PBDB Collection

Sheep Mountain Table (Lower Nodular Zone) (Oligocene of the United States)

Where: Pennington and Shannon County, South Dakota (43.6° N, 102.5° W: paleocoordinates 44.7° N, 94.2° W)

• coordinate based on political unit

When: Scenic Member (Brule Formation), Orellan (33.9 - 33.3 Ma)

• Lower Nodular Zone

• member-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: terrestrial

Primary reference: J. A. Baskin and R. H. Tedford. 1996. Small Arctoid and Feliform Carnivorans. In D. R. Prothero and R. M. Emry (eds.), The Terrestrial Eocene-Oligocene Transition in North America 486-497 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Marcot]more details

PaleoDB collection 17180: authorized by John Alroy, entered by John Alroy on 05.08.1996

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• includes Princeton locality 1015D2a "west side of the Reservation road, 5.1 miles south of Scenic... near the divide... in the Bear Creek basin": Sinclair 1921b; this coordinate is at Sheep Mountain Table, and the site is said by Sinclair 1922a to be "near the headwaters" of Indian Creek and "west of Hart Mountain"
level unclear: Nanodelphys hunti "N. minutus" Hough 1961: 5 mi S of Scenic, Pennington County Paradjidaumo trilophus Burt and Wood 1960: lower Scenic, "Scenic, South Dakota" Apletotomeus cf. crassus Reeder 1960: "lower Brule" 3.5 mi S of Scenic, Pennington County Cedromus wardi Korth and Emry 1991: "Prosciurus" from "four miles south of Scenic" in presumed Scenic Mbr. Eumys elegans Burt and Wood 1960: lower Scenic, 2 mi S of Scenic Hesperocyon gregarius Wang and Tedford 1994: "south of Scenic, Pennington County" Daphoenus sp. Hunt 1998b: "11 miles S of Scenic, Shannon Co."; "Sheep Mountain area" Paradaphoenus sp. Hunt 1998b: "Scenic Member, SW of Sheep Mt., near Scenic" Merycoidodon culbertsoni Schultz and Falkenbach 1968: "S. of Scenic" Brule Zone A

Show authors, comments, and common names

Mammalia
Carnivora - Amphicyonidae	Daphoenus sp.², Paradaphoenus minimus³ Daphoenus sp.² Leidy 1853 bear-dog "6 miles S" and "3.5 miles S" of Scenic, Scenic Mbr. Paradaphoenus minimus³ Hough 1948 bear-dog "Lower Oreodon beds... southwest of Sheep Mountain"
Carnivora - Nimravidae	"Dinictis squalidens" = Dinictis felina⁹ "Dinictis squalidens" = Dinictis felina⁹ Leidy 1854 false sabre-tooth from Princeton 1015D2a based on coordinate
Carnivora - Palaeogalidae	Palaeogale sectoria Palaeogale sectoria Gervais 1848 carnivoran Scenic Mbr. SD; probably "P. lagophaga" of Simpson 1946 from "Basal Orellan, Indian Creek Basin, west of Sheep Mountain, South Dakota" and "Lower Orellan, 6 miles south of Scenic, South Dakota"
Perissodactyla - Equidae	Mesohippus bairdi¹ Mesohippus bairdi¹ Leidy 1850 anchitheriine horse LNZ locality at very head of Indian Creek, 2 mi W of Sheep Mountain Table, just over county line in Shannon Co.
Perissodactyla - Hyracodontidae	"Hyracodon nebrascensis" = Hyracodon nebraskensis⁸ "Hyracodon nebrascensis" = Hyracodon nebraskensis⁸ Leidy 1850 odd-toed ungulate LNZ, "east part of Indian Creek basin, Pennington Co."; "Hyracodon arcidens" LNZ, Indian Creek, Pennington Co.
Artiodactyla - Entelodontidae	Archaeotherium wanlessi n. sp.⁷, Archaeotherium mortoni⁷ Archaeotherium wanlessi n. sp.⁷ Sinclair 1922 even-toed ungulate from LNZ at Princeton 1015D2a; referred specimen from LNZ in "valley of Indian Creek" Archaeotherium mortoni⁷ Leidy 1850 even-toed ungulate LNZ in Indian Creek basin, Pennington Co., exact locality not given; includes Archaeotherium "provisionally" assigned to "A. crassum" by Sinclair 1922a: LNZ "in the valley of Indian Creek"
Artiodactyla - Merycoidodontidae	Miniochoerus gracilis⁵, Miniochoerus affinis⁵, "Merycoidodon culbertsoni" = Merycoidodon culbertsonii⁶ Miniochoerus gracilis⁵ Leidy 1851 oreodont "4 mi. S. of Scenic" Pennington Co., Brule Zone A Miniochoerus affinis⁵ Leidy 1869 oreodont "Sheep Mt. area" Brule Zone A "Merycoidodon culbertsoni" = Merycoidodon culbertsonii⁶ Leidy 1848 oreodont "Indian Creek Basin" and 2 and 3 mi W of Sheep Mountain; includes their "M. culbertsoni osborni" from "1 1/2 -3" and "2 - 2 1/2" mi W of and "N. of" Sheep Mtn; "Paramerycoidodon georgei" from "W. side"; "2 mi. W"; "2 1/2 mi. W. ... on Indian Creek" of Sheep Mountain; "4 mi. S and E. of Scenic"; "Otionohyus wardi" from "1 1/2-3 mi. W."; "N."; and "W. side" of Sheep Mountain; "Genetochoerus periculorum" from "1 mi. N. of Sheep Mountain" and "'Entelodont Peak,' basin of Indian Creek"; all Brule Zone A
Artiodactyla - Camelidae	Paratylopus labiatus⁴ Paratylopus labiatus⁴ Cope 1881 camel "'lower Oreodon beds,' Sheep Mountain Table"

¹Forsten 1970; ²Hunt 1998; ³Hunt 2001; ⁴Prothero 1996; ⁵Schultz and Falkenbach 1956; ⁶Schultz and Falkenbach 1968; ⁷Sinclair 1922; ⁸Sinclair 1922; ⁹Sinclair 1924