摘要: Shanshenmiaozui site in Nihewan Basin in North China is a recently discovered
Early Pleistocene site which yields rich and diverse mammalian fossils. In the fauna, the small
and medium-sized bovid fossils are well represented and can be referred to the following taxa:
Spirocerus wongi, Gazella sinensis, Ovis shantungensis and Megalovis piveteaui respectively,
among which G. sinensis is the dominate species. S. wongi and G. sinensis are mainly represented
by horn-cores and partial skull bones as well as mandibles; in addition, metacarpal and/or
metatarsal bones were also recognized for all of the four species. The horn-cores are easy to be
identified to the species level, while the dentitions and the postcranial bones underwent a series
of examinations and comparisons before getting properly determined and referred to the most
approximate taxa. Among the postcranial bones, the metapodials, especially to the metacarpal
bones special attentions were paid, which are crucial not only for taxonomic identification, but
also for phylogenetic and paleoecological reconstructions; the previously misidentified metapodial
specimens in Nihewan fauna were reconsidered in this paper. In the SSMZ fauna, the bovid guild
is dominated by Gazella and Bison, which indicates steppe was the most important biome in
Nihewan Basin during Early Pleistocene.