First record of well-preserved canid coprolites from Eurasia: New insights into the unique ecological niche of Yuanmou Basin
Arya Farjand,
Liya Fu,
Paul Rummy,
Kazim Halaçlar,
Jian Wang,
Qiong You,
Hui Su,
Shundong Bi
Affiliations
Arya Farjand
Centre for Vertebrate Evolutionary Biology, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China
Liya Fu
Museum of Chuxiong Yi Nationality Autonomous Prefecture, Chuxiong, 675000, Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China
Paul Rummy
Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, People's Republic of China; Corresponding author.
Kazim Halaçlar
Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, People's Republic of China; Natural History Application and Research Centre, Ege University, Izmir, 35100, Turkey
Jian Wang
Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, People's Republic of China; Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100040, People's Republic of China
Qiong You
Museum of Chuxiong Yi Nationality Autonomous Prefecture, Chuxiong, 675000, Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China
Hui Su
Museum of Chuxiong Yi Nationality Autonomous Prefecture, Chuxiong, 675000, Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China
Shundong Bi
Centre for Vertebrate Evolutionary Biology, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China; Department of Biology, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA, 15705, USA
This study reconstructs the Early Pleistocene paleoenvironment of the Yuanmou Basin through coproecology of the third member of the Yuanmou Formation. We examined 38 exceptionally well-preserved coprolites from a new fossil locality, and attributed the putative defecating agent to the hypercarnivorous diet canid, Sinocuon yuanmouensis through geochemical and quantitative analyses. A new ichnogenus and ichnospecies, Cuocopros yuanmouensis igen. et. isp. nov., was established based on distinctive characteristics. Multi-disciplinary analysis, including sediment palynology and lithostratigraphy, helped primarily reconstruct a significant climatic event during the early Pleistocene, coinciding with the emergence of Yuanmou Man during the fourth member of the Yuanmou Formation's deposition. The findings provide insights into coexistence between canids, hyaenas, hominoids, and other fauna, revealing a rich paleoecosystem and food chain in the region's history. This study contributes to understanding the complex ecological dynamics during this period in the Yuanmou Basin.
