辽宁省大连市复州湾东海水泥厂的骆驼山石灰岩矿区有一处富含脊椎动物化石的金远洞洞穴堆积,在2013年被发现后引起了有关部门和专家的注意。中国科学院古脊椎动物与古人类研究所和大连自然博物馆的联合考察队于2014年8月对该地点进行了抢救性发掘和清理工作时,采集到属种多样的哺乳动物化石及一批燧石、砂岩、脉石英等疑似石制品及古人类活动遗迹。2015年初东海水泥厂在金远洞西侧的石灰岩炸山采石过程中揭露出金远洞堆积主体,出露了可见厚度大于40m、底部长128m、洞顶发掘面积逾600m2的大型洞穴堆积,并含有发育良好的5条钙质结核层和6条富含哺乳动物的化石层。2016年,联合考察队对骆驼山金远洞进行了系统的地质调查和野外发掘,重点发掘了自上而下的第一和第四层,出土了大量完整的及保存程度不等的哺乳动物头骨和肢骨化石,还出土了鸟类和爬行类化石,此外,还系统采集了古地磁和孢粉样品。根据目前初步鉴定的结果,金远洞哺乳动物群有59个种类,在分类组成上种类最多的是食肉目和偶蹄目,分别占哺乳类种类总数的34% 和31%,而奇蹄目(8%)、翼手目(8%)、食虫目(6%)、啮齿目(6%)、兔形目(3%)、长鼻目(2%)和灵长目(2%)则较少。在生态类型的组成上以粗食者的种类最多,占哺乳动物总数的32%;其次是肉食类(18%)、杂食类及食虫类(均为15%)和嫩食类(13%),腐食类最少(7%)。根据初步鉴定的化石组成推测,金远洞上部堆积物(第一、二层和第三层上部)的时代可能与周口店猿人遗址相当,很可能属于中更新世;而中下部堆积物(第四、五层)的地质时代大致相当于蓝田公王岭或狭义泥河湾,应为早更新世。此外,还在骆驼山40m高程的半山腰望海洞堆积中采集到了肿骨鹿(Sinomegaceros pach
The discovery of the fossiliferous deposits of Jinyuandong(39°23'59.01"N, 121°41'20.28"E) in 2013 at a limestone quarry in Luotuoshan(Camel Hill)of Donghai Cement Factory, Fuzhouwan, Dalian Municipality, Liaoning Province, attracted the attention of related experts. The joint team by the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Dalian Natural History Museum carried out rescure excavations at the deposits in 2014 and collected many mammal fossils and some presumed artifacts such as silex, silts and quartz, as well as other human activity traces. The main deposits were exposed during quarrying the limestone west of the Jinyuandong by the Cement Factory in the early 2015, with a thickness of more than 40m and a length about 128m at the bottom and a surface excavation area more than 600m2. And particularly, the deposits were developed with five layers of calcareous concretions and six layers with mammalian fossils. The joint team investigated and excavated the deposits systematically in 2016, especially the first and fourth layers labelled from the top to bottom, and collected a large amount of mammalian skulls and skeletons, in complete or fragmental states, as well as birds and reptiles. Paleomagnetic and spore-pollen samples were also collected. Based on the preliminary identifications, about 59 taxa of mammalian fossils were recognized. The mammalian fauna were taxonomically composed mainly of Carnivora(34%)and Artiodactyla(31%), and then of Perissodactyla(8%), Chiroptera(8%), Insectivora(6%), Rodentia(6%), Lagomorpha(3%), Proboscidea(2%)and Primates(2%). In terms of ecological composition, the fauna are dominated by grazers(32%), secondly by carnivores(18%), then omnivores and insectivores(both 15%), and browsers(13%), with scavengers the least(7%). Based on the preliminary identification, the upper deposits(the first, second layers and upper part of the third layer)are biochronologc