Abstract: Jinpendong Cave, a paleolithic site, was found recently at Wuhu in Anhui. In 2002 and 2004 excavations were conducted at the site. In addition to lithics, many mammalian fossils were unearthed. In the present paper, we studied the carnivore fossil remains. The Jinpendong carnivores belong to 9 genera and 11 species, including Nyctereutes cf. N. sinensis, Canis variabilis, Arctonyx collaris rostratus .? Meles sp., Mustela sibirica , Mustelidae gen. et sp. indet., Ursus thibetanus kokeni, Ursus arctos, Pachycrocuta brevirostris sinensis, Panthera tigris and Panthera sp. . The carnivore specimens from the site are somewhat few in quantity, but rich in diversity. They are significant for analysing the geological age of the site. The existence of Pachycrocuta brivirostris sinensis, has excluded the possibility of Jinpendong being a late Pleistocene fauna. The Jinpendong Fauna is closest to the Hexian Longtandong Fauna (Anhui Province), but slightly later in age. We feel the Jinpendong Fauna represents a middle Pleistocene age. The domination of the Palaearctic animals in the Jinpendong Fauna implies that the environment should be colder than today. As compared with the Hexian Longtandong Fauna, the hydrophilic animals are relatively scarce in the Jinpendong Fauna , which suggests a drier climate.

Key words: Wuhu; Jinpendong cave; Middle pleistocene; Carnivora