Sharktooth Hill: Langhian, California

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
Mammalia - Carnivora - Odobenidae
Neotherium mirum n. gen., n. sp. Kellogg 1931
Kellogg 1931
Mammalia - Carnivora - Desmatophocidae
Allodesmus kernensis Kellogg 1922
Kellogg 1931
Mammalia - Carnivora - Felidae
Pseudaelurus cf. intrepidus (Leidy 1858)
Prothero et al. 2008
Mammalia - Perissodactyla - Desmostylidae
Desmostylus hesperus Marsh 1888
Kellogg 1931
Desmostylus japonicus Tokunaga and Iwasaki 1914
Kellogg 1931
Mammalia - Cetacea
Nannolithax gracilis n. gen., n. sp. Kellogg 1931
Kellogg 1931
Mammalia - Cetacea - Physeteridae
Aulophyseter morricei n. gen., n. sp. Kellogg 1927
Kellogg 1927 1 specimen
(1 measurement)
Mammalia - Cetacea
Oedolithax mira n. gen., n. sp. Kellogg 1931
Kellogg 1931
Platylithax robusta n. gen., n. sp. Kellogg 1931
Kellogg 1931
Liolithax kernensis n. gen., n. sp. Kellogg 1931
Kellogg 1931
Mammalia - Cetacea - Phocoenidae
Loxolithax sinuosa n. gen., n. sp. Kellogg 1931
Kellogg 1931
Mammalia - Cetacea - Kentriodontidae
Lamprolithax simulans n. gen., n. sp. Kellogg 1931
Kellogg 1931
Lamprolithax annectens n. gen., n. sp. Kellogg 1931
Kellogg 1931
Grypolithax obscura n. gen., n. sp. Kellogg 1931
Kellogg 1931
recombined as Kentriodon obscurus
Grypolithax pavida n. gen., n. sp. Kellogg 1931
Kellogg 1931
synonym of Kentriodon obscurus
Mammalia - Cetacea
Tiphyocetus temblorensis n. gen., n. sp. Kellogg 1931
Kellogg 1931
(1 measurement)
Parietobalaena securis n. sp. Kellogg 1931
Kellogg 1931 1 specimen
Mammalia - Cetacea - Balaenidae
Peripolocetus vexillifer n. gen., n. sp. Kellogg 1931
Kellogg 1931
(1 measurement)
Reptilia - Testudines - Dermochelyidae
? Chelonia californiensis n. sp. Gilmore 1937
Gilmore 1937 1 specimen
invalid subgroup of Dermochelyidae
Reptilia - Procellariidae
Puffinus ? mitchelli Miller 1961
Kloess and Parham 2017 1 specimen
Puffinus ? priscus Miller 1961
Kloess and Parham 2017 1 specimen
Reptilia - Diomedeidae
Diomedea milleri Howard 1966
Kloess and Parham 2017 1 specimen
Reptilia - Suliformes - Sulidae
Sulidae indet. Reichenbach 1849
Kloess and Parham 2017 6 specimens
Morus ? vagabundus Wetmore 1930
Kloess and Parham 2017 2 specimens
Reptilia - Anseriformes - Anatidae
Megalodytes morejohni
Kloess and Parham 2017 4 specimens
Reptilia - Cathartiformes - Cathartidae
Hadrogyps aigialeus n. gen., n. sp. Emslie 1988
1 specimen
Chondrichthyes - Lamniformes - Otodontidae
Carcharocles megalodon (Agassiz 1835)
Pimiento and Balk 2015
recombined as Otodus megalodon
LACM 149518
Chondrichthyes - Lamniformes - Lamnidae
Carcharodon tembloris n. sp. Jordan 1926
Jordan 1926 2 specimens
Carcharodon morricei Jordan 1926
Jordan 1926 1 specimen
see common names

Geography
Country:United States State/province:California County:Kern
Coordinates: 35.3° North, 118.5° West (view map)
Paleocoordinates:35.2° North, 113.3° West
Time
Period:Neogene Epoch:Miocene
Stage:Langhian 10 m.y. bin:Cenozoic 5
*Period:Late/Upper Tertiary *Epoch:Middle Miocene
*Local age/stage:Barstovian
Key time interval:Langhian
Age range of interval:15.98000 - 13.82000 m.y. ago
Age estimate:16.0 to 15.2 Ma (other)
* legacy (obsolete) database fields
Stratigraphy
Formation:Temblor Member:Round Mountain
Stratigraphic resolution:member
Stratigraphy comments: Locality described as being in "Round Mountain Silt", Barstovian

The Round Mountain Silt has been dated to 16.1–14.5 Ma based on magnetostratigraphy, strontium dating, and diatoms indicative of the Denticulopsis lauta A biozone (16–15 Ma). More specifically, the middle portion of Round Mountain Silt (including the bone bed) has been correlated with Chron C5Br, indicating an age range of 16.0–15.2 Ma [193]. (Marx & Fordyce, 2015)
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology: siltstone
Includes fossils?Y
Environment:shoreface
Geology comments: The environment is reconstructed on the basis of the fauna as coastal or shoreline marine. Marine taxa dominant (whales and pelagic birds) with some terrestrial mammals.

deep-sea fan, fed by subaerial uplifts of Franciscan and granitic basement
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body
Size of fossils:macrofossils
Spatial resolution:autochthonous
Collection methods and comments
Collection excludes:all macrofossils,some genera
Collection methods:field collection
Reason for describing collection:taxonomic analysis
Museum repositories:LACM
Collection method comments: collected by S. A. McLeod of the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History
Metadata
Also known as:LACM 4956, CAS 725, UCMP V74021
Database number:13297
Authorizer:J. Hunter, P. Holroyd, M. Uhen, J. Marcot, C. Jaramillo Enterer:J. Hunter, P. Holroyd, J. Marcot, M. Uhen, C. Pimiento
Modifier:M. Uhen Research group:vertebrate
Subset of collection #:59059
Created:2002-02-18 12:53:00 Last modified:2019-05-28 18:42:45
Access level:database members Released:2002-05-18 12:53:00
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:
4416.5% 13020S. D. Emslie. 1988. An early condor-like vulture from North America. The Auk 105(3):529-535 [J. Hunter/J. Hunter/J. Hunter]

Secondary references:

54772 C. W. Gilmore. 1937. A new marine turtle from the Miocene of California. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 23(10):171-174 [P. Holroyd/P. Holroyd]
51884 D. S. Jordan. 1926. New sharks from the Temblor Group in Kern County, California collected by Charles Morrice. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 15(8):257-261 [M. Uhen/M. Uhen]
11909 R. Kellogg. 1927. Study of the skull of a fossil sperm-whale from the Temblor Miocene of Southern California. Contributions to Palaeontology from the Carnegie Institution of Washington 3-24 [M. Uhen/M. Uhen/M. Uhen]
12162 R. Kellogg. 1931. Pelagic mammals of the Temblor Formation of the Kern River region, California. Proceedings of the California Academy of Science 19(12):217-397 [M. Uhen/M. Uhen/M. Uhen]
48954 P. A. Kloess and J. F. Parham. 2017. A specimen-based approach to reconstructing the late Neogene seabird communities of California. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 468:473-484 [M. Uhen/H. Reyes/M. Uhen]
55050 F. G. Marx and R. E. Fordyce. 2015. Baleen boom and bust: a synthesis of mysticete phylogeny, diversity and disparity. Royal Society Open Science 2:140434 [M. Uhen/M. Uhen]
49081 C. Pimiento and M. Balk. 2015. The extinct giant shark Carcharocles megalodon: A model for understanding deep-time body size trends of marine apex predators. [C. Jaramillo/C. Pimiento/C. Pimiento]
52363 C. Pimiento, G. González-Barba, D. J. Ehret, B. J. MacFadden, A. J. W. Hendy and C. Jaramillo. 2013. Sharks and Rays (Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii) from the late Miocene Gatun Formation of Panama. Journal of Paleontology 87(5):755-774 [C. Jaramillo/C. Pimiento/M. Uhen]
33296 D. R. Prothero, M. R. Liter, L. G. Barnes, X. Wang, E. Mitchell, S. McLeod, D. P. Whistler, R. H. Tedford, and C. Ray. 2008. Land mammals from the middle Miocene Sharktooth Hill Bonebed, Kern County, California. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 44:299-314 [M. Uhen/M. Uhen]
33297 N. D. Pyenson, R. B. Irmis, J. H. Lipps, L. G. Barnes, E. D. Mitchell and S. A. McLeod. 2009. Origin of a widespread marine bonebed deposited during the middle Miocene Climatic Optimum. Geology 37:519-522 [M. Uhen/M. Uhen]
18989 F. Sanchez and D. Prothero. 2003. Magnetic stratigraphy of the Miocene Round Mountain Silt and Oclese Sand, Bakersfield, California. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 38(6):160 [M. Uhen/M. Uhen]
52149 V. L. VanderHoof. 1937. A study of the Miocene sirenian Desmostylus. University of California Publications in Geological Sciences 24(8):169-262 [M. Uhen/M. Uhen]