Faunal turnovers of Palaeogene mammals from the Mongolian Plateau

Palaeogene faunal turnovers in Central Asia and their possible links to climatic changes were studied from analyses of 454 species from the Mongolian Plateau of China and Mongolia. A numerical clustering method was used to correlate the local faunas, converting the clusters to a sequence of local mammal ages, based on stratigraphic occurrences. Late Palaeocene and Oligocene faunas clustered as one group, although Eocene faunas may or may not form a single group, suggesting taxonomic differentiations within faunas of the Paleogene epochs.