Rediscovery and stratigraphic calibration of the classic Nihewan Fauna, Hebei Province, China

The classic Nihewan Fauna, as the representative of early Pleistocene Asian Land Mammal Age Nihewanian, has long been cited for bio- and chronostratigraphic correlation. However, its precise provenance and stratigraphic horizon have remained unsolved till now. The authors successfully extracted the vital information by rediscovering 30 of the original excavation localities. The fossils were catalogued with their provenance through an extensive field survey and comprehensive inspection of the Tianjin Natural History Museum collection. A review of the original description of these fossil localities, using satellite images, and subsequent lithological examination of the Xiashagou strata in the field verified the new findings. The survey produced the first stratigraphic profile calibrated with fossil horizons of the Nihewan formation in the Xiashagou section. Correlated with the published magnetostratigraphical profile of the section, an age of similar to 2.4-1.8 Ma is estimated for the classic Nihewan Fauna.