[PaleoMammalogy • 2015] Middle Miocene Bovidae from Mae Moh Basin, Northern Thailand: the First Record of the Genus Eotragus from Southeast Asia; Eotragus lampangensis

Eotragus lampangensis
Kantapon, Chaimanee, Chavasseau & Jaeger, 2015

Illustration: T. Krutchuen [1]

We describe the first bovid fossils from the late Middle Miocene (13.4-13.2 Ma) of the Mae Moh Basin of Northern Thailand, and assign the material to the new species Eotragus lampangensis sp. nov., Eotragus cf. lampangensis, and an indeterminate bovid. Our material represents the first report of Eotragus from Southeast Asia, thus greatly extending the geographic distribution of this genus across the Old World continents. While comparisons of the Southeast Asian specimens with abundant material of E. clavatus from Sansan (France) and E. aff. clavatus from Tarazona de Aragón (Spain) indicate a high degree of intraspecific variation within single species of Eotragus, the existence of two distinct taxa at Mae Moh remains a possibility. Based on previous carbon isotope studies of Mae Moh herbivore tooth enamel, Eotragus lampangensis sp. nov. foraged predominantly in an ecotone between grassland and forest.

Key words: Mammalia, Bovidae, Eotragus, Miocene, Mae Moh Basin, Thailand, Southeast Asia.

Eotragus lampangensis sp. nov. 

Etymology: From the geographic location of the Mae Moh coal mine in the Lampang Province of Northern Thailand.
Holotype: UPP MM-68, a left horn core with preserving part of the frontal bone. Type locality: Mae Moh coal mine, Northern Thailand.

Kantapon Suraprasit, Yaowalak Chaimanee, Olivier Chavasseau, and Jean-Jacques Jaeger. 2015. Middle Miocene Bovidae from Mae Moh Basin, Northern Thailand: the First Record of the Genus Eotragus from Southeast Asia. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 60(1); 67-78. doi: 10.4202/app.2012.0061 

สัตว์เคี้ยวเอื้องโบราณ (Primitive bovid) ได้ถูกค้นพบที่เหมืองแม่เมาะ จังหวัดลำปาง อายุประมาณ 13.2 -13.4 ล้านปี (สมัยไมโอซีนตอนกลาง) จากการศึกษาและวิจัยพบว่ามันเป็นชนิดใหม่ของโลก จึงตั้งชื่อให้ว่า "Eotragus lampangensis" ชิ้นส่วนที่พบนั้นมีส่วนของเขา 4 ชิ้น ฟันกรามน้อยและฟันกรามจำนวนประมาณ 10 กว่าซี่ โดยกลุ่มสัตว์เคี้ยวเอื้องโบราณนั้นมีลักษณะที่ใกล้เคียงกับแพะ แต่มีขนาดค่อนข้างเล็ก การค้นพบครั้งนี้ถือเป็นการปรากฏของสัตว์เคี้ยวเอื้อง (True bovids) ที่เก่าแก่ที่สุดเท่าที่มีการบันทึกไว้ในเอเชียตะวันออกเฉียงใต้ และยังเป็นการค้นพบสัตว์สกุลนี้ครั้งแรกในบริเวณแถบบ้านเรา เนื่องจากสัตว์กลุ่มนี้มีการค้นพบส่วนใหญ่ที่ปากีสถาน ทางยุโรปและจีนเท่านั้น และจากการศึกษาองค์ประกอบของไอโซโทปเสถียรของคาร์บอนในฟัน พบว่ามันเป็นสัตว์ที่อาศัยอยู่ในบริเวณระหว่างป่าลึกกับทุ่งหญ้าทางภาคเหนือของไทย

Reconstructed image drawn by Thita Krutchuen

facebook.com/Dom-Paleoworld/photos/405289496307551

[PaleoMammalogy • 2014] Lagomeryx manai • Systematics and Phylogeny of middle Miocene Cervidae (Mammalia) from Mae Moh Basin (Thailand) and a Paleoenvironmental Estimate using Enamel Isotopy of Sympatric Herbivore Species

Lagomeryx manai

Suraprasit, Chaimanee,  Bocherens, Chavasseau & Jaeger 2014

illustration: Pattnapong Pansi

Abstract

The primitive deer (subfamily Lagomerycinae) Lagomeryx and Stephanocemas are characterized primarily by their palmate antlers. Two lagomerycines, Lagomeryx manai, sp. nov., and Stephanocemas rucha, are described for the first time from Q and K coal layers of the late middle Miocene (13.4–13.2 Ma) Mae Moh Basin in northern Thailand. A species-level phylogeny of the Ligeromeryx-Lagomeryx clade, based on cranial appendages, reconstructs Lagomeryx manai, n. sp., as a derived species of Lagomeryx, sister group of Lagomeryx complicidens. This study suggests that the large species of Lagomeryx are restricted geographically to Asia and dispersed to Southeast Asia at the latest during late middle Miocene, where they are represented by Lagomeryx manai, n. sp. The paleoenvironmental studies of five Mae Moh mammalian taxa, a cervid (Lagomeryx manai, n. sp.), an indeterminate bovid, a suid (Conohyus thailandicus), a rhinoceros (Gaindatherium sp.), and a proboscidean (Stegolophodon sp.), investigated with stable carbon and oxygen isotope analyses of tooth enamel, indicate that the Mae Moh mammals inhabited a wide range of habitats from woodlands to grasslands in a C3-plant-dominated environment. The new species of Lagomeryx seems to have been living in an open environment, contrary to its European relatives. The serial isotopic samples also support that Mae Moh herbivores probably lived in a low-seasonal climate during the late middle Miocene of northern Thailand.

Lagomeryx manaireconstruction by Namosaurus

Kantapon Suraprasit, Yaowalak Chaimanee, Herve Bocherens, Olivier Chavasseau & Jean-Jacques Jaeger. 2014. Systematics and Phylogeny of middle Miocene Cervidae (Mammalia) from Mae Moh Basin (Thailand) and a Paleoenvironmental Estimate using Enamel Isotopy of Sympatric Herbivore Species.
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 34:1, 179-194. 

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2013.789038

The Cervidae from the Middle Miocene of  Mae Moh (Thailand): Systematic, Phylogeny, and Paleoenvironments 

http://sfa.univ-poitiers.fr/master-paleontologie/images/sujets-stages-M2-2010/Kantapon%20Suraprasit.pdf

facebook: Dom Paleoworld

[PaleoMammalogy • 2011] บีเวอร์สยาม | Steneofiber siamensis • First Castorid (Mammalia, Rodentia) from the middle Miocene of Southeast Asia

 “บีเวอร์สยาม” Steneofiber siamensis

reconstruction by Namosaurus

Abstract

Today and in the Tertiary, the geographical distribution of castorids is limited throughout all of the northern continents. Fossils of the Castoridae genus Steneofiber are abundant in many localities of Eurasia from the late Oligocene to Pliocene period. Recently, Steneofiber fossils were discovered in two localities of northern Thailand, Mae Moh and Chiang Muan coal mines, in layers of late middle Miocene age. These discoveries represent the first records of castorids from Southeast Asia and correspond to their southernmost known range. The focus of this study is to describe this new Thai species of Steneofiber and to define its wear stages from the molar occlusal surfaces by using micro-CT scan analysis. The CT scan technique permits the analysis of the virtual occlusal surface changes from wear, allowing easier comparison to related species of Steneofiber cheek teeth without destroying the teeth. The new species, Steneofiber siamensis n. sp., can be distinguished from the other species of Steneofiber by several distinct characters, longer mesostriid on p4, presence of premesostria and metastria on P4, which are smaller than most of the other known species. The occurrence of this new castorid also supports a subtropical to tropical paleoclimate for these two localities of northern Thailand.

Keywords: Steneofiber, Castoridae, Micro CT scan, Late middle Miocene, Thailand

Steneofiber siamensis fossils discovered from the late middle Miocene of Mae Moh and Chiang Muan coal mines, northern Thailand

http://geothai.net/gneiss/?p=3023 | DOI: 10.1007/s00114-011-0769-0 

Systematic Paleontology

Class MAMMALIA Linnaeus 1758

Order RODENTIA Bowdich 1821

Family CASTORIDAE Hemprich 1820

Subfamily CASTORINAE Hemprich 1820

Genus Steneofiber Geoffroy 1833

Steneofiber siamensis

Suraprasit, Chaimanee, Martin & Jaeger 2011

Type locality: “I”coal layer, Mae Moh coal mine, Lampang province, Thailand.

Etymology: In relation to its geographical origin, Siam being the former name of the Kingdom of Thailand

Suraprasit, K., Y. Chaimanee, T. Martin, and J. -J. Jaeger. 2011. First Castorid (Mammalia, Rodentia) from the middle Miocene of Southeast Asia. Naturwissenschaften. 98(4):315-28. DOI: dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00114-011-0769-0 

http://researchgate.net/publication/50229172_First_castorid_(mammalia_rodentia)_from_the_middle_miocene_of_southeast_Asia

บีเวอร์สยาม หลักฐานการเปลี่ยนแปลงสภาพภูมิอากาศโลกในอดีต

by กันตภณ สุระประสิทธิ์ | http://geothai.net/gneiss/?p=3023

[Palaeontology • 2011] Khoratpithecus ayeyarwadyensis • First Hominoid from the Late Miocene of the Irrawaddy Formation (Myanmar)

MFI-K171, holotype mandible of Khoratpithecus ayeyarwadyensis n. sp.

Abstract 

For over a century, a Neogene fossil mammal fauna has been known in the Irrawaddy Formation in central Myanmar. Unfortunately, the lack of accurately located fossiliferous sites and the absence of hominoid fossils have impeded paleontological studies. Here we describe the first hominoid found in Myanmar together with a Hipparion (s.l.) associated mammal fauna from Irrawaddy Formation deposits dated between 10.4 and 8.8 Ma by biochronology and magnetostratigraphy. This hominoid documents a new species of Khoratpithecus, increasing thereby the Miocene diversity of southern Asian hominoids. The composition of the associated fauna as well as stable isotope data on Hipparion (s.l.) indicate that it inhabited an evergreen forest in a C3-plant environment. Our results enlighten that late Miocene hominoids were more regionally diversified than other large mammals, pointing towards regionally-bounded evolution of the representatives of this group in Southeast Asia. The Irrawaddy Formation, with its extensive outcrops and long temporal range, has a great potential for improving our knowledge of hominoid evolution in Asia.

Systematic Paleontology Superfamily Hominoidea Gray 1825, Family Hominidae Gray 1825, Subfamily Ponginae Elliot 1913, Genus Khoratpithecus Chaimanee et al. 2004, Khoratpithecus ayeyarwadyensis sp. nov

Holotype. Left hemi-mandible with P3-M2 (MFI-K171, collection of the Paleontology Section of the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR), Bangkok – 10400, Rama VI Road, Thailand).

Figure 1. Location of the Khoratpithecus-bearing localities of Thailand and Myanmar.

J.-J. Jaeger, A. N. Soe, O. Chavasseau, P. Coster, E.-G. Emonet, F. Guy, R. Lebrun, A. A. Maung, H. Shwe, S. T. Tun, K. L. Oo, M. Rugbumrung, H. Bocherens, M. Benammi, K. Chaivanich, P. Tafforeau, and Y. Chaimanee. 2011. First Hominoid from the Late Miocene of the Irrawaddy Formation (Myanmar). PLoS ONE 6 (4): 1–14. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0017065.

[Palaeontology • 2004] โคราชพิเธคัส พิริยะอิ 'เอปโคราช' | Khoratpithecus piriyai • A new orang-utan relative from the Late Miocene of Thailand

The fossil record of the living great apes is poor. New fossils from undocumented areas, particularly the equatorial forested habitats of extant hominoids, are therefore crucial for understanding their origins and evolution. Two main competing hypotheses have been proposed for orang-utan origins: dental similarities support an origin from Lufengpithecus, a South Chinese and Thai Middle Miocene hominoid; facial and palatal similarities support an origin from Sivapithecus, a Miocene hominoid from the Siwaliks of Indo-Pakistan. However, materials other than teeth and faces do not support these hypotheses. Here we describe the lower jaw of a new hominoid from the Late Miocene of Thailand, Khoratpithecus piriyai gen. et sp. nov., which shares unique derived characters with orang-utans and supports a hypothesis of closer relationships with orang-utans than other known Miocene hominoids. It can therefore be considered as the closest known relative of orang-utans. Ancestors of this great ape were therefore evolving in Thailand under tropical conditions similar to those of today, in contrast with Southern China and Pakistan, where temperate or more seasonal climates appeared during the Late Miocene.

Systematics. Order Primates Linnaeus 1758; suborder Anthropoidea Mivart 1864; superfamily Hominoidea Gray 1825; family Hominidae Gray 1825; subfamily Ponginae Elliot 1913; Khoratpithecus gen. nov.

Type species. Khoratpithecus piriyai sp. nov.

Referred species. cf. Lufengpithecus chiangmuanensis Chaimanee et al. 2003, Middle Miocene of Thailand.

Etymology. Khoratpithecus means ape from Khorat.

FIGURE 1. Mandible of Khoratpithecus piriyai gen. et sp. nov. holotype (RIN 765).

Y. Chaimanee, V. Suteethorn, P. Jintasakul, C. Vidthayanon, B. Marandat and J.-J. Jaeger. 2004. A new orang-utan relative from the Late Miocene of Thailand. Nature. 427 (6973): 439–441. doi:10.1038/nature02245.

[Palaeontology • 2003] Khoratpithecus (originally 'cf. Lufengpithecus' ) chiangmuanensis • A Middle Miocene hominoid from Thailand and orangutan origins

Figure 3: cf. Lufengpithecus chiangmuanensis n. sp.

Figure: Khoratpithecus chiangmuanensis. A: Isolated teeth discovered onthe site of Chiang Muan, Thailand. The top two rows are male teeth, the lowertwo rows are female teeth. B: 3D analysis by X-ray synchrotron microtomographyof a second lower molar from a male. From left to right: 3D reconstruction, virtualvertical cut, and quantitative distribution map of enamel. The scale bars represent 1 cm.

Fossil teeth hint at orang-utan origins: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2823245.stm

http://wwwcsi.unian.it/educa/inglese/sis05024.html

Y. Chaimanee, D. Jolly, Benammi, M., Tafforeau, P., Duzer, D., Moussa, I. and J.-J. Jaeger. 2003. A Middle Miocene hominoid from Thailand and orangutan origins. Nature 422 (6927): 61–65. doi:10.1038/nature01449.

[Palaeontology • 2010] Tarsius sirindhornae • A new Middle Miocene tarsier from Thailand and the reconstruction of its orbital morphology using a geometric–morphometric method

Tarsius sirindhornae lived during the Middle Miocene in northern Thailand.

The new species— named Tarsius sirindhornae — lived about 13 million years ago. Based on the fossil jaws, the whole animal would have weighed up to 6 ounces (180 grams), making it the largest known tarsier, said study leader Yaowalak Chaimanee, a geologist with Thailand’s Department of Mineral Resources.

Chaimanee, Y., Lebrun, R., Yamee, C., and Jaeger, J.-J. 2010. A new Middle Miocene tarsier from Thailand and the reconstruction of its orbital morphology using a geometric–morphometric method. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences: –. doi:10.1098/rspb.2010.2062.

ซากฟอสซิลลิงชนิดใหม่ของโลก อายุ 13 ล้านปี: http://chm.forest.go.th/th/?p=1232

New Species Found: Thai Fossils Reveal Ancient Primate http://on.natgeo.com/g8yARJ

http://rhamphotheca.tumblr.com/post/12545617219/thai-fossils-reveal-ancient-tarsier-by-rachel