New Mesonychid mammals found from lower Paleogene of Erlian Basin, Nei Mongol
Wednesday, August 8, 2012 - 06:00
in Paleontology & Archaeology
Paleontologists from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, recently collected some early Paleogene (Upper Paleocene through Middle Eocene) mesonychid specimens from the Huheboerhe area and Bayan Ulan, eastern Erlian Basin, Nei Mongol (Inner Mongolia). Dr. JIN Xun described them and reported in a paper published in the latest issue of Vertebrata PalAsiatica. These new materials represent six species and four genera, including a new species. They provide a good chance for scientists to study the succession of ecological niches occupied by mesonychians at different stratigraphic levels, and help better understand their general evolutionary trends.