Dataset Information

Into Tibet: An Early Pliocene Dispersal of Fossil Zokor (Rodentia: Spalacidae) from Mongolian Plateau to the Hinterland of Tibetan Plateau.

ABSTRACT: This paper reports the fossil zokors (Myospalacinae) collected from the lower Pliocene (~4.4 Ma) of Zanda Basin, southwestern Tibet, which is the first record in the hinterland of Tibetan Plateau within the Himalayan Range. Materials include 29 isolated molars belonging to Prosiphneus eriksoni (Schlosser, 1924) by having characters including large size, highly fused roots, upper molars of orthomegodont type, m1 anterior cap small and centrally located, and first pair of m1 reentrants on opposing sides, high crowns, and high value of dentine tract parameters. Based on the cladistics analysis, all seven species of Prosiphneus and P. eriksoni of Zanda form a monophyletic clade. P. eriksoni from Zanda, on the other hand, is nearly the terminal taxon of this clade. The appearance of P. eriksoni in Zanda represents a significant dispersal in the early Pliocene from its center of origin in north China and Mongolian Plateau, possibly via the Hol Xil-Qiangtang hinterland in northern Tibet. The fast evolving zokors are highly adapted to open terrains at a time when regional climates had become increasingly drier in the desert zones north of Tibetan Plateau during the late Miocene to Pliocene. The occurrence of this zokor in Tibet thus suggests a rather open steppe environment. Based on fossils of large mammals, we have formulated an "out of Tibet" hypothesis that suggests earlier and more primitive large mammals from the Pliocene of Tibet giving rise to the Ice Age megafauna. However, fossil records for large mammals are still too poor to evaluate whether they have evolved from lineages endemic to the Tibetan Plateau or were immigrants from outside. The superior record of small mammals is in a better position to address this question. With relatively dense age intervals and numerous localities in much of northern Asia, fossil zokors provide the first example of an "into Tibet" scenario--earlier and more primitive taxa originated from outside of the Tibetan Plateau and the later the lineage became extinct in southwestern Tibet.

SUBMITTER: Li Q

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4678110 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Into Tibet: An Early Pliocene Dispersal of Fossil Zokor (Rodentia: Spalacidae) from Mongolian Plateau to the Hinterland of Tibetan Plateau.

Li Qiang Q Wang Xiaoming X

PloS one 20151214 12

This paper reports the fossil zokors (Myospalacinae) collected from the lower Pliocene (~4.4 Ma) of Zanda Basin, southwestern Tibet, which is the first record in the hinterland of Tibetan Plateau within the Himalayan Range. Materials include 29 isolated molars belonging to Prosiphneus eriksoni (Schlosser, 1924) by having characters including large size, highly fused roots, upper molars of orthomegodont type, m1 anterior cap small and centrally located, and first pair of m1 reentrants on opposing ...[more]

PMID: 26658457

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundPlateau zokor (Myospalax baileyi) is a subterranean rodent endemic to the Tibetan Plateau. This species has been generally viewed as a pest in China due to the competition for food with livestock and also causing soil erosion. As a result, plateau zokor has been the target of widespread poisoning or trapping campaigns designed to control or eliminate it since 1970s. But there is little research on the effect of plateau zokor on plant diversity in alpine rangelands. Therefore, objectively evaluating the positive effects of the plateau zokors disturbance on their living environment and plant communities is of great significance to understand the function of plateau zokor in alpine ecosystem.MethodsHere, we selected three rangelands (alpine meadow, alpine steppe and alpine shrub meadow) in which plateau zokors are typically distributed on the Tibetan Plateau, and five zokor mound density gradients were selected in each rangeland type to study the effects of the mounds on soil moisture and temperature related to plant species diversity.ResultsThe results showed that, with the mound density increasing, the soil temperature decreased significantly in all three rangeland types, and the soil moisture significantly increased in all three rangeland types. In the alpine meadow, both the plant diversity and cumulative species richness increased significantly with increasing mound density. The increase in broad-leaved forbs is the main reason for the increase of plant diversity in the alpine meadow disturbed by zokor mounds. In the alpine steppe, the plant diversity decreased significantly with increasing mound density, while the cumulative species richness initially decreased and then increased. In the alpine shrub meadow, the plant diversity first increased and then decreased with increasing mound density as did the cumulative species richness. In conclusion, plateau zokor mounds dominated the distribution of soil moisture and temperature and significantly affected plant diversity in these three rangelands on Tibetan Plateau; the results further deepen our understanding toward a co-evolved process.

Project description:Aim:The evolutionary process of an organism provides valuable data toward an understanding of the Earth evolution history. To investigate the relationship between the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) and mammalian evolution since the late Cenozoic, the geographic distribution of genetic variations in the Tibetan hamster Cricetulus kamensis was investigated using phylogeographical methods. In particular, population divergence, demographic history, genetic variation, and the prediction of species distribution area were investigated. Location:The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Methods:A total of 53 specimens, representing 13 geographic populations, were collected from the QTP. The phylogeographical pattern and demographic history of C. kamensis were analyzed, and the probable factors in the QTP uplift and the Quaternary glacial periods were inferred from one nuclear and four mitochondrial genes. Furthermore, the species distribution model (SDM) was used to predict changes in potentially suitable habitats since the last Interglacial. Results:Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that two major genetic differentiations of the C. kamensis population occurred during the Early Pleistocene that were influenced by the Qing-Zang tectonic movement from the Middle Pliocene to the Early Pleistocene. Genetic distance between two major clades indicated low genetic divergence. Demographic history analysis showed that the C. kamensis population was affected by the Quaternary glacial period. SDM analysis indicated that C. kamensis was endemic to the QTP and the suitable habitat was affected by climate change, especially during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Main conclusion:Our results indicated that the QTP uplift led to the population divergence of C. kamensis, and vicariance well accounted for the geographic distribution of genetic variation in C. kamensis as a result of genetic divergence and lack of gene flow. The genetic distance shows that C. alticola may be a subspecies of C. kamensis. Demographic history analysis suggests that the QTP was affected by the last glacial period. SDM analysis supports that almost the entire QTP is covered by a huge ice sheet during the LGM.

Dataset Information

Into Tibet: An Early Pliocene Dispersal of Fossil Zokor (Rodentia: Spalacidae) from Mongolian Plateau to the Hinterland of Tibetan Plateau.

Publications

Into Tibet: An Early Pliocene Dispersal of Fossil Zokor (Rodentia: Spalacidae) from Mongolian Plateau to the Hinterland of Tibetan Plateau.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure