Alexander (Paleocene of the United States)

Also known as UCM loc. 77267; UCM locality 77267

Where: Arapahoe County, Colorado (39.7° N, 104.7° W: paleocoordinates 45.9° N, 82.5° W)

• coordinate based on political unit

• small collection-level geographic resolution

When: Denver Formation, Puercan (66.0 - 63.3 Ma)

• "about 145 m above" the base of the formation.

• group of beds-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: terrestrial; brown, red, yellow, argillaceous, silty shale and tuffaceous sandstone

• Per Middleton and Dewar (2004) this locality is essentially fill dirt turned up from a construction site. Source rocks are from "adjacent sediments that were predominantly fine-grained and thinly bedded. These beds probably represent overbank deposition, as the state of the specimens imply little fluvial transport (Middleton, 1983)."
• "interbedded reddish and yellowish brown shale, mudstone, siltstone, and tuffaceous sandstone"

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils

Collection methods: bulk, surface (float), sieve,

• "mostly surface collected, however, some screenwashing". Middleton and Dewar (2004) report fossil wood.

Primary reference: M. D. Middleton. 1983. Early Paleocene vertebrates of the Denver Basin, Colorado. 1-404 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/M. Uhen]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 14658: authorized by John Alroy, entered by John Alroy on 27.09.1993, edited by Patricia Holroyd and Terri Cleary

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• ? "Hemithlaeus" = Conacodon harbourae is from UCM loc. 78169

•"Auraria urbana" (unpublished genus and species names)

•eight unpublished species listed by Middleton 1983 were finally published by Middleton and Dewar 2004 (see below)

unclassified
  -
? Scapherpetodontidae indet.5
rare, ? new genus
Amphibia
 Proteida - Batrachosauroididae
Opisthotriton kayi4 Auffenberg 1961 salamander
rare
 Caudata - Urodela
Scapherpetontidae indet.4 Auffenberg and Goin 1959 salamander
rare, ? new genus
Mammalia
 Multituberculata -
Cimexomys arapahoensis n. sp. Middleton and Dewar 2004 multituberculate
Cimexomys minor Sloan and Van Valen 1965 multituberculate
 Multituberculata - Taeniolabididae
Catopsalis alexanderi n. sp. Middleton 1982 multituberculate
 Multituberculata - Neoplagiaulacidae
Mesodma cf. ambigua Jepsen 1940 multituberculate
Xyronomys robinsoni n. sp. Middleton and Dewar 2004 multituberculate
 Multituberculata - Ptilodontidae
Kimbetohia mziae n. sp. Middleton and Dewar 2004 multituberculate
 Theriamorpha - Periptychidae
Ampliconus browni n. gen. n. sp., Conacodon matthewi n. sp., Auraria urbana n. gen. n. sp.5, "Oxyacodon archibaldi n. sp." = Miniconus archibaldi, Alticonus gazini n. gen. n. sp.3
Ampliconus browni n. gen. n. sp. Eberle and Lillegraven 1998 condylarth
originally an unpublished name
Conacodon matthewi n. sp. Middleton and Dewar 2004 condylarth
Auraria urbana n. gen. n. sp.5 Middleton and Dewar 2004 condylarth
"Oxyacodon archibaldi n. sp." = Miniconus archibaldi Middleton and Dewar 2004 condylarth
Alticonus gazini n. gen. n. sp.3 Eberle and Lillegraven 1998 condylarth
 Procreodi - Arctocyonidae
Arctocyonidae indet. Murray 1866 condylarth
Baioconodon sp.1 Gazin 1941 condylarth
Baioconodon denverensis Gazin 1941 condylarth
Oxyprimus cf. galadrielae Van Valen 1978 condylarth
Oxyclaenus subbituminus n. sp. Middleton and Dewar 2004 condylarth
 Eutheria -
Proteutheria indet. Romer 1966 eutherian
 Cimolesta - Cimolestidae
Procerberus andesiticus n. sp. Middleton and Dewar 2004 eutherian
Procerberus grandis n. sp. Middleton and Dewar 2004 eutherian
 Theriamorpha - Herpetotheriidae
Thylacodon pusillus1 Matthew and Granger 1921 marsupial
Reptilia
 Testudinata -
Compsemys victa5 Leidy 1856 turtle
uncommon
 Testudinata - Baenidae
Baenidae indet.5 Cope 1882 turtle
common
 Testudines - Trionychidae
Trionychidae indet.2 Gray 1825 softshell turtle
common
 Squamata -
Squamata indet.6 squamates
UCM 34618, medial part of right dentary with basal tooth remnants; 34959, medial fragment of left dentary with an incomplete tooth; 34992, medial part of right dentary lacking teeth; 35005, vertebra; 37608, dentary fragment with two complete teeth; 38862, distal end and shaft of humerus; 38875, ?dentary fragments; 39542, fragment of right dentary with splenial and three complete teeth; 43746, two articulated vertebra; 47293, axis? vertebra; 47300, osteoderms and two dentary fragments; and unnumbered, posterior part of right dentary.
 Squamata - Anguidae
Anguidae indet.6 Gray 1825 squamates
UCM 34993, posterior part of right dentary
cf. Odaxosaurus piger6 Gilmore 1928 squamates
UCM 34991, posterior part of left maxilla with four teeth
 Squamata - Globauridae
aff. Contogenys sp.5 Estes 1969 squamates
new genus, aff. Contogenys; uncommon
 Squamata - Contogeniidae
Palaeoscincosaurus middletoni n. gen. n. sp.6 Sullivan and Lucas 1996 squamates
UCM 34621 (holotype), medial part of left mandible with two teeth; UCM nos. 34623, posterior part of left maxilla with six teeth; 34624, medial part of right mandible with three teeth; 34994, articulated anterior portions of right maxilla and mandible; 35064, medial and posterior part of right mandible with five teeth; 35065, posterior part of right maxilla with four teeth; and 39543, medial part of left mandible with two teeth.
cf. Palaeoscincosaurus middletoni6 Sullivan and Lucas 1996 squamates
UCM 48762, posterior part of left maxilla with seven teeth
 Loricata -
Crocodylia indet.2 crocodilian
uncommon
 Crocodylia - Crocodylidae
Crocodylidae indet.5 crocodile
abundant
 Crocodylia - Alligatoridae
Allognathosuchus sp.5 Mook 1921 crocodilian
common
Actinopteri
 Lepisosteiformes - Lepisosteidae
Lepisosteidae indet.5 Cuvier 1825 gar
rare
 Teleostei -