are distinct from assemblages to the west and northwest and northeast, beyond the subcontinent. Eastward into Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), and Yunnan, China, faunal similarity with the Indian Subcontinent is apparent but weaker than within the subcontinent. This pattern mimics the distribution of the present-day Oriental biogeographic province. This chapter examines the extent to which this paleozoogeographic pattern can be defined, as well as faunal elements that do not follow the rules. Evidence from Yunnan, Thailand, and Myanmar shows that many genera of small mammals are shared throughout southern Asia.

This chapter reviews advances in the biochronology and biostratigraphy of the continental Neogene of Myanmar. The Indian Subcontinent possesses a very good Neogene record in the Siwaliks of Pakistan, India, and Nepal. The chronology of this record is robust overall, especially in Pakistan, where it is extremely well constrained. Nevertheless, the advanced paleontological knowledge in the Indian Subcontinent is not enough to resolve the Neogene evolution of land mammals at the scale of Southern Asia. This chapter begins with an overview of Myanmar's geology and paleontology and proceeds with a discussion of the Middle Miocene fauna of the Irrawaddy Formation. It then describes Late Miocene faunas of Myanmar, along with the turnover between Middle and Late Miocene faunas. It shows that faunas from the second part of the Late Miocene and Pliocene are still unknown from the Irrawaddy Formation, the base of the formation having produced only an early Late Miocene assemblage in the region of Magway. The discontinuity of the faunal succession reflects either an important gap driven by long intervals without accumulation of sediment or an erosional gap.

This chapter investigates the biostratigraphy and chronology of the Neogene land mammals of Greece. One of the first discovered Greek Neogene mammal localities is Pikermi (Attica, near Athens) found in 1835; its fauna is very rich and includes several new taxa, found subsequently in Eurasia and Africa. During the end of the nineteenth century, the mammal localities of Samos found by Forsyth Major yielded a great amount of fossils housed in various museums and institutes. The latest Pliocene mammal localities found in northern Greece also provided rich collections of fossils. This chapter begins with an overview of the early, middle, and late Miocene mammal localities of Greece before proceeding with a discussion of the end of the Miocene in the country. It then describes Pliocene fauna in Greece including micromammals, along with the faunal composition of the Greek Neogene mammal localities. It also analyzes the stratigraphic distribution of the Greek Neogene mammal taxa.

This chapter analyzes continental-scale patterns in the evolution and biogeography of Neogene land mammals from a Europe–Asia perspective. More specifically, it examines the spatial and temporal distribution of two attributes that reflect the regional development of faunas and environments: faunal resemblance and humidity estimated from mean hypsodonty. It also asks whether evidence still exists within this biochronologically driven stratigraphic framework for diachronous development of faunas and environments in different regions. This is a conservative approach since both faunal resemblance and hypsodonty depend on evolution over time, as does biochronology. If diachrony is nonetheless detected, the evidence for it must be regarded as strong. This two-pronged approach is used to investigate the development of the Middle and Late Miocene mammal assemblages of East Asia, referred to as the Tunggurian and Baodean chronofaunas. The results show that taxon ranges are generally highly diachronous across Eurasia.

This book presents a mammalian biostratigraphic framework that provides a global picture of mammalian evolution in Asia in a refined chronological context. Using cutting-edge biostratigraphic and geochemical dating methods, it traces the emergence of Asian land mammals across the late Cenozoic (Neogene) period. The book is based on the “Neogene terrestrial mammalian biostratigraphy and chronology in Asia—a workshop and symposium toward the establishment of a continent-wide stratigraphic and chronologic framework,” convened at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology on June 8–10, 2009, in Beijing and a follow-up workshop the following year in Los Angeles. Drawing on evidence from the spatial distribution of mammal fossils, the book describes the geologic conditions that profoundly influenced the evolution of Asian mammals and their migration into Europe, Africa, and North America. By bringing together state-of-the-art Asian biostratigraphy and geochronology with the widest representation possible, it elucidates the histories and movements of extinct and extant mammals from various major groups and all northern continents, while providing geologists with a richer understanding of a variety of Asian terrains.