Coryphodon , the northernmost Holarctic Paleogene pantodont (Mammalia), and its global wanderings
- PDF / 1,802,941 Bytes
- 12 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 47 Downloads / 186 Views
Coryphodon, the northernmost Holarctic Paleogene pantodont (Mammalia), and its global wanderings Mary R. Dawson
Received: 23 September 2011 / Accepted: 27 October 2011 / Published online: 15 November 2011 Ó Akademie der Naturwissenschaften Schweiz (SCNAT) 2011
Abstract The pantodont Coryphodon is a frequently found component of early Eocene terrestrial faunas in North America, distributed widely from the Arctic to the Gulf Coast. The most northerly member of this genus of large herbivore is a new species that appears to be closest to the oldest known mid-latitude species, Coryphodon proterus from the Clarkforkian (Cf-2), late Paleocene, of Montana. Coryphodon is widely distributed during the early Eocene across the Holarctic, occurring also in England, Belgium, and France (MP7-9, early Eocene) on the one hand and Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and China (GashatanBumbanian, late Paleocene-early Eocene, Xinjiang, Shandong, and Shanxi) on the other. Although other genera of Coryphodontidae, as well as of other pantodont families, appear to have had more sedentary habits, Coryphodon is noted for its wide distribution. Adaptations to a warm temperate northern climate, including its northern light regime, may be postulated for this genus of pantodont as well as a pattern of dispersal leading to its wide range across the Holarctic. Keywords Pantodont Coryphodon Eocene Arctic Holarctic distribution
Introduction The order Pantodonta is of uncertain relationships within the Mammalia. Pantodonts were mostly large herbivorous or omnivorous quadrupeds that are known from many M. R. Dawson (&) Curator Emeritus, Vertebrate Paleontology, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA e-mail: [email protected]
Paleogene terrestrial faunas across the Holarctic (Simons, 1960). Eight Paleogene pantodont families are recognized, each restricted to Asia or North America but not occurring on both continental areas except for one genus, Coryphodon, of the family Coryphodontidae (McKenna & Bell, 1997), which is Holarctic in distribution. The other coryphodontid genera are only Asian, although no pantodonts are known from southern Asia or Africa. In North America, coryphodontids are known from Alabama and Mississippi on the Gulf Coast and southern Texas (Westgate, 2001; Beard & Dawson, 2009) to the Eureka Sound Group on central Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, reported here.
Systematic palaeontology Family Coryphodontidae (Marsh, 1876) Genera of coryphodontids are: in North America, Coryphodon, late Paleocene (mid-Clarkforkian)-early middle Eocene (Bridgerian); in Europe, Coryphodon, early Eocene (Sparnacian); in Asia, Coryphodon, late Paleocene (Gashatan)-early Eocene (Bumbanian) Wutucoryphodon (including C. dabuensis), late Paleocene-early Eocene, Heterocoryphodon, early-middle Eocene, Asiocoryphodon, early-middle Eocene, Hypercoryphodon, middle Eocene, Metacoryphodon, middle Eocene, and Eudinoceras, middlelate Eocene. Coryphodon (Owen, 1845) Stratigraphic and geographic distribution: Late Paleocene (middle Clarkf
Data Loading...
