10.5061/DRYAD.J77QP27
Gong, Yanxin
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Wang, Yuanqing
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Wang, Yang
Florida State University
Mao, Fang-Yuan
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Bai, Bin
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Wang, Haibing
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Li, Qian
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jin, Xun
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Wang, Xu
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Meng, Jin
American Museum of Natural History
Data from: Dietary adaptations and paleoecology of Lophialetidae
(Mammalia: Tapiroidea) from the Eocene of the Erlian Basin, China:
Combined evidence from mesowear and stable isotope analyses
Dryad
dataset
2019
paleodiet
Inner Mongolia
Mesowear
Lophialetidae
Eocene
stable carbon isotope
National Science Foundation
https://ror.org/021nxhr62
DMR-1644779
2019-12-13T00:00:00Z
2019-12-13T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.12471
41272 bytes
3
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Lophialetidae are an extinct group of endemic Asiatic tapiroids that are
widely distributed in the Eocene sediments of Asia. Schlosseria magister
and Lophialetes expeditus are the most abundant species in this family.
However, their dietary and ecological characteristics are largely unknown
to date. For the first time, we reconstruct the paleodiet and habitat of
these two lophialetids using a combination of mesowear and stable carbon
isotope analyses of fossil teeth excavated from the Erlian Basin, China.
The mesowear analyses (n=141) suggest that the dietary structure of S.
magister and L. expeditus shifted from less abrasive to more abrasive
diets from ~52 to ~42 Ma. The stable carbon isotope analyses (n=137)
suggest that the habitats of S. magister and L. expeditus became drier
and/or more open through time. The dietary shifts of the two lophialetids
are consistent with the evident changes in habitat. The changes in the
diets and habitat likely were related to global climate change during that
time period. The gradual drop in global temperatures during Early-Middle
Eocene led to a drier and more open terrestrial ecosystem in the Erlian
Basin, probably resulting in changes in floral composition of the
environment inhabited by S. magister and L. expeditus. Hence, herbivores
highly susceptible to vegetation modification had to develop new resource
exploitation strategies to adapt to the change. Schlosseria magister
considered as the direct ancestor of L. expeditus and having a low level
of ecological flexibility, were unable to adapt to the habitat changes
finally becoming extinct at ~45 Ma.
Appendix A (The detailed mesowear data of individual sample)Appendix
A.xlsxAppendix B (The results of the stable carbon isotope analyses of the
samples)Appendix B.xlsx
Inner Mongolia
China