Horsethief Canyon (Miocene of the United States)

Also known as Aldrich Station Flora, UCMP Loc #3915

Where: Mineral County, Nevada (38.5° N, 118.9° W)

• Paleocoordinates: 42.6° N, 113.6° W (Wright 2013)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

• small collection-level geographic resolution

When: Aldrich Station Formation, Barstovian (16.3 - 12.5 Ma)

• bed-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: lacustrine; lithified shale

• Siliceous shale. Tan to cream-colored, well-bedded, the individual beds ranging from 1/4 to 1/2 or 1 in. thick, weathering to white and cream-colored slopes. Paper-thin tuffaceous shales locally in the lower part of the serction, and a conspicuous 15-ft lens of brown clay in the middle of the section.

Size class: macrofossils

Preservation: mold/impression, adpression, original carbon

Reposited in the UCMP

Collection methods: mechanical,

Primary reference: D. I. Axelrod. 1956. Mio-Pliocene floras from west-central Nevada. University of California Publications in Geological Sciences 33:1-321 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Alroy]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 27660: authorized by Bruce Tiffney, entered by Bruce Tiffney on 17.12.2002

Creative Commons license: CC0 (CC0)

Taxonomic list

Show authors, comments, and common names
Angiospermae
 Proteales - Platanaceae
Platanus paucidentata
Platanus paucidentata Dorf 1930 plane tree
 Ranunculales - Berberidaceae
Mahonia reticulata
 Lamiales - Oleaceae
Fraxinus alcorni n. sp.
Fraxinus alcorni n. sp. ash
 Sapindales - Sapindaceae
Aesculus ashleyi n. sp.
Aesculus ashleyi n. sp. soapberry
 Malpighiales - Salicaceae
Salix payettensis, Salix knowltoni, Populus payettensis, Populus alexanderi, Populus subwashoensis n. sp., Populus sonorensis
Populus alexanderi Dorf 1930 poplar
Populus subwashoensis n. sp. Axelrod 1956 poplar
Populus sonorensis Axelrod 1939 poplar
 Fagales - Betulaceae
Alnus smithiana n. sp.
Alnus smithiana n. sp. alder
 Fagales - Fagaceae
Quercus hannibali, Quercus simulata
Quercus simulata Knowlton 1898 oak
 Rosales - Papilionaceae
Sophora spokanensis
Sophora spokanensis Knowlton 1926
 Rosales - Rhamnaceae
Rhamnus precalifornica
Rhamnus precalifornica Axelrod 1939 buckthorn
 Rosales - Ulmaceae
Zelkova nevadensis n. sp., Ulmus moorei
Zelkova nevadensis n. sp. zelkova
 Rosales - Pomaceae
Amelanchier apiculata
 Celastrales - Celastraceae
Pachystima nevadensis
 Coniferales - Cupressaceae
Sequoiadendron chaneyi n. sp., Thuja dimorpha
Sequoiadendron chaneyi n. sp. cypress
Pinopsida
 Pinales - Pinaceae
Picea sonomensis, Picea magna, Abies concoloroides
Picea magna spruce
Abies concoloroides Brown 1940 fir