An examination of feeding ecology in Pleistocene proboscideans from southern China ( Sinomastodon , Stegodon , Elephas ), by means of dental microwear texture analysis

It has long been thought that environmental perturbations were the key driving force behind the succession of three distinct mammal faunas in the Pleistocene Ailuropoda-Stegodon faunal complex (sensu lato) of South China: the lower Pleistocene Gigantopithecus-Sinomastodon fauna, the middle Pleistocene Ailuropoda-Stegodon fauna (sensu stricto) and the upper Pleistocene Homo-Elephas fauna. Here, we apply three-dimensional dental microwear texture...