Sheep Mountain Table (Poleslide) (Oligocene of the United States)

Where: Pennington County, South Dakota (43.9° N, 102.4° W: paleocoordinates 44.9° N, 94.8° W)

• coordinate based on political unit

When: upper Poleslide Member (Brule Formation), Whitneyan (33.3 - 30.8 Ma)

Environment/lithology: terrestrial

Primary reference: R. W. Wilson. 1985. The Dentition of the Paleocene "Insectivore" Genus Acmeodon Matthew and Granger (?Palaeoryctidae, Mammalia). Journal of Paleontology 59(3):713-720 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Ju]more details

PaleoDB collection 17380: authorized by John Alroy, entered by John Alroy on 18.10.1995

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• from the "channel phase" = Protoceras Channels
southern 1/3 of the table is in Shannon Co.
generically-identifiable NISP 16 (assuming that the four species described by Schultz and Falkenbach could be found among the 13 "Leptauchenia" and "oreodont" specimens of Wilson)
Mammalia
 Carnivora - Canidae
Archaeocyon pavidus3 Stock 1933 bone-crushing dog
"Southeast corner of Sheep Mountain, uppermost part of Poleslide Member... 3 ft below base of Rockyford Ash... Shannon County"; "Canidae indet."
 Perissodactyla - Equidae
Equidae indet. Gray 1821 horse
 Artiodactyla - Merycoidodontidae
Leptauchenia major2, Leptauchenia decora2, "Paramerycoidodon major" = Merycoidodon major, "Miniochoerus cheyennensis n. sp." = Miniochoerus starkensis
Leptauchenia major2 Leidy 1856 oreodont
Leptauchenia decora2 Leidy 1856 oreodont
"SW. side" and "E. side" of Sheep Mountain, Brule Zone D; "L. sp." (three specimens not described by Schultz and Falkenbach)
"Paramerycoidodon major" = Merycoidodon major Leidy 1853 oreodont
"NE. face of Sheep Mt."; also their "M. lambi" from "SE." and "SW. side" of Sheep Mountain; "M. lynchi" type "SW. side of Sheep Mt." and referred "head of Wind Creek, E. side of Sheep Mt."; "P. wanlessi" "head of Wind Creek, E. and S. of Sheep Mt."; "SW. side" and "SE. corner" of Sheep Mountain; "Otionohyus alexi" from "S. side of Sheep Mt."; "Genetochoerus chamberlaini" from "E. side of Sheep Mt." and "head of Wind Creek"; all Brule Zone D; and "Promesoreodon scanloni" Schultz and Falkenbach 1949 from Sheep Mountain ("Washington" Co.), Poleslide Mbr.
"Miniochoerus cheyennensis n. sp." = Miniochoerus starkensis Schultz and Falkenbach 1956 oreodont
Brule Zone D Sheep Mt., Shannon Co.; Wilson reports an indeterminate oreodont
 Artiodactyla - Tayassuidae
Tayassuidae indet. Palmer 1897 peccary
 Artiodactyla - Protoceratidae
Protoceras sp. Marsh 1891 protoceratid
 Artiodactyla - Leptomerycidae
Leptomeryx sp. Leidy 1853 ruminant
 Theriamorpha - Talpidae
Proscalopinae indet.1 Reed 1961 mole
 Rodentia - Castoridae
Castoridae indet. Gray 1821 beaver
 Lagomorpha - Leporidae
Palaeolagus sp. Leidy 1856 rabbit