White Butte/Turtle Valley: Wasatchian, North Dakota

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
Actinopteri
Teleostei indet. Müller 1846
Estes 1988
Actinopteri - Lepisosteiformes - Lepisosteidae
Atractosteus occidentalis (Leidy 1856)
Estes 1988
original and current combination Lepidotus occidentalis
Actinopteri - Amiiformes - Amiidae
Amia uintaensis (Leidy 1873)
Estes 1988
nomen dubium belonging to Amiinae
Amia fragosa Jordan 1927
Estes 1988
Amphibia - Temnospondyli
Anura indet. (Fischer von Waldheim 1813)
Estes 1988
Amphibia - Temnospondyli - Batrachosauroididae
Batrachosauroides gotoi n. sp. Estes 1969
Estes 1969 4 specimens
PU 18012, 17275, 17400a-b
Amphibia - Temnospondyli - Urodela
Chrysotriton tiheni n. gen., n. sp. Estes 1981
Estes 1981 1 specimen
PU 17314
Mammalia - Condylarthra - Hyopsodontidae
Hyopsodus cf. miticulus (Cope 1874)
    = Hyopsodus sp. Leidy 1870
Alroy 2002
Hyopsodus loomisi McKenna 1960
Mammalia - Insectivora
cf. Entomolestes sp. Matthew 1909
    = Insectivora indet. Bowdich 1821
Alroy 2002
Mammalia - Nyctitheriidae
? Leptacodon sp. Matthew and Granger 1921
Mammalia - Pantolestidae
Palaeosinopa sp. Matthew 1901
Mammalia
Miacis sp. Cope 1872
Mammalia - Viverravidae
Didymictis sp. Cope 1875
Mammalia - Creodonta - Hyaenodontidae
Sinopa sp. Leidy 1871
    = Hyaenodontidae indet. Leidy 1869
Alroy 2002
Mammalia - Metacheiromyidae
? Palaeanodon sp. Matthew 1918
Mammalia - Diacodexeidae
? Diacodexis sp. Cope 1882
Mammalia - Perissodactyla - Equidae
Hyracotherium sp. Owen 1841
    = Equidae indet. Gray 1821
Alroy 2002
Mammalia - Perissodactyla
Homogalax cf. protapirinus (Wortman 1896)
    = Homogalax aureus n. sp. Gingerich 1991
Gingerich 1991
Mammalia - Rodentia - Ischyromyidae
Lophiparamys cf. murinus (Matthew 1918)
Paramys cf. excavatus Loomis 1907
Mammalia - Rodentia - Reithroparamyidae
Reithroparamys sp. Matthew 1920
West 1973
Mammalia - Primates - Paromomyidae
Phenacolemur praecox Matthew 1915
West 1973
    = Phenacolemurinae indet. Simpson 1955
Alroy 2002
Mammalia - Primates - Microsyopidae
Cynodontomys cf. angustidens Matthew 1915
    = Microsyops angustidens Matthew 1915
West 1973
Mammalia - Primates - Notharctidae
Pelycodus cf. ralstoni Matthew 1915
    = Pelycodus trigonodus Matthew 1915
Gingerich and Simons 1977
    = Cantius frugivorus Cope 1875
Alroy 2002
replaces ID of Gingerich and Simons 1977; "P. cf. ralstoni"
Mammalia - Primates - Omomyidae
Tetonoides cf. pearcei Gazin 1962
    = Anemorhysis pearcei Gazin 1962
Bown and Rose 1984
original and current combination Tetonoides pearcei
Teilhardina sp. Simpson 1940
Bown and Rose 1987
Mammalia - Leptictidae
Palaeictops cf. tauricinerei (Jepsen 1930)
    = Prodiacodon cf. tauricinerei Jepsen 1930
Alroy 2002
cf. Didelphodus sp. Cope 1882
Mammalia - Coryphodontidae
Coryphodon cf. molestus (Cope 1874)
    = Coryphodon cf. armatus Cope 1872
Alroy 2002
Mammalia - Multituberculata - Neoplagiaulacidae
Parectypodus lunatus Krause 1982
Krause 1982
apparently "P. childei" of Sloan 1981
Reptilia
Saniwa cf. ensidens Leidy 1870
Reptilia - Anguidae
? Glyptosaurinae indet. Marsh 1872
Estes 1988
cf. Xestops sp. Cope 1873
Estes 1988
Reptilia - Testudines - Kinosternoidea
Baptemys tricarinata Hay 1908
Estes 1988
synonym of Notomorpha garmanii
Reptilia - Testudines
Echmatemys testudinea (Cope 1872)
Estes 1988
nomen dubium belonging to Testudinoidea
Plastomenus sp. Cope 1873
Estes 1988
Reptilia
Aves indet. Linnaeus 1758
Allognathosuchus sp. Mook 1921
Chrysochampsa mlynarskii n. gen., n. sp. Estes 1988
Estes 1988
recombined as Allognathosuchus mlynarskii
YPM-PU 17258 - holotype (partial skull & 4 osteoderms)
Reptilia - Crocodylidae
Crocodylidae indet. Cuvier 1807
Estes 1988
see common names

Geography
Country:United States State/province:North Dakota County:Stark
Coordinates: 46.9° North, 102.8° West (view map)
Paleocoordinates:50.9° North, 84.5° West
Basis of coordinate:based on political unit
Geographic resolution:local area
Time
Period:Paleogene Epoch:Eocene
Stage:Ypresian 10 m.y. bin:Cenozoic 2
*Period:Early/Lower Tertiary *Epoch:Early/Lower Eocene
*Local age/stage:Wasatchian
Key time interval:Wasatchian
Age range of interval:54.90000 - 50.50000 m.y. ago
* legacy (obsolete) database fields
Stratigraphy
Formation:Golden Valley
Stratigraphic resolution:bed
Stratigraphy comments: "Most of the fossil vertebrates... have been found... 2-5 inches below very distinctive, highly indurated and brittle layer of chert"; most plants are from "about 4 feet above" the layer in "a zone of tan claystone"
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology:gray,red claystone
Lithology description: "light-pink and gray clays"
Environment:terrestrial indet.
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body
Size of fossils:macrofossils,mesofossils
Disassociated minor elements:many
Collection methods and comments
Collection methods:bulk,selective quarrying,surface (float),sieve,field collection
Reason for describing collection:general faunal/floral analysis
Collection method comments: "Several hundred classifiable bones and teeth of vertebrates" in the original collections, plus 10 teeth collected by West
Metadata
Database number:15895
Authorizer:J. Alroy Enterer:J. Alroy
Modifier:P. Mannion Research group:vertebrate
Created:1993-02-18 00:00:00 Last modified:2013-07-18 08:45:13
Access level:the public Released:1993-02-18 00:00:00
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:
2028. G. L. Jepsen. 1963. Eocene vertebrates, coprolites, and plants in the Golden Valley Formation of western North Dakota. Geological Society America Bulletin 74:673-684 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Alroy]

Secondary references:

6294 J. Alroy. 2002. Synonymies and reidentifications of North American fossil mammals. [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/M. Kouvari]
1122 T. M. Bown and K. D. Rose. 1984. Reassessment of Some Early Eocene Omomyidae, with Description of a New Genus and Three New Species. Folia Primatologica 43 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Ju]
1123 T. M. Bown and K. D. Rose. 1987. Patterns of Dental Evolution in Early Eocene Anaptomorphine Primates (Omomyidae) from the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming. Paleontological Society Memoir 23:1-162 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Ju]
34153ETE R. Estes. 1969. The Batrachosauroididae and Scapherpetontidae, Late Cretaceous and early Cenozoic salamanders. Copeia 1969(2):225-234 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano]
42765 R. Estes. 1981. Handbuch der Paläoherpetologie/Encyclopedia of Paleoherpetology. Part 2. Gymnophiona, Caudata. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart xv-115 [M. Carrano/M. Carrano/M. Uhen]
766 R. Estes. 1988. Lower vertebrates from the Golden Valley Formation, Early Eocene of North Dakota. Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia 31(20):541-562 [J. Alroy/M. Sommers/M. Uhen]
1660 P. D. Gingerich. 1991. Systematics and Evolution of Early Eocene Perissodactyla (Mammalia) in the Clarks Fork Basin, Wyoming. Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan 28(8):181-213 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/P. Mannion]
1675 P. D. Gingerich and E. L. Simons. 1977. Systematics, phylogeny, and evolution of early Eocene Adapidae (Mammalia, Primates) in North America. Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan 24(22):245-279 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/M. Uhen]
2158 D. W. Krause. 1982. Multituberculates from the Wasatchian Land-Mammal Age, Early Eocene, of Western North America. Journal of Paleontology 56(2):271-294 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Ju]
47644 S. G. Lucas and R. M. Sullivan. 2004. The taxonomic status of Chrysochampsa, an Eocene crocodylian from North Dakota, USA and the paleobiogeography of Allognathosuchus. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Monatshefte 2004(8):461-472 [P. Mannion/P. Mannion]
35985% 38100R. M. West. 1973. New records of fossil mammals from the early Eocene Golden Valley Formation, North Dakota. Journal of Mammalogy 54(3):749-750 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Head]