Laguna Hills (Pliocene of the United States)

Also known as LACM 3820

Where: Orange County, California (33.6° N, 117.7° W: paleocoordinates 33.4° N, 116.4° W)

• coordinate estimated from map

When: Capistrano Formation, Zanclean (5.3 - 3.6 Ma)

• ?Middle Pliocene, siltstone member

Environment/lithology: marine; gray sandstone and siltstone

• depth of 1500 meters or deeper, largely biogenous diatomaceous sediment, basin
• gray siltstone grading into orange pebbly sandstone

Size class: macrofossils

Preservation: original phosphate

Reposited in the LACM

Primary reference: D. P. Domning. 1978. Sirenian evolution in the North Pacific Ocean. University of California Publications in Geological Sciences 118:1-176 [M. Uhen/M. Uhen/M. Uhen]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 52223: authorized by Mark Uhen, entered by Mark Uhen on 01.08.2005

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Mammalia
 Sirenia - Dugongidae
Hydrodamalis cuestae Domning 1978 Cuesta sea cow
 Carnivora -
Imagotariinae indet. Mitchell 1968 pinniped
 Carnivora - Otariidae
Arctocephalinae indet. Scheffer and Rice 1963 eared seal
 Cetacea - Physeteridae
Physeteridae indet.2 Gray 1821 sperm whale
 Cetacea -
cf. Scaldicetus sp. Du Bus 1867 toothed whale
 Cetacea - Balaenopteridae
Balaenopteridae indet.1 Gray 1864 rorqual
Chondrichthyes
 Lamniformes - Lamnidae
Isurus sp. Rafinesque 1810 mackerel shark