The Late Miocene Chinese hipparions that are morphologically similar to those from the
western Old World were studied. Two monophyletic groups of the Late Miocene Eurasian
hipparions were recognized in the forms from northern China, which were commonly distributed
in the western and eastern Old World. It is likely that Hipparion fossatum and
H. hippidiodus from northern China are respectively related to H. moldavicum and H.
urmiense from the Turolian in the western Old World. Hipparion fossatum (China) and
H. moldavicum (northern shore of the Black Sea and Iran) share the following characters:
sub-rhomboid to sub-triangular POF situated close to the orbit, and small and slender
third metapodials. Hipparion hippidiodus (China), H. platygenys (northern shore of the
Black Sea), and H. urmiense (Iran) show following shared characters: reduced POF
situated high on the face and moderately far from the orbit; small protocones, simple
enamel plications, slender snout region, and large and slender to semi-robust third
metapodials. H. fossatum and H. hippidiodus are associated with the dorcadoides
(open-land living) and mixed faunas of northern China. The hipparionines from northern
China that show affinitie swith the forms from the western Old World are chronologically
older than those associated with the gaudryi (forest living) fauna based on the
faunal composition. The hipparionines in the gaudryi fauna are similar to North
American genus: Hipparion s.s. (H. tehonense and H. forcei). The hipparionines from the
Late Miocene of northern China exhibit affinities to those from both the western Old World
and North America. The hipparionine assemblages in northern China during the Late
Miocene and the earliest Pliocene are result of mixture of immigrated forms from North
America and from western part of Eurasia, especially, Black Sea and Sub-Paratethys
regions.
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