Eocene-Oligocene transition in Central Asia and its effects on mammalian evolution

The Eocene-Oligocene boundary (EOB) marks a period of dramatic global climatic change correlated with pronounced mammalian faunal change. The timing of these events is well constrained in North America and Europe, but the Asian record has yet to produce a synthetic section linking environmental chan...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geology (Boulder) 2010-02, Vol.38 (2), p.111-114
Main Authors: Kraatz, Brian P, Geisler, Jonathan H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Asia
biogeography
biologic evolution
Cenozoic
Central Asia
China
Chordata
Climate change
correlation
desertification
Eocene
Evolution
Far East
Fossils
Geological time
Hsanda Gol Formation
Mammalia
Mammals
Mongolia
Oligocene
paleoclimatology
paleoecology
Paleogene
Paleontology
Stratigraphy
terrestrial environment
Tertiary
Tetrapoda
Tibetan Plateau
Vertebrata
vertebrate
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Summary:The Eocene-Oligocene boundary (EOB) marks a period of dramatic global climatic change correlated with pronounced mammalian faunal change. The timing of these events is well constrained in North America and Europe, but the Asian record has yet to produce a synthetic section linking environmental change, mammalian fossils, and precise geochronological dates. Here we present the first magnetostratigraphic section for the Hsanda Gol Formation, Mongolia, which yields significant Oligocene fossils and also marks a pattern of aridification that is tightly correlated to the EOB (33.9 Ma), supporting a broader pattern of aridification in the central Asian plateau across the EOB. Oligocene faunas of Asia can now be confidently correlated to those of North America, Europe, and Africa. These results suggest that mammalian faunal turnover within Asia occurred slightly later than similar events within Europe, and question the influence of Asian immigrants on the Grande Coupure faunal turnover.
ISSN:0091-7613
1943-2682
DOI:10.1130/G30619.1