A spotted hyena in Africa. The new finding suggests that this species used to exist in China about 11,000 years ago.
A complete fossil skeleton of spotted hyena unearthed on 26 July, in nearly perfect preservation, exhilarates CAS paleontologists, as the discovery in north China might offer new clues about the interactions between prehistoric faunas of Africa and Eurasia, and meanwhile would help reveal the reasons for the big extinction of large amount of species occurring about 11,000 years ago. Hinting possible connections between species from Africa and Eurasia, the discovery would even provide new insights into the "out-of-Africa" model of human origins.
Uncovered from Lingxiandong (Lingxian Cave) in Funing County, Qinhuangdao City in Hebei Province, the complete skeleton, together with six spotted hyena skulls, all in good condition, raises the total number of fossil hyena specimens excavated from this site to a record of 40, the largest in Asia. So far paleontologists have found abundant specimens of spotted hyena, such as isolated teeth and broken fragments of bones, but few complete skulls outside this site in China.
A common prehistoric animal in China, this creature is believed to have been contesting with the ancient men for caves and preys. It became extinct, however, somehow from the whole Eurasia later and as a result, today its offspring can only be found in Africa.
The Cave was found by accident during a construction project in late December 2006. At the time, workers unearthed lots of fossil animal bones and teeth in a cave on the mountainside, and they soon made a call to consult the experts at the CAS Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) in Beijing. A team of paleontologists visited the cave twice in January 2007 to examine the specimens. They came to the conclusion that the fossil was mainly from the spotted hyena, a mammalian family used to flourish on the Old Continent.
The first complete skull of fossil hyena in China was brought to light from this site in March 2007, and soon in the following August the only fossilized body to date was found. Since then, with the joint efforts of IVPP and the China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), formal excavation has been carried on at the Cave to unveil the details of the prehistoric mysteries buried in the strata.
The six skulls and the complete skeleton discovered on 26 July are highly valued because of their excellent preservation. These specimens date back to at least 11,000 years ago, which echoes the exact time in biological evolution when a large amount of species died out. Carrying messages from such a key period, they might inspire the pursuit of the reasons for the big extinction at the end of Pleistocene.
More importantly, these specimens might offer new perspectives and clues for the research on the origin of modern humans, as evidence for the immigration of and interactions between species from East Asia and Africa. According to Dr. LIU Jinyi from IVPP, so far the fossil records from East Asia do not support the prevailing hypothesis about the origin of modern humans, the "out-of-Africa" model. This model claims that all modern humans originated from Africa and emigrated from this continent about 100,000 years ago and gradually spread all over the world, sweeping the aboriginal homos. The fossil evidence, however, fails to reflect such faunal connections or exchanges between East Asia and Africa, which should have happened if the out-of-Africa model holds water. "The newly found fossil might imply that such kind of connections could have taken place," remarks Liu: 'If so, probably it would offer some extra evidence for the "out-of-Africa" model.' |
