Purple Bench: Late/Upper Uintan, Texas

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
unclassified
Bronthotheriidae indet.
Williams and Kirk 2008
Reptilia
Crocodylia indet. (Owen 1842)
Stocker and Kirk 2016
Squamata indet. (Oppel 1811)
Stocker and Kirk 2016
TMM 41672-253, large partial left mandible; vertebrae including TMM 41672-272, TMM 41672- 273, TMM 41672-274, TMM 41672-275, and TMM 41672-276; TMM 41672-259, unpaired frontal; TMM 41672-258, body of a large parietal
Reptilia - Anguidae
Glyptosaurinae indet. Marsh 1872
Stocker and Kirk 2016
TMM 41672-256 and TMM 41672-257, two large premaxillae; cranial and postcranial osteoderms, including TMM 41672-269, TMM 41672-270, TMM 41672-271
Reptilia - Rhineuridae
Solastella cookei n. gen., n. sp. Stocker and Kirk 2016
Stocker and Kirk 2016 6 specimens
TMM 41672-246 (holotype), partial skull and articulated left mandibular ramus missing anterior portion of the premaxilla, right maxilla, right circumorbital elements, and right side of the occipital condyle; TMM 41672-243, skull with complete mandible; TMM 41672-244, partial skull with partial left mandibular ramus; TMM 41672-245, partial skull with left mandibular ramus; TMM 41672-247, partial skull; TMM 41672-249, partial skull.
Reptilia
Alethinophidia indet. (Nopcsa 1923)
Stocker and Kirk 2016
Includes vertebrae TMM 41672-265, TMM 41672-266, TMM 41672-267, TMM 41672-268
Reptilia - Testudines
Testudinoidea indet. Gray 1825
Stocker and Kirk 2016
Reptilia - Testudines - Carettochelyidae
Carettochelyidae indet. Gill 1889
Stocker and Kirk 2016
Mammalia
Peratherium sp. Aymard 1850
Williams and Kirk 2008
Mammalia - Condylarthra - Hyopsodontidae
Hyopsodus uintensis Osborn 1902
    = Hyopsodus sp. Leidy 1870
Alroy 2002
could be H. fastigatus; see also West 1982; from TMM 41672 DUPLICATE REF 3667 or 3852
Hyopsodus paulus Leidy 1870
West 1982
omitted accidentally by Wilson (?) but confirmed by Williams and Kirk 2008
Mammalia - Perissodactyla - Hyracodontidae
? Triplopus sp. Cope 1880
2 specimens
see Wilson and Schiebout 1984
Epitriplopus sp. Wood 1927
Williams and Kirk 2008
Mammalia - Perissodactyla - Amynodontidae
Amynodon sp. Marsh 1877
Williams and Kirk 2008
Mammalia - Perissodactyla - Equidae
Epihippus uintensis (Marsh 1875)
    = Epihippus gracilis Marsh 1871
Alroy 2002
Mammalia - Oromerycidae
? Malaquiferus sp. Gazin 1955
omitted by Williams and Kirk 2008
? Protylopus sp. Wortman 1898
Mammalia - Protoceratidae
Leptoreodon sp. Wortman 1898
Williams and Kirk 2008
Leptoreodon edwardsi (Stock 1936)
23 specimens
original and current combination Leptoreodon (Hesperomeryx) edwardsi
see Wilson 1984: plus "several" isolated teeth
Leptoreodon major Golz 1976
2 specimens
see Wilson 1984
Mammalia - Agriochoeridae
Protoreodon sp. Scott and Osborn 1887
Williams and Kirk 2008
Protoreodon petersoni Gazin 1955
Protoreodon pumilus (Marsh 1875)
Mammalia - Homacodontidae
Texodon meridianus n. sp. West 1982
see West 1982
Mammalia - Creodonta - Hyaenodontidae
Sinopa major Wortman 1902
Williams and Kirk 2008
Mammalia - Carnivora - Miacidae
Uintacyon scotti (Wortman and Matthew 1899)
Gustafson 1986
    = Miocyon cf. scotti Wortman and Matthew 1899
Alroy 2002
Mammalia - Acreodi
Simidectes magnus (Peterson 1919)
see Gustafson 1979
Mammalia - Rodentia - Cylindrodontidae
Mysops sp. Leidy 1871
    = Cylindrodontidae indet. Miller and Gidley 1918
Alroy 2002
Mammalia - Rodentia - Ischyromyidae
Paramys cf. delicatior Leidy 1871
Leptotomus sp. Matthew 1910
Microparamys sp. Wood 1959
Thisbemys sp. Wood 1959
Mammalia - Rodentia - Sciuravidae
Pauromys sp. Troxell 1923
Walton 1993
"Group 2"
Prolapsus sp. Wood 1973
Mammalia - Primates
Mescalerolemur horneri n. gen., n. sp. Kirk and Williams 2011
Kirk and Williams 2011
new specimens (13 measurements)
Mammalia - Primates - Omomyidae
Omomys carteri Leidy 1869
see West 1982 (2 measurements)
Mytonius hopsoni Robinson 1968
Williams and Kirk 2008
recombined as Ourayia hopsoni
new specimen (3 measurements)
Diablomomys dalquesti n. gen., n. sp. Williams and Kirk 2008
Williams and Kirk 2008
new specimen (2 measurements)
Mammalia - Leptictidae
Leptictidae indet. Gill 1872
Williams and Kirk 2008
Gastropoda - Helminthoglyptidae
Lysinoe breedlovei Roth 1984
Roth 1984 5 specimens
unclassified
Scenopagus sp. McKenna and Simpson 1959
Williams and Kirk 2008
see common names

Geography
Country:United States State/province:Texas County:Presidio
Coordinates: 29.9° North, 104.2° West (view map)
Paleocoordinates:32.3° North, 94.3° West
Basis of coordinate:based on political unit
Geographic resolution:small collection
Time
Period:Paleogene Epoch:Eocene
10 m.y. bin:Cenozoic 2-3
*Period:Tertiary
Key time interval:Late/Upper Uintan
Age range of interval:46.20000 - 39.70000 m.y. ago
* legacy (obsolete) database fields
Stratigraphy
Formation:Devil's Graveyard Member:Middle
Local section:BuckH Local bed:4
Local order:bottom to top
Stratigraphy comments: Atwater et al. 2020: The maximum depositional age calculated for the Purple Bench locality (43.5 – 44.5 Ma) constrains the absolute age of the late Uintan NALMA (Ui3) within the Tornillo Basin.
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology: not reported
Environment:terrestrial indet.
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body
Size of fossils:macrofossils
Collection methods and comments
Reason for describing collection:biostratigraphic analysis
Museum repositories:TMM
Taxonomic list comments:overlies Whistler Squat and underlies Cotter and Skyline Channels
Metadata
Also known as:TMM 41672; Midwestern State University Dalquest Research Site
Database number:16614
Authorizer:J. Alroy, P. Holroyd Enterer:J. Alroy, P. Holroyd
Modifier:G. Varnham Research group:vertebrate
Created:1994-04-30 00:00:00 Last modified:2022-01-28 07:06:35
Access level:the public Released:1994-04-30 00:00:00
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:
3667. J. A. Wilson. 1986. Stratigraphic Occurrence and Correlation of Early Tertiary Vertebrate Faunas, Trans-Pecos Texas: Agua Fria-Green Valley Areas. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 6(4):350-373 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Marcot]

Secondary references:

6294 J. Alroy. 2002. Synonymies and reidentifications of North American fossil mammals. [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/M. Kouvari]
79325 A. L. Atwater, K. D. Thomson, E. C. Kirk, M. Emery-Wetherell, L. Wetherell and D. F. Stockli. 2020. Geochronology of the middle Eocene Purple Bench locality (Devil’s Graveyard Formation), Trans-Pecos Texas, USA. Palaeontologia Electronica 23(1):a06 [P. Mannion/G. Varnham]
1758 E. P. Gustafson. 1986. Carnivorous mammals of the Late Eocene and Early Oligocene of Trans-Pecos Texas. Texas Memorial Museum Bulletin 33:1-66 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Marcot]
37090 E. C. Kirk and B. A. Williams. 2011. New adapiform primate of Old World affinities from the Devil’s Graveyard Formation of Texas. Journal of Human Evolution 61(2):156-168 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Alroy]
67996 B. Roth. 1984. Lysinoe (Gastropoda: Pulmonata) and other land snails from Eocene-Oligocene of Trans-Pecos Texas, and their paleoclimatic significance. The Veliger 27(2):200-218 [P. Holroyd/P. Holroyd]
58115 M. R. Stocker and E. C. Kirk. 2016. The first amphisbaenians from Texas, with notes on other squamates from the middle Eocene Purple Bench locality. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology (e1094081)1-15 [P. Holroyd/P. Holroyd/P. Holroyd]
3547 A. H. Walton. 1993. Pauromys and other small Sciuravidae (Mammalia: Rodentia) from the middle Eocene of Texas. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 13(2):243-261 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/P. Wagner]
3605 R. M. West. 1982. Fossil Mammals from the Lower Buck Hill Group, Eocene of Trans-Pecos Texas: Marsupicarnivora, Primates, Taeniodonta, Condylarthra, Bunodont Artiodactyla, and Dinocerata. Pearce-Sellards Series 35:1-20 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Marcot]
29561 B. A. Williams and E. C. Kirk. 2008. New Uintan primates from Texas and their implications for North American patterns of species richness during the Eocene. Journal of Human Evolution 55(6):927-941 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy]