Fossil Site of Fish in Zhoukoudian, Fangshan

Fossil Site of Fish in Zhoukoudian, Fangshan

The fossil site of fish in Zhoukoudian is located about 1.5 kilometers south of the Peking Man Site. It sits approximately 60 meters above the riverbed and is a site where freshwater fish fossils have been discovered. The Zhoukoudian fish fossil site consists of a basin-shaped pocket deposit composed of yellow, layered fine sandstone and reddish-brown thin layers of coarse sand and small gravel. Most of the fish fossils are found in the middle to lower parts of the fine sand layer. Through multiple excavations in 1933 and after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, over 2,000 fish fossils have been discovered here, densely distributed, with some even overlapping. Most retain the original shapes of their heads, bodies, tails, and fins, and some still have scales. The species include Pseudorasbora parva, Acanthopsoides hapalias, Yunnanilus, and Szechuanilus. The first two are extinct species, while the latter two are extant species, making these fossils important physical evidence for studying the geological and geographical changes in Beijing.

Location

Zhoukoudian Village, Fangshan District, Beijing