Once upon a time, Dalian, where grasslands were widespread, was a paradise for wildlife

Fossils of true mammoths unearthed in Dalian [Late Pleistocene (40,000 to 10,000 years ago)].

Researchers conduct excavations at the Haimao fossil site.

Liu Shuo, a reporter for this newspaper, xie Xiaofang

The Bohai Sea is a land, rivers and lakes are crisscrossed, grasslands are widespread, snow dance in winter, and green grass in summer. Herbivores such as mammoths, woolly rhinoceros, red deer, bison, primitive cattle, roe deer, antelopes, wild horses, wild donkeys, etc. are leisurely nibbling on the young leaves on the branches and the grass on the ground, the buffalo in the mud pond are bathing in the mud, the wild boar is enjoying a big meal in the dirt, while the carnivores such as tigers, leopards, lynx, hyenas, wolves and other predators are staring at them... This is a scene of the Dalian area during the Late Quaternary Pleistocene (128,000 to 11,000 years ago) period recovered by researchers based on excavated fossils.

The earth has a history of 4.6 billion years, and in the long years, many creatures have been born, and countless creatures have gone extinct. Time has frozen the beautiful pictures of prehistory as fossils. For researchers, soil layers and fossils are very valuable research materials, through which people can glimpse the appearance of an area tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years ago. Liu Jinyuan, a researcher engaged in quaternary stratigraphic paleontology research at the Dalian Natural History Museum, said that there are many Quaternary vertebrate fossils in Dalian and a rich variety, which is an important basis for determining the comparison of Pleistocene strata and fauna in Dalian and southern Liaoning, and to explore the evolution of paleogeography, paleoclimate and paleo-ecological environment. Let's appreciate the customs of the prehistoric Dalian area under the guidance of researchers.

1.6 million to 1.2 million years ago

Dalian area is dry and cold,

There are many kinds of small mammals

In late June 1989, when the Haimao Industrial Company in Ganjingzi District was quarrying, a limestone fissure was found in the upper part of the quarrying surface, and the fracture accumulation contained a large number of fossil bones and teeth of vertebrates. After the Dalian Natural History Museum learned about it, it immediately sent professional researchers to conduct a number of field excavations and obtained a number of vertebrate fossil specimens with collectible research value.

At the Haimao fossil site, two mammal groups were found, one is the Dalian Haimao small mammal group of the Early Pleistocene (2.58 million to 780,000 years ago), that is, the Dalian fauna, and the other is the Late Pleistocene Haimao fauna. Liu Jinyuan said that the Dalian fauna is the first Early Pleistocene fauna found in Dalian and Northeast China so far, and according to the analysis, its age is about 1.6 million to 1.2 million years old, which provides a reliable basis for the division and comparison of Early Pleistocene strata in Northeast China, and also provides important data for discussing the migration of early Pleistocene fauna.

Liu Jinyuan said that the composition of the small mammal group in Dalian Haimao is mainly based on the species that inhabit the dry grassland ecological environment, such as voles, squirrels, etc., among which there are more species that live in desert-semi-desert environments, and there are representatives of the alpine desert-highland meadow type, such as weasels, gerbils, five-toed jerboas, and marmots.

According to the analysis of small mammal populations and the analysis of pollen in cave deposits, the paleoclimate at that time was relatively dry and cold. According to the observation of field excavations, no ancient human relics were found in the fissure accumulation of Haimao, animal fossils were not worn, and the skulls and limb bones of many small mammal fossils were buried intact, indicating that the animal remains were not transported over a long distance, and it is likely that after the death of the animals, the remains were directly washed into the fissures by rain and flash floods, forming fossils under the long geological action.

17,000 years ago

There are many more species and numbers of wild animals in Dalian than there are now

Most of the vertebrate fossils found in dalian are late Pleistocene, the most representative of which is Wafangdian Gulong mountain. The famous mammoth in the movie "Ice Age" was found in the Cave of GulongShan.

In April 1981, workers at the Longshan Village Building Materials Factory in Wafangdian City discovered a cave with a large number of vertebrate fossils while mining limestone in Gulongshan. Researchers at the Dalian Museum of Natural History have conducted two excavations and obtained tens of thousands of fossils. Whether in terms of the number of species or the number of individuals, it is rare to unearth such a large number of vertebrate fossils and bury such a concentrated concentration in the northeast region, which constitutes a huge fauna, which the researchers named "Gulongshan Fauna".

Liu Jinyuan said that from the analysis and dating of fauna, the sediments of the Gulongshan cave are late Pleistocene, and the age should be 17,000 years ago. At that time, there were far more species and numbers of wild animals in the Dalian area than there are today. Fossils found at the site include fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and a large number of mammals, including the mammoths endemic to the northeast, the woolly rhinoceros fauna, and new species such as the Chinese wild horse, the Dalian horse, and the Dalian hazel chicken endemic to Dalian. Some of these flourishing herbivores lived until after the mammoth extinction era, and only gradually declined in recent centuries.

Liu Jinyuan said that according to the pollen analysis of samples taken from the cave accumulation of Gulongshan Mountain, the Dalian area was dominated by grasslands and sparse forests at that time, but from the perspective of the composition of mammal fossils, there were many carnivorous species, indicating that there must be dense forests in the not far mountainous areas, and many birds can be used as evidence. According to various estimates, 17,000 years ago, the average annual temperature in the Gulong Mountain area was 4 °C to 6 °C; the average annual rainfall was 400 mm, 200 mm less than today. The abundance of cold-loving animals in the Gulong Mountain fauna means that the winter was colder at the time, but the summer may be milder.

The Gulongshan Cave not only unearthed a large number of wildlife fossils, but also found 4 stone tools and a large number of bone tools, which shows that 17,000 years ago, ancient humans lived and multiplied in the land of Dalian. Related topics, this newspaper will continue to ask experts to analyze and interpret.