The skull of a Chinese mastodonaround six million years old, has been discovered in southwest China's Yunnan Province, according to Chinese and U.S. archeologists.
The fossil found in Shuitangba, Zhaotong City, puts the history of the species back one million years, said Wang Shiqi,a vertebrate evolution expert with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
Previously, the earliest fossil of the Chinese mastodon was found in north China's Shanxi Province.
The latest discovery indicates the origin of the species may be in Yunnan and surrounding areas, according to Wang.
The study was jointly carried out by archaeologists from CAS and Pennsylvania State University.
An article about the discovery has been published in "The Journal of Mammalian Evolution" in November. (Xinhua)
86-10-68597521 (day)
86-10-68597289 (night)
86-10-68511095 (day)
86-10-68512458 (night)
cas_en@cas.cn
52 Sanlihe Rd., Xicheng District,
Beijing, China (100864)
Copyright © 2002 - Chinese Academy of Sciences
