Daohugou Beds
Encyclopedia
The Daohugou Beds are a series of fossil-bearing rock deposits located in northeastern China
, with the type locality around Daohugou village of Ningcheng County
south of Chifeng
, Inner Mongolia
, but extending into southwest Liaoning
. The rocks are grey, finely bedded, lacustrine, sandy mudstones mixed with tuff
aceous mudstones formed from the intermittent ashfall of volcanic events. The beds probably date from between the late Middle Jurassic
(168 million years ago) and early Late Jurassic
Period (164-152 million years ago).
), and that the Tuchengzi Formation
is younger (Late Jurassic
). However, many other researchers consider the Daohugou to be a part of the Jiulongshan Formation itself.
Fieldwork published in 2006 has also found that the beds are consistent over a large area; from western Liaoning
into Ningcheng county of Inner Mongolia
(Nei Mongol). The age of the Daohugou Beds has been debated, and a number of studies, using different methodologies, have reached conflicting conclusions. Various papers have placed the fossils here as being anywhere from the Middle Jurassic
period (169 million years ago) to the Early Cretaceous
period (122 ma).
. The 2004 study primarily used radiometric dating
of a tuff
within the Daohugou Beds to determine its age. However, a subsequent study by Gao & Ren took issue with the He et al. study. Gao and Ren criticize He et al. for not including enough specifics and detail in their paper, and also take issue with their radiometric dating of the Daohugou tuff. The tuff, Gao and Ren argue, contains crystals with a variety of diverse radiometric ages, some up to a billion years old, so using dates from only a few of these crystals cannot determine the overall age of the deposits. Gao and Ren go on to defend a Middle Jurassic age for the beds based on biostratigraphy
(the use of index fossil
s) and the bed's relationship to a layer that is known to mark the Middle Jurassic-Late Jurassic boundary.
Another study, published in 2006 by Wang et al., found that the Tiaojishan Formation
(159-164 million years old, Middle
-early Late Jurassic
in age) underlies, rather than overlies, the Daohugou Beds. Unlike the earlier study by Gao and Ren, Wang et al. found an overall similarity between the fossil animals found in the Daohugou Beds and those from the Yixian Formation. The authors stated that
Wang et al. concluded that the Daohugou probably represents the earliest evolutionary stages of the Jehol Biota
, and that it "belongs to the same cycle of volcanism and sedimentation as the Yixian Formation of the Jehol Group." However, a later study by Ji et al. argued that the key indicator of the Jehol biota are the index fossils Peipiaosteus
and Lycoptera. Under this definition, the earliest evolutionary stage of the Jehol Biota is represented by the Huajiying Formation
, and the Daohugou Formation is excluded due to the absence of Lycoptera fossils. Later in 2006, Liu et al. published their own study of the age of the Daohugou beds, this time using Zircon U-Pb dating on the volcanic rocks overlying and underlying salamander-bearing layers (salamanders are often used as index fossils). Liu et al. found that the beds formed between 164-158 million years ago, in the Middle to Late Jurassic.
s, pterosaur
s, salamander
s, insect
s, other invertebrate
s, conifers, ginkgo
es, cycad
s, horsetail
s, and fern
s, and even the earliest known gliding mammal (Volaticotherium) and an aquatic protomammal (Castorocauda) have been discovered in these rocks. These organisms were part of the Daohugou Biota, which was the ecosystem of that Jurassic time. The tuffaceous composition of some rock layers show that this was a volcanic area, occasionally experiencing heavy ashfalls from eruptions. The landscape then was dominated by mountain streams and deep lakes surrounded by forests of gymnosperm
trees. Some authors have concluded that the Daohugou Biota is an early stage of the Jehol Biota
, while recent work has demonstrated that the two are distinct.
The forests of the Daohugou biota grew in a humid, warm - temperate climate and were dominated by gymnosperm
trees. There were ginkgo
psids like Ginkoites, Ginkgo
, Baiera, Czekanowskia, and Phoenicopsis. There were also conifers like Pityophyllum, Rhipidiocladus, Elatocladus, Schizolepis, and Podozamites. Also, Lycopsids like Lycopodites and Sellaginellities, horsetails (Sphenopsida) like Equisetum, cycads like Anomozamites, and ferns (Filicopsida) like Todites and Coniopteris.
, Plecoptera
, Blattodea, Orthoptera
, Heteroptera
, Homoptera
, Neuroptera
, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera
, and Diptera
.
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, with the type locality around Daohugou village of Ningcheng County
Ningcheng County
Ningcheng County is a county of southeastern Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China, bordering Liaoning province to the east. It is under the administration of Chifeng City.-References:*...
south of Chifeng
Chifeng
Chifeng , also known as Ulanhad, is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China. It borders Xilin Gol to the north and west, Tongliao to the northeast, Chaoyang prefecture of Liaoning province to the southeast, and Chengde prefecture of Hebei province to the...
, Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation...
, but extending into southwest Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
. The rocks are grey, finely bedded, lacustrine, sandy mudstones mixed with tuff
Tuff
Tuff is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption. Tuff is sometimes called tufa, particularly when used as construction material, although tufa also refers to a quite different rock. Rock that contains greater than 50% tuff is considered...
aceous mudstones formed from the intermittent ashfall of volcanic events. The beds probably date from between the late Middle Jurassic
Middle Jurassic
The Middle Jurassic is the second epoch of the Jurassic Period. It lasted from 176-161 million years ago. In European lithostratigraphy, rocks of this Middle Jurassic age are called the Dogger....
(168 million years ago) and early Late Jurassic
Late Jurassic
The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 161.2 ± 4.0 to 145.5 ± 4.0 million years ago , which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata. In European lithostratigraphy, the name "Malm" indicates rocks of Late Jurassic age...
Period (164-152 million years ago).
Geology
The geology of the Daohugou Beds is confusing because it is complex and does not conform; meaning that elements and layers of rock of different ages are mixed up together by folding and erosion and by volcanic activity. Liu et al. (2006) concluded that the rocks that bear the Daohugou Biota also include the Tiaojishan and Lanqi Formations. They demonstrated that the Jiulongshan Formation is older (Middle JurassicMiddle Jurassic
The Middle Jurassic is the second epoch of the Jurassic Period. It lasted from 176-161 million years ago. In European lithostratigraphy, rocks of this Middle Jurassic age are called the Dogger....
), and that the Tuchengzi Formation
Tuchengzi Formation
The Tuchengzi Formation is a geological formation in China whose strata date back to the Late Jurassic. Dinosaur fossils, particularly footprints, have been found from the formation.-Vertebrate paleofauna:...
is younger (Late Jurassic
Late Jurassic
The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 161.2 ± 4.0 to 145.5 ± 4.0 million years ago , which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata. In European lithostratigraphy, the name "Malm" indicates rocks of Late Jurassic age...
). However, many other researchers consider the Daohugou to be a part of the Jiulongshan Formation itself.
Fieldwork published in 2006 has also found that the beds are consistent over a large area; from western Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
into Ningcheng county of Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia
Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation...
(Nei Mongol). The age of the Daohugou Beds has been debated, and a number of studies, using different methodologies, have reached conflicting conclusions. Various papers have placed the fossils here as being anywhere from the Middle Jurassic
Middle Jurassic
The Middle Jurassic is the second epoch of the Jurassic Period. It lasted from 176-161 million years ago. In European lithostratigraphy, rocks of this Middle Jurassic age are called the Dogger....
period (169 million years ago) to the Early Cretaceous
Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous or the Lower Cretaceous , is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous...
period (122 ma).
Scientific studies
A 2004 study by He et al. on the age of the Daohugou Beds found them to be Early Cretaceous, probably only a few million years older than the overlying Jehol beds of the Yixian FormationYixian Formation
The Yixian Formation is a geological formation in Jinzhou, Liaoning, People's Republic of China, that spans 11 million years during the early Cretaceous period...
. The 2004 study primarily used radiometric dating
Radiometric dating
Radiometric dating is a technique used to date materials such as rocks, usually based on a comparison between the observed abundance of a naturally occurring radioactive isotope and its decay products, using known decay rates...
of a tuff
Tuff
Tuff is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption. Tuff is sometimes called tufa, particularly when used as construction material, although tufa also refers to a quite different rock. Rock that contains greater than 50% tuff is considered...
within the Daohugou Beds to determine its age. However, a subsequent study by Gao & Ren took issue with the He et al. study. Gao and Ren criticize He et al. for not including enough specifics and detail in their paper, and also take issue with their radiometric dating of the Daohugou tuff. The tuff, Gao and Ren argue, contains crystals with a variety of diverse radiometric ages, some up to a billion years old, so using dates from only a few of these crystals cannot determine the overall age of the deposits. Gao and Ren go on to defend a Middle Jurassic age for the beds based on biostratigraphy
Biostratigraphy
Biostratigraphy is the branch of stratigraphy which focuses on correlating and assigning relative ages of rock strata by using the fossil assemblages contained within them. Usually the aim is correlation, demonstrating that a particular horizon in one geological section represents the same period...
(the use of index fossil
Index fossil
Index fossils are fossils used to define and identify geologic periods . They work on the premise that, although different sediments may look different depending on the conditions under which they were laid down, they may include the remains of the same species of fossil...
s) and the bed's relationship to a layer that is known to mark the Middle Jurassic-Late Jurassic boundary.
Another study, published in 2006 by Wang et al., found that the Tiaojishan Formation
Tiaojishan Formation
The Tiaojishan Formation is a geological formation in Hebei and Liaoning, People's Republic of China, dating to the middle-late Jurassic period . It is known for its fossil plants, and is made up mainly of pyroclastic rock interspersed with basic volcanic and sedimentary rocks...
(159-164 million years old, Middle
Middle Jurassic
The Middle Jurassic is the second epoch of the Jurassic Period. It lasted from 176-161 million years ago. In European lithostratigraphy, rocks of this Middle Jurassic age are called the Dogger....
-early Late Jurassic
Late Jurassic
The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 161.2 ± 4.0 to 145.5 ± 4.0 million years ago , which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata. In European lithostratigraphy, the name "Malm" indicates rocks of Late Jurassic age...
in age) underlies, rather than overlies, the Daohugou Beds. Unlike the earlier study by Gao and Ren, Wang et al. found an overall similarity between the fossil animals found in the Daohugou Beds and those from the Yixian Formation. The authors stated that
"vertebrate fossils such as Liaoxitriton, JeholopterusJeholopterusJeholopterus was a small anurognathid pterosaur from the Daohugou Beds of northeastern China , between 168 and 152 million years ago), preserved with hair and skin remains.-Naming:...
and feathered maniraptorans show much resemblance to those of the Yixian Formation. In other words, despite the absence of Lycoptera, a typical fish of the Jehol Biota, the Daohugou vertebrate assemblage is closer to that of the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota than to any other biota."
Wang et al. concluded that the Daohugou probably represents the earliest evolutionary stages of the Jehol Biota
Jehol Biota
The Jehol Biota includes all the living organisms - the ecosystem - of northeastern China between 133 to 120 million years ago. This is the Lower Cretaceous ecosystem which left fossils in the Yixian Formation and Jiufotang Formation. It is also believed to have left fossils in the Sinuiju series...
, and that it "belongs to the same cycle of volcanism and sedimentation as the Yixian Formation of the Jehol Group." However, a later study by Ji et al. argued that the key indicator of the Jehol biota are the index fossils Peipiaosteus
Peipiaosteus
Peipiaosteus is an extinct genus of prehistoric bony fish. This is a very rare species of sturgeon from Jiufotang Formation, Pani Lake, Liaoning Province, China. -See also:* Prehistoric fish* List of prehistoric bony fish...
and Lycoptera. Under this definition, the earliest evolutionary stage of the Jehol Biota is represented by the Huajiying Formation
Huajiying Formation
The Huajiying Formation is a geological formation in Hebei, People's Republic of China. Known for its fossils including primitive birds, the age of the ormation is uncertain. It may represent an early portion of the Jehol Biota, dating to somewhere in the early Cretaceous or late Jurassic periods...
, and the Daohugou Formation is excluded due to the absence of Lycoptera fossils. Later in 2006, Liu et al. published their own study of the age of the Daohugou beds, this time using Zircon U-Pb dating on the volcanic rocks overlying and underlying salamander-bearing layers (salamanders are often used as index fossils). Liu et al. found that the beds formed between 164-158 million years ago, in the Middle to Late Jurassic.
Fauna of the Daohugou Beds
Beautifully preserved fossils of dinosaurDinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
s, pterosaur
Pterosaur
Pterosaurs were flying reptiles of the clade or order Pterosauria. They existed from the late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous Period . Pterosaurs are the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight...
s, salamander
Salamander
Salamander is a common name of approximately 500 species of amphibians. They are typically characterized by a superficially lizard-like appearance, with their slender bodies, short noses, and long tails. All known fossils and extinct species fall under the order Caudata, while sometimes the extant...
s, insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, other invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s, conifers, ginkgo
Ginkgo
Ginkgo , also spelled gingko and known as the Maidenhair Tree, is a unique species of tree with no close living relatives...
es, cycad
Cycad
Cycads are seed plants typically characterized by a stout and woody trunk with a crown of large, hard and stiff, evergreen leaves. They usually have pinnate leaves. The individual plants are either all male or all female . Cycads vary in size from having a trunk that is only a few centimeters...
s, horsetail
Horsetail
Equisetum is the only living genus in the Equisetaceae, a family of vascular plants that reproduce by spores rather than seeds.Equisetum is a "living fossil", as it is the only living genus of the entire class Equisetopsida, which for over one hundred million years was much more diverse and...
s, and fern
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
s, and even the earliest known gliding mammal (Volaticotherium) and an aquatic protomammal (Castorocauda) have been discovered in these rocks. These organisms were part of the Daohugou Biota, which was the ecosystem of that Jurassic time. The tuffaceous composition of some rock layers show that this was a volcanic area, occasionally experiencing heavy ashfalls from eruptions. The landscape then was dominated by mountain streams and deep lakes surrounded by forests of gymnosperm
Gymnosperm
The gymnosperms are a group of seed-bearing plants that includes conifers, cycads, Ginkgo, and Gnetales. The term "gymnosperm" comes from the Greek word gymnospermos , meaning "naked seeds", after the unenclosed condition of their seeds...
trees. Some authors have concluded that the Daohugou Biota is an early stage of the Jehol Biota
Jehol Biota
The Jehol Biota includes all the living organisms - the ecosystem - of northeastern China between 133 to 120 million years ago. This is the Lower Cretaceous ecosystem which left fossils in the Yixian Formation and Jiufotang Formation. It is also believed to have left fossils in the Sinuiju series...
, while recent work has demonstrated that the two are distinct.
The forests of the Daohugou biota grew in a humid, warm - temperate climate and were dominated by gymnosperm
Gymnosperm
The gymnosperms are a group of seed-bearing plants that includes conifers, cycads, Ginkgo, and Gnetales. The term "gymnosperm" comes from the Greek word gymnospermos , meaning "naked seeds", after the unenclosed condition of their seeds...
trees. There were ginkgo
Ginkgo
Ginkgo , also spelled gingko and known as the Maidenhair Tree, is a unique species of tree with no close living relatives...
psids like Ginkoites, Ginkgo
Ginkgo
Ginkgo , also spelled gingko and known as the Maidenhair Tree, is a unique species of tree with no close living relatives...
, Baiera, Czekanowskia, and Phoenicopsis. There were also conifers like Pityophyllum, Rhipidiocladus, Elatocladus, Schizolepis, and Podozamites. Also, Lycopsids like Lycopodites and Sellaginellities, horsetails (Sphenopsida) like Equisetum, cycads like Anomozamites, and ferns (Filicopsida) like Todites and Coniopteris.
Amphibians
| Amphibian Amphibian Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods... s of the Daohugou Beds |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | State | Abundance | Notes | |
Jeholotriton Jeholotriton Jeholotriton is a genus of primitive salamander from the Daohugou Beds near Daohugou village of Inner Mongolia, China.... |
J. paradoxus |
Wang, 2000 |
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Chunerpeton Chunerpeton Chunerpeton is an extinct genus of salamander from the ?Late Jurassic Daohugou Beds in Ningcheng County, Nei Mongol , China.It lived with other primitive salamanders, e.g... |
C. tianyiensis |
Gao & Shubin, 2003 |
|||
Liaoxitriton Liaoxitriton Liaoxitriton is an extinct genus of prehistoric salamander from the Mesozoic of China. L. zhongjiani is from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation. L. daohugouensis is from the late Middle Jurassic or early Late Jurassic Daohugou Beds.-See also:* Prehistoric amphibian* List of prehistoric amphibians... |
L. daohugouensis |
Wang, 2004 |
|||
Pangerpeton Pangerpeton Pangerpeton is an extinct genus of amphibian. Its monotypic species is Pangerpeton sinensis.Pangerpeton is a metamorphosed, primitive salamander from the ?Late Jurassic Daohugou fossil bed near Wubaiding Village of Lingyuan City, Liaoning Province, China.Yuan Wang and Susan E... |
P. sinensis |
Wang & Evans, 2006 |
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Arthropods
The following orders are represented in the formation; Ephemeroptera, OdonataOdonata
Odonata is an order of insects, encompassing dragonflies and damselflies . The word dragonfly is also sometimes used to refer to all Odonata, but the back-formation odonate is a more correct English name for the group as a whole...
, Plecoptera
Plecoptera
Plecoptera are an order of insects, commonly known as stoneflies. There are some 3,500 described species worldwide, with new species still being discovered. Stoneflies are found worldwide, except Antarctica...
, Blattodea, Orthoptera
Orthoptera
Orthoptera is an order of insects with paurometabolous or incomplete metamorphosis, including the grasshoppers, crickets and locusts.Many insects in this order produce sound by rubbing their wings against each other or their legs, the wings or legs containing rows of corrugated bumps...
, Heteroptera
Heteroptera
Heteroptera is a group of about 40,000 species of insects in the Hemiptera. Sometimes called "true bugs", that name more commonly refers to Hemiptera as a whole, and "typical bugs" might be used as a more unequivocal alternative since among the Hemiptera the heteropterans are most consistently and...
, Homoptera
Homoptera
Homoptera is a deprecated suborder of order Hemiptera; recent morphological studies and DNA analysis strongly suggests that the order is paraphyletic. It was therefore split into the suborders Sternorrhyncha, Auchenorrhyncha, and Coleorrhyncha....
, Neuroptera
Neuroptera
The insect order Neuroptera, or net-winged insects, includes the lacewings, mantidflies, antlions, and their relatives. The order contains some 6,010 species...
, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera
Hymenoptera
Hymenoptera is one of the largest orders of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees and ants. There are over 130,000 recognized species, with many more remaining to be described. The name refers to the heavy wings of the insects, and is derived from the Ancient Greek ὑμήν : membrane and...
, and Diptera
Diptera
Diptera , or true flies, is the order of insects possessing only a single pair of wings on the mesothorax; the metathorax bears a pair of drumstick like structures called the halteres, the remnants of the hind wings. It is a large order, containing an estimated 240,000 species, although under half...
.
| Arthropod Arthropod An arthropod is an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton , a segmented body, and jointed appendages. Arthropods are members of the phylum Arthropoda , and include the insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and others... s of the Daohugou Beds |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | State | Abundance | Notes | ||
Ahirmoneura |
A. neimengguensis |
Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation... |
A tangle-veined fly Nemestrinidae Nemestrinidae, or tangle-veined flies is a family of flies in the superfamily Nemestrinoidea, closely related to Acroceridae. The family is small but distributed worldwide, with about 300 species in 34 genera. Larvae are endoparasitoids of either grasshoppers or scarab beetles... |
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Archirhagio |
A. striatus |
Archisargid flies |
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A. zhangi |
Inner Mongolia |
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Archisargus |
A. spurivenius |
Archisargid flies |
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A. strigatus |
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Calosargus |
C. (Calosargus) antiquus |
Archisargid flies |
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C. (C.) bellus |
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C. (C.) daohugouensis |
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C. (C.) hani |
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C. (C.) tenuicellulatus |
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C. (C.) validus |
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C. (Pterosargus) sinicus |
Inner Mongolia |
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Daohugocorixa |
D. vulcanica |
A water boatman |
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Fuyous |
F. gregarious |
A mayfly Mayfly Mayflies are insects which belong to the Order Ephemeroptera . They have been placed into an ancient group of insects termed the Palaeoptera, which also contains dragonflies and damselflies... |
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Eoplectreurys Eoplectreurys Eoplectreurys is an extinct monotypic genus of spider from the family Plectreuridae, with a sole species, Eoplectreurys gertschi... |
E. gertschi |
1 Specimen |
A plectreurid spider | |||
Jurassinemestrinus |
J. orientalis |
Inner Mongolia |
A Nemestrinoid Nemestrinoidea The Nemestrinoidea are a small, monophyletic superfamily of flies, whose relationship to the remaining Brachycera is uncertain; they are sometimes grouped with the Tabanomorpha rather than the Asilomorpha. They are presently considered to be the sister taxon to the Asiloidea... fly |
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Meoslova |
M. daohugouensis |
An archisargid fly |
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Mostovskisargus |
M. portentosus |
Inner Mongolia |
Archisargid flies |
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M. signatus |
Inner Mongolia |
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Nephila |
N. jurassica Nephila jurassica Nephila jurassica is an extinct species of spider in the family Nephilidae, which contains the golden silk orb-weavers. The species is known only from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation, part of the Daohugou Beds, near the village of Daohugou in Ningcheng County, northeastern China.-History... |
1 Specimen |
A golden silk orb-weaver Golden silk orb-weaver The golden silk orb-weavers are a genus of araneomorph spiders noted for the impressive webs they weave. Nephila consists of numerous individual species found around the world. They are also commonly called golden orb-weavers, giant wood spiders, or banana spiders... spider |
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Shantous |
S. lacustris |
A mayfly |
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Dinosaurs
| Dinosaur Dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of... s (including bird Bird Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from... s) of the Daohugou Beds |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | State | Abundance | Notes | Images |
Epidendrosaurus |
E. ninchengensis |
Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation... |
One specimen |
A scansoriopterygid Scansoriopterygidae Scansoriopterygidae is a family of maniraptoran dinosaurs, known from three well-preserved fossils unearthed in the Daohugou fossil beds of Liaoning, China.... probably synonymous with Scansoriopteryx heilmanni |
 |
Epidexipteryx Epidexipteryx Epidexipteryx is a genus of small avialan dinosaur, known from one fossil specimen in the collection of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing. Epidexipteryx represents the earliest known example of ornamental feathers in the fossil record. The type specimen is... |
E. hui |
Inner Mongolia |
One specimen |
A scansoriopterygid |
|
Pedopenna Pedopenna Pedopenna is a genus of small, feathered, maniraptoran dinosaur from the Daohugou Beds in China. It is possibly older than Archaeopteryx, though the age of the Daohugou Beds where it was found is debated... |
P. daohugouensis |
Inner Mongolia |
One specimen |
A primitive paravian Paraves Paraves is a branch-based clade containing birds and other closely related dinosaurs. The paravians include the Avialae, including Archaeopteryx and modern birds, and the Deinonychosauria, which includes the dromaeosaurids and troodontids.... |
|
Scansoriopteryx Scansoriopteryx Scansoriopteryx is a genus of avialan dinosaur. Described from only a single juvenile fossil specimen found in Liaoning, China, Scansoriopteryx is a sparrow-sized animal that shows adaptations in the foot indicating an arboreal lifestyle. It possessed an unusual, elongated third finger... |
S. heilmanni |
One or two specimens |
A scansoriopterygid. Exact provenance of type specimen unknown, most likely from the Daohugou Beds |
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Lepidosaurs
| Lepidosaurs Lepidosauromorpha Lepidosauromorpha is a group of reptiles comprising all diapsids closer to lizards than to archosaurs . The only living sub-group is the Lepidosauria: extant lizards, snakes, and tuatara... (lizard Lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains... s and relatives) of the Daohugou Beds |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | State | Abundance | Notes | Images |
Unnamed lizard |
Inner Mongolia |
One specimen |
A new lizard with relatively short forelimbs |
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Unnamed lizard |
Inner Mongolia |
One specimen |
A new lizard with long hind limbs and a narrow body |
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Pterosaurs
| Pterosaur Pterosaur Pterosaurs were flying reptiles of the clade or order Pterosauria. They existed from the late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous Period . Pterosaurs are the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight... s of the Daohugou Beds |
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| Genus | Species | State | Abundance | Notes | Images |
Jeholopterus Jeholopterus Jeholopterus was a small anurognathid pterosaur from the Daohugou Beds of northeastern China , between 168 and 152 million years ago), preserved with hair and skin remains.-Naming:... |
J. ninchengensis |
Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation... |
Several specimens |
An anurognathid Anurognathid The Anurognathidae were a group of small pterosaurs, with short tails or tailless, that lived in Europe and Asia during the Jurassic and early Cretaceous periods... |
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Pterorhynchus Pterorhynchus Pterorhynchus was a genus of rhamphorhynchid "rhamphorhynchoid" pterosaur from the Late Jurassic-age Daohugou Formation of Inner Mongolia, China.... |
P. wellnhoferi |
Inner Mongolia |
One specimen |
A rhamphorhynchid |
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Wukongopterus Wukongopterus Wukongopterus is a genus of basal pterosaur, found in Liaoning, China, from the Daohugou Beds, of the Late Jurassic or Early Cretaceous. It was unusual for having both an elongate neck and a long tail.... |
W. lii |
Liaoning Liaoning ' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"... |
One specimen |
A rhamphorhycnhoid Rhamphorhynchoidea The Rhamphorhynchoidea forms one of the two suborders of pterosaurs and represent an evolutionary grade of primitive members of this group of flying reptiles. This suborder is paraphyletic in relation to the Pterodactyloidea, which arose from within the Rhamphorhynchoidea, not from a more distant... |
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Synapsids
| Synapsid Synapsid Synapsids are a group of animals that includes mammals and everything more closely related to mammals than to other living amniotes. They are easily separated from other amniotes by having an opening low in the skull roof behind each eye, leaving a bony arch beneath each, accounting for their name... s of the Daohugou Beds |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | State | Abundance | Notes | Images |
Castorocauda |
C. lutrasimilis |
Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation... |
One specimen |
Aquatic docodont |
 |
Volaticotherium |
V. antiquum |
Inner Mongolia |
One specimen |
A gliding mammal Mammal Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young... |
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See also
- Yixian FormationYixian FormationThe Yixian Formation is a geological formation in Jinzhou, Liaoning, People's Republic of China, that spans 11 million years during the early Cretaceous period...
- Jehol BiotaJehol BiotaThe Jehol Biota includes all the living organisms - the ecosystem - of northeastern China between 133 to 120 million years ago. This is the Lower Cretaceous ecosystem which left fossils in the Yixian Formation and Jiufotang Formation. It is also believed to have left fossils in the Sinuiju series...
- List of fossil sites (with link directory)