Tunggur Fossil Site

Tunggur Fossil Site

Tunggur is one of China’s world-renowned fossil sites for mammalian remains. It was discovered by the Third Central Asiatic Expedition

1928

organized by the American Museum of Natural History in 1928,

1930

and they carried out large-scale excavations in the area in 1930.

Tunggur (

Tung-gur

) is not an official geographical name and cannot be found on maps. It was named in

L

,

E

,

spock

）

1929

based on the names of two local wells. Our investigation confirmed that there are two wells in the region, respectively called Gulin Huduoge and Donghuren Huduoge.

Nowadays, the term Tunggur generally refers to the entire distribution area of the Tunggur Formation—a plateau slightly elevated above the surrounding terrain in the northwest, which gradually merges with the surrounding land surface to the east and south where the Tunggur Formation no longer outcrops. Only at its eastern and southern edges, due to the presence of a salt lake forming steep cliffs, does the Tunggur Formation reappear. The northwestern part of the plateau is elevated over

40

meters above the surrounding land, forming well-exposed steep cliffs that also host the highest concentration of fossils.

The base of the Tunggur Formation and its contact with the underlying strata are not exposed in this region. The only location where the underlying strata are visible is about

25

kilometers northeast of Saihan Gaobi Sumu. These contain Oligocene strata with

(Lophiomeryx)

fossils, but no direct contact with the Tunggur Formation has been observed. The Tunggur Formation is best exposed at Mandelin, consisting mainly of lacustrine sedimentary sandstones and mudstones (with no visible base), with the top eroded and often covered by later conglomerate layers. According to previous studies, the Tunggur fauna includes

27

species, among which Platybelodon is the most abundant and famous. Due to the diversity of fossil types, simple stratigraphic sequence, and clear dating, the Tunggur fauna was quickly recognized internationally as a typical representative of the Late Miocene in East Asia.

1959

In a certain year, a Sino-Soviet paleontological expedition attempted large-scale excavation and research here (at Aershan Chabu), but it was interrupted due to well-known reasons. Most of the fossil specimens were lost during the

"

Cultural Revolution

"

, and the Aershan Chabu expedition only added two new species to the Tunggur fauna.

Today, nearly all Tunggur fauna fossil specimens are housed in the American Museum of Natural History. It is quite regrettable that this type locality is in China, yet very few Tunggur fauna fossils are preserved there.

1986

In a certain year, the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Xilin Gol League Cultural Relics Protection Management Station jointly formed the Inner Mongolia Tunggur Expedition Team. Led by renowned middle-aged scholar Professor Qiu Zhanxiang (currently Director of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a member of the 1959 Sino-Soviet Expedition Team), the team conducted excavations and surveys at Dabuhar, Zhunwugur South, Aershan Chabu, Mandelin Chaba, Mergen, and approximately

2

kilometers northwest of the triangular junction near Hurgulagin, as well as at Guerhulagin Oorigel.

The most significant finds from this expedition were fossils of small mammals. The American Third Central Asiatic Expedition and the Sino-Soviet paleontological expedition both focused on collecting large mammal fossils, resulting in very few small mammal fossils—only six species with limited material. By using the sieving method, we collected nearly 3 tons of sand samples and discovered a large number of teeth, totaling nearly

2

thousand specimens. This expanded the original six species to include

22

new ones, at least three of which were found in China for the first time.