An Asian origin for Sinomastodon (Proboscidea, Gomphotheriidae) inferred from a new Upper Miocene specimen from Gansu of China

We report a fossil specimen referable to Sinomastodontinae gen. et sp. indet. from the Neogene strata at Yanghecun locality, Xihe County, Gansu Province, China. The specimen is characterized by a brevirostrine mandible, complete pretrite trefoils, and relatively simple posttrite half lophids, showing typical features of Sinomastodon. It differs from the other known species of Sinomastodon by the following features: relatively short and wide m3 due to fewer lophid numbers, less inflated pretrite accessory central conules, poorly developed secondary trefoils and cementum, and relatively strong cingulid. All of these features indicate a bias towards pleisiomorphies of Sinomastodon, implying that this specimen is more ancestral than any known species of Sinomastodon. The symphysis of the new specimen is relatively long, which differs from the typical brevirostrine Sinomastodon, and thus we consider it a gen. et sp. indet. in the Subfamily Sinomastodontinae. In addition, the horizon in which the present specimen was found probably represents the Upper Miocene because it is lower than Pliocene strata yielding Hipparion (Proboscidipparon) pater. Generally, Sinomastodon is considered to have migrated from North America at about the time of the Miocene/Pliocene boundary, and to have been derived from a certain clade of American gomphotheres. However, the discovery of the Yanghecun specimen verifies that Sinomastodon lived in East Asia during the Late Miocene, and probably derived from Old World gomphotheres (e.g., G. wimani). The similarity between the members of the Subfamilies Sinomastodontinae and those of Cuvieroniinae is suggested to have been the result of parallel evolution.