Earliest Democricetodon (Cricetid rodent) found in the Early Miocene of the Junggar Basin, China
Wednesday, November 9, 2011 - 09:00
in Paleontology & Archaeology
According to a paper published in the latest issue of Vertebrata PalAsiatic 2011(4), palontologists from Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, have identified two cricetid rodents (Democricetodon sui sp. nov. and Democricetodon? sp.) in the Early Miocene of the Junggar Basin, northern Xinjiang, China. The specimens come from two localities within the Suosuoquan Formation, which have been dated by magnetostratigraphy to between 21.9 and 21.16 Ma (Aquitanian), and turn out to be the oldest examples of Democricetodon known from central and eastern Asia.