On December 22, the CCTV Spring Festival Gala mascot "Rabbit Yuanyuan" officially announced that the iconic four incisors of "Rabbit Yuanyuan" are taken from the typical characteristics of the ecological restoration image of the "Anhui Model Rat Rabbit" fossil. What is the significance of the "Anhui model rat rabbit" fossil?
Like modern rabbits, the "Anhui model rat rabbit" has four upper incisors
"Anhui Model Rat Rabbit" is the world's earliest lagomorph discovered so far. It lived in the Early Paleocene Epoch, about 62 million years ago. It was studied and named by Mr. Li Chuangkui of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences).
After the founding of New China, our country began to conduct large-scale geological and mineral censuses. The Institute of Paleovertebrae of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is responsible for the investigation of the red beds in South my country. There are extensive Paleocene stratigraphic deposits in these large and small continental basins, which also contain rich paleontological fossil resources. The "Anhui model pika" fossil was discovered during this investigation of the red beds in South China. It was discovered in the Qianshan Basin of Anhui Province and was first studied and reported in 1977.
The "Anhui Model Pika" fossil is currently collected in the China Paleontology Museum. This type of fossil includes part of the skull and left and right mandibles that preserve the incisors and cheek teeth.
"It has two pairs of front and rear incisors on its upper jaw. The former pair is larger and grows throughout its life. From the side of the lip, you can clearly see a groove in the middle of the incisors, and there is a pair of small incisors immediately behind it. These characteristics are consistent with modern rabbits. . So the image of 'Rabbit Yuanyuan' retains four upper incisors, two large and two small, which is derived from this feature." She further explained that model pika rabbits and modern rabbits have upper and lower incisors that grow throughout their lives. Therefore, rabbits need to constantly grind their teeth to prevent their incisors from growing too fast and affecting their normal feeding.
"Anhui Model Pika Rabbit" is fossil evidence that "pika and rabbit are homologous"
Rabbits are the collective name for the order Lagomorpha, and rats are the largest family in the order Rodentia. However, in the 18th century, Swedish biologist Carl von Linnaeus proposed the concept of rodents, including rats, rabbits, shrews and other animals. At that time, everyone believed that rabbits and rats were related. However, in the 20th century, as research continued to deepen, more and more scholars discovered that rabbits and mice differ not only in the number and shape of their upper incisors, but also in other anatomical structures. Therefore, It is proposed that rabbits and rats are not related. Precisely because there was no key fossil evidence, this controversy lasted for nearly 100 years and became a hot topic in the biological community at that time.
In the 1970s, not only the fossils of "Anhui Model Rat Rabbit" were discovered in the Qianshan Basin of Anhui Province, but also the fossils of "Oriental Xiaorat" were discovered. The "Anhui model rat rabbit" is more like a lagomorph rabbit, while the "Oriental rat rabbit" has many rodent characteristics. Judging from the fossils, there are many intertwined characteristics between the two. Based on these evidences, in 1984, Li Chuankui proposed the idea that rats and rabbits share the same origin. Later, he also proposed that East Asia is the origin of rodents and lagomorphs.
my country has nearly complete fossil evidence of rabbit evolution
Li Chuankui and other older generation paleontologists have led scientific research teams on the land of the motherland for decades, filling in the blanks step by step, so that our country has almost complete fossil evidence of rabbit evolution.
"Anhui Model Rat Rabbit" is the ancestral group of the entire lagomorphs. In 2007, Chinese scientists discovered a well-preserved specimen of lagomorphs in the Erlian Basin of Inner Mongolia and named it "Ancient Dawson's Rabbit". Dawson's Rabbit can be traced back to 53 million years ago. "This is the most primitive lagomorph fossil known so far. In North America and Europe, lagomorph fossils appeared much later than 53 million years ago." She said, "Ancient Dawson's Rabbit" is between The transitional type between the "Anhui model pika rabbit" and modern rabbits is equivalent to these fossil evidences linking the evolution of the complete lagomorphs.
Therefore, the Spring Festival Gala mascot "Rabbit Yuanyuan" is not only the zodiac rabbit in the traditional cultural sense, but also the "ancestor" of the Chinese white rabbit that embodies the spirit of exploration of Chinese scientists.
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