New material of the Early Pleistocene Elaphurus (Artiodactyla, Mammalia) from North China and discussion on taxonomy of Elaphurus

Abstract

Many fossil Elaphurus have been discovered in East Asia and some in Central Asia since the discovery of the first fossil E. bifurcatus of the genus from Nihewan Basin in the 1920s. Some of them are well preserved, but some others are fragmental and it makes some identifications doubtful. Two Elaphurus were identified in recent study based on the unstudied material of fossil deer unearthed from Taijiaping, Tianzhen, Shanxi Province in North China. The taxonomy of Elaphurus was consequently discussed and it is recommended to classify the genus into four species with eight subspecies. Elaphurus davidianus predavidianus subsp. nov. distributed in North China and Taiwan in the Early Pleistocene. E. davidianus tamaensis is a geographic subspecies of the Early Pleistocene in Japan. E. d. menziesianus derived from E. d. predavidianus and distributed in North, Northeast and East China including Taiwan, as well as in Japan, from the Middle Pleistocene to the Holocene and E. d. davidianus restricted in North and East China probably since recent thousands years ago. E. bifurcatus bifurcatus and E. b. shikamai existed in the Early Pleistocene in North China and Japan respectively. The probable ancestor of E. bifurcatus is Elaphurus eleonorae from the Early Pleistocene of Kuruksay, Tadjikistan in Central Asia. The Early Pleistocene E. chinnaniensis chinnaniensis and E. c. lantianensis ranged in North China only and with dubious generic status.