Restoration of the little ancient cat. Tan Chao, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
The tiger is the king of the hundred beasts. Their majestic, athletic image is awe-inspiring and adorable. The Lunar Year of the Tiger is coming, and the reporter interviewed a number of experts in the field of paleontology and other fields to "chase the tiger and find the source" with you.
Although the tiger is called a tiger, it is a feline, which is often referred to as a "big cat". In the long river of evolution, how do they come step by step, and how do they enter our traditional culture?
He Yiming, director of the exhibition department of the Nanjing Paleontological Museum and a doctor of paleontology, introduced that the ancestors of all carnivores, including cats, can be traced back to small ancient cats 40 million to 50 million years ago.
The little ancient cat looks like a cat, has a long head, walks with the palms and soles of its feet, and has a lumbar spine suitable for running, a well-developed brain and sharp teeth. As the offspring of the little ancient cat diverged, one of them evolved into the current cat family.
Who is the "world's first tiger"?
Zhang Jinshuo, deputy director of the National Zoological Museum, said that it took a long time to find the earliest tigers. The paleo-Chinese tiger is the most primitive of the currently known leopard species (including extinct and extant taxa), living more than 2 million years ago in the middle reaches of the Yellow River on the mainland.
Sun Boyang, associate researcher of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, introduced that the ancient Chinese tiger was first found in Shichi, Henan, close to the Yangshao site, and its specimens are relatively well preserved, including skulls, mandibles and atlantospheres, and later found in Dongxiang County, Linxia Prefecture, Gansu Province, and there are only these two records. "Compared with modern tigers living in woodland environments and hunting mainly in ambush, the living environment of ancient Chinese tigers may be more open, and the frequency of pursuing prey is relatively higher." Sun Boyang said.
Fossil skull of the ancient Chinese tiger, from Shichi, Henan, upper left: left side, upper right side: right side, lower left side: back side, lower right side: ventral side. Photo courtesy of the Institute of Ancient Spine, Chinese Academy of Sciences
However, can we say that the ancient Chinese tiger is the ancestor of the modern tiger?
According to reports, it may be a common ancient "distant relative" of living big cats such as lions, tigers, leopards, etc., and its discovery proves that the origin of tigers is most likely to be In Asia, or even China. But who is the real "first tiger" is still an unsolved mystery.
Restoration of the ancient Chinese tiger. Chen Yu painted
What is the "tiger" in the mainland zodiac?
According to the literature, the "Zodiac" has a very long history of existence on the mainland, and Wang Chong of the Eastern Han Dynasty recorded it in the "On Balance". In the zodiac, there are not only the "six animals" raised at home - cattle, horses, sheep, chickens, dogs, pigs, but also common wild animals - rats, tigers, rabbits, snakes, monkeys, as well as the symbol of the Chinese nation - the dragon. Therefore, the common "tiger" in the mainland at that time should be the prototype of the zodiac tiger.
The picture shows the Shanghai Museum's collection of the Golden Dynasty Yellow Ground Black Colored Goose Reed Pattern Tiger Pillow (front). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ren Long
Zhang Feng, senior engineer and doctor of paleontology at the Chongqing Municipal Bureau of Geological Surveys, said that in the scope of thousands of years, there have been several subspecies of tigers living in the land of China: the South China tiger, the Siberian tiger in the three eastern provinces, the Bengal tiger in Metuo, Tibet, the Indochina tiger in the southwest region, and the Xinjiang tiger in the Tarim Basin of Xinjiang. Considering that the important source and core component of Chinese culture is the Central Plains culture located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, judging from the distribution and commonness of the above tigers, the South China tiger is most likely the prototype of the zodiac tiger.
Do you know? In fact, #Tigers can also eat grass.#
The tiger has long been one of the totems of Chinese civilization. In ancient Times, people also had customs such as painting tigers to ward off evil spirits, wearing tiger hats and wearing tiger head shoes. Currently, #There are only 6 tiger subspecies left in the world and all are endangered.
The South China tiger, unique to China, has been extinct in the wild.
Editor: Wu Jinjiao
Photo and text synthesis: Xinhua Viewpoint (reporter Wang Jueyue), @ Painting Slag Flower Xiao Branding, CCTV News