Rabbit Graveyard (Lower) (Oligocene of the United States)

Where: Dawes County, Nebraska (42.8° N, 103.1° W: paleocoordinates 44.0° N, 95.0° W)

• coordinate based on political unit

When: Orella Member (Brule Formation), Orellan (33.9 - 33.3 Ma)

Environment/lithology: terrestrial

Primary reference: E. P. Gustafson. 1986. Preliminary biostratigraphy of the White River Group (Oligocene, Chadron and Brule formations) in the vicinity of Chadron, Nebraska. Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences 14:7-20 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/M. Uhen]more details

PaleoDB collection 17164: authorized by John Alroy, entered by John Alroy on 18.02.1993

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• within a normal polarity zone that begins just below and ends just above Orella B; see Fig. 3 and Korth 1989b Fig. 1
mostly from the "Green marker level" and above, which are best represented by Gustafson's sections 3 and 4 from about 2 miles north of Chadron
includes CSC-75 Bartlett South Central CSC-79 Rabbit Graveyard CSC-80 Scratching Post CSC-83 Central Marker Bed CSC-91 Midwest Valley
NISP 132, excluding didelphid and indeterminate rhino
Mammalia
 Didelphimorphia - Didelphidae
 Perissodactyla - Equidae
Mesohippus bairdi Leidy 1850 anchitheriine horse
 Perissodactyla -
Rhinocerotoidea indet. Gray 1821 odd-toed ungulate
"larger rhino", hyracodontid or rhinocerotid
 Perissodactyla - Hyracodontidae
Hyracodon nebraskensis Leidy 1850 odd-toed ungulate
 Artiodactyla - Hypertragulidae
Hypertragulus calcaratus Cope 1873 ruminant
 Artiodactyla - Leptomerycidae
Leptomeryx sp. Leidy 1853 ruminant
large
Leptomeryx evansi Leidy 1853 ruminant
probably includes type of "L. exilis" Cook 1934 from "Brule (Middle Oligocene) beds, about two miles north of Chadron"
 Artiodactyla - Camelidae
Poebrotherium wilsoni Leidy 1847 camel
 Artiodactyla - Merycoidodontidae
Miniochoerus starkensis4 Schultz and Falkenbach 1956 oreodont
Merycoidodon sp. Leidy 1848 oreodont
 Carnivora - Amphicyonidae
Daphoenus sp.2 Leidy 1853 bear-dog
"Orella Member... 2.5 miles N of Chadron"
 Carnivora - Canidae
Hesperocyon gregarius Cope 1873 canid
surely includes specimen of Wang 1994 from Bartlet Ranch, 2 mi N of Chadron, 120 ft above Blue Ash, Orellan
 Creodonta - Hyaenodontidae
Hyaenodon crucians Leidy 1853 creodont
 Lagomorpha - Leporidae
Megalagus turgidus Cope 1873 rabbit
Palaeolagus haydeni Leidy 1856 rabbit
 Rodentia - Ischyromyidae
Ischyromys typus Leidy 1856 rodent
 Rodentia - Eomyidae
"Paradjidaumo trilophus" = Adjidaumo trilophus, Adjidaumo minutus
"Paradjidaumo trilophus" = Adjidaumo trilophus Cope 1873 rodent
Adjidaumo minutus Cope 1873 rodent
 Rodentia - Heliscomyidae
Heliscomys hatcheri Wood 1935 rodent
 Rodentia - Castoridae
Agnotocastor readingi n. sp.3 Korth 1988 beaver
CSC-80; "A. praetereadens"
 Rodentia - Eutypomyidae
Eutypomys thomsoni Matthew 1905 rodent
 Rodentia - Cricetidae
Eumys elegans Leidy 1856 mouse