Thursday

Field dispatch - new find

27 July 2010. Tuosu Nor west shore

Today was a hot day, and it would have been more unbearable if we weren't by the Tuosu Nor (latter meaning "lake" in Mongolian). We kept driving east from previous day's locality, and reached the southern twin of the Keluke-Tuosu lakes.

We discovered a new locality marked by a rich collection of fossil deer antlers and more fish bones! Furthermore, we also collected a partial bovid dentary accompanied by an equid maxilla.

The equid is most likely some kind of /Hipparion/, meaning we have a faunal connection to the Quanshuiliang fauna. However, the latter appears unique in its endemic bovids, and the new locality, without a hint of those taxa, could represent a different environment and/or a distinct geologic age altogether.

Mosquitoes (swarms of them) are still keeping us company.

-The LACM/IVPP/FSU team
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

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