China News Service, Suiyang, Guizhou, September 23 (Shi Xiaojie) The latest scientific research data shows that the Shuanghe Cave system in Suiyang, Guizhou, the longest cave in Asia, currently has a total length of 481.5 kilometers. There are 9 new individual giant panda fossils, and a total of 61 individual giant panda fossils have been discovered so far.
The press conference on the results of the 25th International Cave Scientific Expedition in Shuanghe Cave, Suiyang, Guizhou was held on the 23rd at Shuanghe Cave National Geopark. The above information was notified at the meeting.
During this scientific expedition, Chinese and foreign cave scientific expedition experts carried out cave exploration, paleontological surveys and chronological sample testing, which continued to refresh the connection length, number of cave entrances and extension range of the Shuanghe cave system, and continuously enriched the types and quantities of paleontological fossils (skeletal remains) of the late Pleistocene "giant panda-stegodon fauna" in the Shuanghe cave system.
French cave expert Jean Portassi said that the current total length of the Shuanghe Cave system has reached 481.5 kilometers, and the depth of the cave remains at 912 meters. It is connected by 124 cave entrances, which is an increase of 41.8 kilometers compared with the 24th International Scientific Expedition, with 9 new cave entrances, achieving a leapfrog breakthrough. There are 436 unconnected cave entrances, with a total length of 165 kilometers. The number of cave entrances has increased by 25, which is a potential space for the growth of the Shuanghe Cave system. According to the latest rankings, Shuanghe Cave continues to rank third in the world, the longest cave in Asia, and still ranks third in China in terms of depth.
The Shuanghe Cave Group is blessed with a closed, constant temperature and stable geological environment, which provides an excellent place for the preservation of paleontological fossils (skeletal remains). This scientific expedition also made breakthrough progress in paleontological investigation, with 9 new giant pandas, 1 takin, 1 rhinoceros, and 1 saber-toothed elephant.
In addition, one newly discovered skeleton of a giant tapir and a clouded leopard were discovered, and two giant panda scratches were also found in the cave. Among them, the giant tapir is a larval individual with complete skeletal remains. It is one of the most complete preserved materials of its kind in China. The first discovery of giant tapir and clouded leopard materials in the Shuanghe Cave Group has further enriched regional paleontological species records and provided new sample support for studying local paleontological population distribution and species evolution.
This scientific expedition also used a new uranium-lead (U-Pb) isotope dating method for the first time, and measured the oldest corrected age of the secondary carbonate sediments of Shuanghe Cave to be about 5.1 million years. It is the oldest cave secondary carbonate sedimentary sample in southwest China so far. The bedrock age was measured at the same time to be about 510 million years, which is consistent with the regional geological background. The two results provide an absolute time scale for constructing the long-scale evolution sequence of Shuanghe Cave.
