The dental morphology and ontogeny analysis of the Mid–Late Pleistocene Stegodon orientalis (Mammalia: Proboscidea) from Sichuan
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Abstract:
The Sichuan Basin is one of the earliest regions in China to discover and study Quaternary mammalian fossils, with the main research hotspot areas being in Chongqing. While there are few studies in the Sichuan region. Stegodon orientalis Owen, 1870 is one of the most common species in the Pleistocene Ailuropoda-Stegodon fauna of southern China. However, its classification and evolution have currently not yet been formed into a unified understanding, and its ontogeny is still not researched enough. This study delves into the dental morphology and ontogeny analysis of 17 specimens of S. orientalis from the Sichuan region, preserved in the Chengdu Natural History Museum (Chengdu University of Technology Museum). Based on tooth eruption and wear, those materials’s ontogeny can be divided into 5 age groups, including neonate, juvenile, sub-adult, adult, and old adult. This study fills the gap in the aspects of dental morphology characteristics and ontogeny analysis of Ailuropoda–Stegodon fauna in the Sichuan region. It also provides essential data for further refining the classification, phylogeny, and evolutionary studies of Stegodon.
