PBDB Collection

Avawatz Mountains (Miocene of the United States)

Also known as CIT 267; SBCM 1.70.1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Where: San Bernardino County, California (34.8° N, 117.0° W: paleocoordinates 34.2° N, 113.3° W)

• coordinate based on political unit

• outcrop-level geographic resolution

When: Avawatz Formation, Clarendonian (12.5 - 9.4 Ma)

Environment/lithology: terrestrial

• "reworked vitric tuff composed almost entirely of glass" (Whistler and Reynolds 1991)

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils

Collection methods: bulk, surface (float), sieve

Primary reference: P. C. Henshaw. 1939. A Tertiary Mammalian Fauna From the Avawatz Mountains, San Bernardino County, California. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication 514(1):1-30 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Marcot]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 19145: authorized by John Alroy, entered by John Alroy on 18.02.1993, edited by Jonathan Marcot

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• CIT 267 is the same as SBCM 1.70.1 but other SBCM localities are new

•tuff 200' below fauna dated by Evernden et al. 1964 at 10.7 (= 10.99) and 11.0 (= 11.29) Ma (KA on sanidine); average is 11.14 Ma

•see also Wilson 1939

Show authors, comments, and common names

Mammalia
Proboscidea - Mammutidae	Gomphotherium cf. obscurum¹ Gomphotherium cf. obscurum¹ Leidy 1869 mastodon
Chiroptera -	Chiroptera indet.⁸ Chiroptera indet.⁸ Blumenbach 1779 bat
Carnivora - Felidae	Pseudaelurus intrepidus Pseudaelurus intrepidus Leidy 1858 cat
Carnivora -	Arctoidea indet. Arctoidea indet. Flower 1869 carnivoran "Ursidae or Amphicyonidae": Whistler and Reynolds 1991
Carnivora - Canidae	Leptocyon vafer⁷ Leptocyon vafer⁷ Leidy 1858 canine canid compared to "Vulpes" vafer
Artiodactyla - Camelidae	Camelidae indet.⁸, Protolabis sp.⁴, Michenia sp.⁴ Camelidae indet.⁸ Gray 1821 camel Protolabis sp.⁴ Cope 1876 camel Michenia sp.⁴ Frick and Taylor 1971 camel not mentioned by Whistler and Reynolds 1991
Artiodactyla - Palaeomerycidae	Dromomeryx borealis⁶ Dromomeryx borealis⁶ Cope 1877 ruminant F:AM material from "Avawatz Mountain"
Artiodactyla - Antilocapridae	"Cosoryx cf. cerroensis" = Cosoryx (Subcosoryx) cerroensis¹ "Cosoryx cf. cerroensis" = Cosoryx (Subcosoryx) cerroensis¹ Frick 1937 pronghorn
Perissodactyla - Equidae	? Pliohippus sp. ? Pliohippus sp. Marsh 1874 horse i.d. is probably correct: JA pers. obs. 14.11.93
Lagomorpha - Leporidae	Hypolagus fontinalis³, Panolax sanctaefidei³ Hypolagus fontinalis³ Dawson 1958 rabbit Panolax sanctaefidei³ Cope 1874 rabbit no mention of this record or of Dawson in Whistler and Reynolds 1991
Rodentia - Heteromyidae	Cupidinimus sp.⁸, Cupidinimus avawatzensis², ? Perognathus sp.⁸, Perognathus minutus⁸ Cupidinimus sp.⁸ Wood 1935 rodent small; probably includes "Perognathoides (?) sp." Cupidinimus avawatzensis² Barnosky 1986 rodent ? Perognathus sp.⁸ Maximillian 1839 pocket mouse Perognathus minutus⁸ James 1963 pocket mouse
Rodentia - Geomyidae	Phelosaccomys shotwelli n. sp.⁵ Phelosaccomys shotwelli n. sp.⁵ Korth and Reynolds 1994 pocket gopher from SBCM 1.70.5, also at CIT 267; "? Dipodomyinae indet."; "Geomyidae n. gen. & sp." of Whistler and Reynolds 1991
Rodentia - Sciuridae	? Ammospermophilus sp.⁸ ? Ammospermophilus sp.⁸ Merriam 1892 antelope squirrel
Rodentia - Cricetidae	"Copemys dentalis" = Peromyscus dentalis¹ "Copemys dentalis" = Peromyscus dentalis¹ Hall 1930 deer mouse

¹Alroy 2002; ²Barnosky 1986; ³Dawson 1958; ⁴Honey and Taylor 1978; ⁵Korth and Reynolds 1994; ⁶Prothero and Liter 2008; ⁷Tedford et al. 2009; ⁸Whistler and Reynolds 1991