首页|First Record of Middle Eocene Elephant Ancestors'Footprints in the Gonjo Basin,East Tibet Plateau

First Record of Middle Eocene Elephant Ancestors'Footprints in the Gonjo Basin,East Tibet Plateau

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It is the first time that the fossil footprints of a group of Middle Eocene elephant ances-tors have been discovered in the Gonjo Basin,East Tibet Plateau.The Gonjo Formation is attributed to the Middle Eocene Epoch(U-Pb age=44.7±1.2 Ma)and consists mainly of purplish-red,medium-to coarse-grained sandstones,siltstones interbedded with mudstones,and conglomerates with sedimenta-ry structures like ripple marks,rip-up clasts,and trough-cross bedding,suggesting fluvial-lacustrine systems.The group of fossil footprints has a characteristic oval-concave shape,and the toe impressions are absent.Some fossil footprints arc overstepped with a pockmarked texture resembling Proboscipeda enigmatica.More than 165 fossil footprints of the group are relatively well-preserved with different di-ameters,which is evidence of highly social behavior and trackmakers of different ages,including calves,juveniles,adolescents,and adults.The size frequency of the fossil footprints enabled us to de-duce the body mass,shoulder height,and hip-height distribution of the trackmakers that crossed the East Tibet Plateau 44.7 Ma ago.The trackmakers comprised an estimated average hip-height of 111.8 cm,an average shoulder height of 172.8 cm for males/155.9 cm for females,and an average body mass of approximately 1 218.1 kg for males/907.8 kg for females.The abundance of fossil footprints reveals that in the Middle Eocene Epoch,the environment was extraordinarily conducive for the elephant an-cestors to live in the East Tibet region.

Proboscipeda enigmaticaEast Tibet PlateauGonjo Formationfossil footprintsfluvial-lacustrine

Asma Tahir、Huazhou Yao、Junaid Khan、Yangui Li、He Zhao、Yue Yu、Tang Yuan

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Institute of Geological Survey,China University of Geosciences,Wuhan 430074,China

Wuhan Center,China Geological Survey,Wuhan 430205,China

State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources,Wuhan 430078,China

Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100101,China

Chengdu Center,China Geological Survey,Chengdu 610081,China

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National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaState Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources,China University of Geosciences,Wuhan

92055212GPMR202105

2024

10.1007/s12583-023-1946-6

地球科学学刊(英文版)
中国地质大学

地球科学学刊(英文版)

CSTPCD
影响因子：0.724
ISSN：1674-487X
年,卷(期)：2024.35(4)
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