White Butte/Turtle Valley (Eocene of the United States)

Also known as South Heart Locality

Where: Stark County, North Dakota (46.9° N, 102.8° W: paleocoordinates 50.9° N, 84.5° W)

• coordinate based on political unit

• local area-level geographic resolution

When: Golden Valley Formation, Wasatchian (55.8 - 50.3 Ma)

• "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"

• bed-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: terrestrial; gray, red claystone

• "light-pink and gray clays"

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils

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

• "Several hundred classifiable bones and teeth of vertebrates" in the original collections, plus 10 teeth collected by West

Primary reference: 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]more details

Purpose of describing collection: general faunal/floral analysis

PaleoDB collection 15895: authorized by John Alroy, entered by John Alroy on 18.02.1993, edited by Philip Mannion

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Actinopteri
 Teleostei -
 Lepisosteiformes - Lepisosteidae
"Atractosteus occidentalis" = Lepisosteus occidentalis7
"Atractosteus occidentalis" = Lepisosteus occidentalis7 Leidy 1856 gar
 Amiiformes - Amiidae
Amia fragosa7 Jordan 1927 bowfin
Amia uintaensis7 Leidy 1873 bowfin
Amphibia
 Salientia -
 Proteida - Batrachosauroididae
Batrachosauroides gotoi n. sp.5 Estes 1969 salamander
PU 18012, 17275, 17400a-b
 Caudata - Urodela
Chrysotriton tiheni n. gen. n. sp.6
Chrysotriton tiheni n. gen. n. sp.6 Estes 1981 giant salamander
PU 17314
Reptilia
 Squamata -
Saniwa cf. ensidens Leidy 1870 squamates
 Squamata - Anguidae
? Glyptosaurinae indet.7 Marsh 1872 squamates
cf. Xestops sp.7 Cope 1873 squamates
 Testudines - Pantrionychidae
Plastomenus sp.7 Cope 1873 turtle
 Testudines - Kinosternoidea
"Baptemys tricarinata" = Baptemys garmanii7
"Baptemys tricarinata" = Baptemys garmanii7 Cope 1872 mud turtle
 Testudines -
"Echmatemys testudinea" = Notomorpha testudinea7
"Echmatemys testudinea" = Notomorpha testudinea7 Cope 1872 turtle
 Crocodylia -
 Crocodylia - Alligatoridae
Ahdeskatanka russlanddeutsche n. gen. n. sp.4, "Chrysochampsa mlynarskii n. gen. n. sp." = Allognathosuchus mlynarskii7
Ahdeskatanka russlanddeutsche n. gen. n. sp.4 Cossette and Tarailo 2024 crocodilian
"Chrysochampsa mlynarskii n. gen. n. sp." = Allognathosuchus mlynarskii7 Estes 1988 crocodilian
YPM-PU 17258 - holotype (partial skull & 4 osteoderms)
Aves
  -
Aves indet. Linnaeus 1758 bird
Mammalia
 Multituberculata - Neoplagiaulacidae
Parectypodus lunatus9 Krause 1982 multituberculate
apparently "P. childei" of Sloan 1981
 Leptictida - Leptictidae
cf. Didelphodus sp. Cope 1882 eutherian
Prodiacodon cf. tauricinerei1 Jepsen 1930 eutherian
 Ferae - Metacheiromyidae
? Palaeanodon sp. Matthew 1918 placental
 Creodonta - Hyaenodontidae
Hyaenodontidae indet.1 Leidy 1869 creodont
 Ferae - Viverravidae
Didymictis sp. Cope 1875 placental
 Ferae -
Miacis sp. Cope 1872 placental
 Artiodactyla - Diacodexeidae
? Diacodexis sp. Cope 1882 even-toed ungulate
 Perissodactyla - Equidae
Equidae indet.1 Gray 1821 horse
 Perissodactyla -
Homogalax aureus n. sp.8 Gingerich 1991 odd-toed ungulate
 Soricomorpha - Nyctitheriidae
? Leptacodon sp. Matthew and Granger 1921 placental
 Tribosphenida - Pantolestoidae
Palaeosinopa sp. Matthew 1901 placental
 Primates - Paromomyidae
Phenacolemurinae indet.1 Simpson 1955 primate
 Primates - Notharctidae
Cantius frugivorus1 Cope 1875 primate
 Primates - Omomyidae
"Anemorhysis pearcei" = Tetonoides pearcei2, Teilhardina sp.3
"Anemorhysis pearcei" = Tetonoides pearcei2 Gazin 1962 tarsier
Teilhardina sp.3 Simpson 1940 tarsier
 Primates - Microsyopidae
Microsyops angustidens10 Matthew 1915 primate
 Rodentia - Reithroparamyidae
Reithroparamys sp.10 Matthew 1920 rodent
 Rodentia - Ischyromyidae
Lophiparamys cf. murinus Matthew 1918 rodent
Paramys cf. excavatus Loomis 1907 rodent
 Insectivora -
Insectivora indet.1 Bowdich 1821 insectivoran
 Condylarthra - Hyopsodontidae
Hyopsodus sp.1 Leidy 1870 condylarth
Hyopsodus loomisi McKenna 1960 condylarth
 Cimolesta - Coryphodontidae
Coryphodon cf. armatus1 Cope 1872 pantodont