Abstract
It has long been thought that environmental perturbations were the key driving force behind the succession of three distinct mammal faunas in the Pleistocene Ailuropoda-Stegodon faunal complex (sensu lato) of South China: the lower Pleistocene Gigantopithecus-Sinomastodon fauna, the middle Pleistocene Ailuropoda-Stegodon fauna (sensu stricto) and the upper Pleistocene Homo-Elephas fauna. Here, we apply three-dimensional dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) to three characteristic fossil proboscideans from these mammal faunas to provide preliminary tests for hypotheses of trophic ecology. Despite a few methodological caveats, this study demonstrates the potential of DMTA for understanding the diets of fossil proboscideans. The texture of microwear in Sinomastodon and Stegodon are more reflective of browsing, whereas that of Elephas is suggestive of mixed feeding. The results suggest a more complex process of Pleistocene faunal turnovers in South China. Rather than a unidirectional trend of climate-driven environmental deterioration, biotic factors might have played a more substantial role than previously thought.
Highlights
It has been widely recognised that the evolution and turnover of megaherbivores during the Plio-Pleistocene was fundamentally governed by climate changes on local and global scales (Qiu, 2006; Wei et al, 2010; Wang et al, 2012; Fortelius et al, 2014)
We present a first, preliminary analysis of dietary differences among fossil proboscideans using three-dimensional (3D) dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) (Scott et al, 2005, 2006), applying the technique to Sinomastodon, Stegodon and Elephas from the Pleistocene of South China
Sample sizes are relatively small, this is taken into account when interpreting results; small sample sizes have produced significant results in other DMTA studies (Purnell et al, 2012), and it is likely that where our tests indicate that we can reject the null hypothesis the impact of small sample size, if there is one, will be to inflate the magnitude of the effect, not necessarily increase the likelihood that we have incorrectly rejected the null hypothesis
Summary
It has been widely recognised that the evolution and turnover of megaherbivores during the Plio-Pleistocene was fundamentally governed by climate changes on local and global scales (Qiu, 2006; Wei et al, 2010; Wang et al, 2012; Fortelius et al, 2014). This is evident in the Proboscidea, whose fossil record indicates a major decline in diversity throughout this period, eventually leaving only three extant species of a previously very diverse order (Shoshani and Tassy, 1996, 2005; Sukumar, 2003). The tooth crown is dramatically heightened (Maglio, 1973; see Fig. 1)
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