St. Stephen (Paleocene of the United States)

Also known as Black Mingo; Santee Rediversion Canal

Where: Berkeley County, South Carolina (33.4° N, 80.1° W: paleocoordinates 34.6° N, 63.4° W)

• coordinate based on political unit

• small collection-level geographic resolution

When: Williamsburg Formation (Black Mingo Group), Clarkforkian (56.8 - 55.8 Ma)

• "it is probable that all of the land-mammal material originated from a sand bed approximately 18 to 59 feet... above the base" of the section

• group of beds-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: coastal; sandstone

• "subtropical, shallow, nearshore sea environment" (Purdy 1998)

Size class: mesofossils

Collected by D. Hepler, D. Holt, R. Mancke, V. McCollum in 1981, 1982

• Charleston Museum and South Carolina State Museum collections

•specimens were recovered from spoil heaps "resulting from the excavation of the hydroelectric turbine pit"

Primary reference: R. M. Schoch. 1985. Preliminary description of a new late Paleocene land-mammal fauna from South Carolina, U.S.A. Postilla 196:1-13 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/M. Uhen]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 15074: authorized by John Alroy, entered by John Alroy on 27.07.1994, edited by Roger Benson and Philip Mannion

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• three other indeterminate mammalian specimens were found
Chondrichthyes
 Myliobatiformes - Myliobatidae
Myliobatis sp.6 Cuvier 1816 eagle ray
Rhinoptera sp.6 Cuvier 1829 cownose ray
 Rhinopristiformes - Pristidae
Pristis sp.6 Linck 1790 sawfish
 Carcharhiniformes - Triakidae
? Triakis sp.6 Müller and Henle 1838 hound shark
 Carcharhiniformes - Scyliorhinidae
? Scyliorhinus sp.6 Blainville 1816 cat shark
 Orectolobiformes - Ginglymostomatidae
Nebrius sp.6 Rüppell 1837 nurse shark
 Lamniformes - Odontaspididae
"Odontaspis rutoti" = Palaeohypotodus rutoti6
"Odontaspis rutoti" = Palaeohypotodus rutoti6 Winkler 1878 sand tiger shark
 Lamniformes - Carchariidae
Carcharias hopei6 Agassiz 1843 sand shark
 Lamniformes - Lamnidae
Carcharodon orientalis6 Sinzow 1899 white shark
 Lamniformes - Otodontidae
Otodus obliquus6, "Cretolamna appendiculata" = Cretalamna appendiculata6
Otodus obliquus6 Agassiz 1838 mackerel shark
"Cretolamna appendiculata" = Cretalamna appendiculata6 Agassiz 1835 mackerel shark
 Chimaeriformes - Callorhynchidae
Ischyodus sp.6 Egerton 1843 plownose chimaera
Mammalia
 Theriamorpha - Stylinodontidae
Ectoganus lobdelli1 Simpson 1929 taeniodont
 Theriamorpha - Mingotheriidae
Mingotherium holtae n. sp. Schoch 1985 eutherian
Reptilia
 Testudines - Kinosternidae
"Kinosternidae "species A"" = Kinosternoidea5, "Kinosternidae "species B"" = Kinosternoidea5
"Kinosternidae "species A"" = Kinosternoidea5 Hay 1892 mud turtle
ChM PV3819, left peripheral 4.
"Kinosternidae "species B"" = Kinosternoidea5 Hay 1892 mud turtle
ChM PV3793, proximal costal 1; PV3030, PV3036, PV3735, PV3771, PV3779, PV4299, proximal costal fragments; PV3768, PV3783, PV4139, neurals; PV3760, PV3762, PV3784, PV3790, PV3791, PV3796, PV3804, PV3808, PV3935, PV4179, PV4238, peripherals; SCSM8 3.78.36, proxima costal.
 Testudines - Adocidae
Adocus sp.5 Cope 1868 turtle
ChM PV4310, neural, PV4766, costal fragment; PV4760, right peripheral 1; PV4765, neural
 Testudines - Kinosternoidea
Agomphus aff. alabamensis5 Gilmore 1919 mud turtle
ChM PV4106, 4140, incomplete neurals; PV 3786, PV3832, PV3900, PV4105, costal fragments; PV3004, PV3007, PV3011, PV3012, PV3019, PV3020, PV3023, PV3025, PV3718, PV3777, PV3910, PV3914, PV3916, PV3919, PV3920, PV3924, PV3926, PV3938, PV3940, PV3943, PV4198, PV4292, hyoplastron fragments; PV3014, PV3015, PV3021, PV3022, PV3024, PV3029, PV3769, PV3733, PV3907, PV3908, PV3916, PV3918, PV3922, PV3923, PV3937, PV4158, PV4195, hypoplastron fragments; PV3915, hyo+hypoplastron fragment; PV3798, PV3815, PV3835, PV4212, xiphiplastral fragments; PV4191, peripheral fragment; SCSM 83.78.40, neural; SCSM 83.78.44, plastron fragment; SCSM 83.78.28, hyoplastron fragment
Agomphus pectoralis5 Cope 1870 mud turtle
Stephen-SCSM83.78.35, proximal costal fragment
 Testudines - Pantrionychidae
"Aspideretes cf. virginianus" = Trionyx virginiana5
"Aspideretes cf. virginianus" = Trionyx virginiana5 Clark 1895 turtle
ChM PV2932, PV3059, PV3880, costal fragments; PV 3949, neural fragment; PV4309, neural; PV3978, proximal costal 1 fragment; PV4038, anterior moiety of right maxilla; PV3930, left dentary fragment; SCSM 83.78.12, SCSM 83.78.13, SCSM 83.78.22, SCSM 83.78.32, SCSM 83.78.33, SCSM 83.78.42, costal fragments; SCSM 83.78.29, xiphiplastron fragment
 Testudines -
Chelonioidea indet.5 sea turtle
various shell fragments listed
 Testudines - Cheloniidae
Cheloniidae indet.5 Bonaparte 1832 sea turtle
ChM PV3867, PV3839, nuchal fragments; ChM PV3843, posterior half of peripheral; ChMP V3863, anterior fragmen of peripheral 1.
 Testudines - Toxochelyidae
Toxochelyinae indet.5 Zangerl 1953 sea turtle
ChM PV3740, proximal costal 1 fragment; PV3742, PV3754, neurals; PV3061, PV3738, PV3741, PV3745, PV3755, PV3756, possible costal fragments; PV3748, peripheral fragment; PV3902, left maxilla.
 Testudines -
Pelomedusoides indet.4 sideneck turtle
ChM PV3735, PV3774, PV3805, PV3816, right costal fragments; ChM PV3883, hyoplastron fragment; ChM PV3747, PV3927, hypoplastron fragment; ChM PV3887, left xiphiplastron fragment; ChM PV3770, PV3897, peripheral fragments; ChM PV3801, PV4303, costal fragments; SCSM 83.78.15, costal fragment
 Testudines - Bothremydidae
? Bothremys sp.5 Leidy 1865 sideneck turtle
various shell fragments listed
Taphrosphyini indet.4 Gaffney et al. 2006 sideneck turtle
various shell fragments listed
 Testudines - Macrobaenidae
Osteopygis emarginatus5 Cope 1868 turtle
PV3076, peripheral fragment; PV3008, PV3083 peripheral 2 fragment; PV3889, nuchal fragment PV3043, right dentary
 Squamata - Palaeophiidae
Palaeophis sp.3 Owen 1841 snake
ChM PV4609 (undetermined trunk vertebra)
 Loricata -
Eusuchia indet.2 Huxley 1875 crocodilian
Several procoelous vertebrae, including ChM PV4043 (cervical)
 Crocodylia - Gavialidae
Thoracosaurus sp.2 Leidy 1852 crocodilian
ChMP V3091 and PV4101 (two partial maxillae), ChMP V4047 (section of a right dentary), ChMP V3475 and SMMP 84.11.1 (5 teeth), and ChM PV4052 (scute)
 Crocodylia - Alligatoridae
Bottosaurus sp.2 Agassiz 1849 crocodilian
Numerous teeth (including ChM PV3694, PV4183, PV4184)
 Loricata - Dyrosauridae
Hyposaurus sp.2 Owen 1849 crocodilian
SCSM 83.78.10 (amphiplatyan caudal centrum)