Medicine Hat Unit XIII (Pleistocene of Canada)

Where: Alberta, Canada (50.1° N, 110.7° W: paleocoordinates 50.1° N, 110.5° W)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

• small collection-level geographic resolution

When: Late/Upper Pleistocene (0.1 - 0.0 Ma)

• said to be Sangamonian

Environment/lithology: terrestrial

Primary reference: C. S. Churcher. 1984. In W. C. Mahaney (ed.), Correlation of Quaternary Chronologies [J. Alroy/J. Alroy]more details

PaleoDB collection 20615: authorized by John Alroy, entered by John Alroy on 26.03.1995

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• overlies Unit VII
major Medicine Hat localities include Evil-smelling Bluff, Island Bluff, Mitchell Bluff, and Surprize Bluff
Harington 1990 reports U-series dates of 0.074 +/- 0.005 and 0.076 +/- 0.005 Ma
although Nothrotheriops is not listed by Churcher, Akersten and McDonald 1991 detail an argument that such a record for the "Rancholabrean" of Medicine Hat was based on probosidean and equid material
Mammalia
 Rodentia - Erethizontidae
Erethizon dorsatum Linnaeus 1758 North American porcupine
 Rodentia - Sciuridae
"Citellus richardsonii" = Urocitellus richardsonii, Cynomys niobrarius2
"Citellus richardsonii" = Urocitellus richardsonii Sabine 1822 Holarctic ground squirrel
Cynomys niobrarius2 Hay 1921 prairie dog
 Rodentia - Geomyidae
Thomomys talpoides Richardson 1828 northern pocket gopher
 Rodentia - Cricetidae
Microtus sp. Schrank 1798 vole
Ondatra zibethicus Linnaeus 1766 muskrat
 Lagomorpha - Leporidae
Lepus cf. townsendii Bachman 1839 white-tailed jackrabbit
Sylvilagus floridanus Allen 1890 eastern cottontail
 Perissodactyla - Equidae
Equus sp.1 Linnaeus 1758 horse
Equus conversidens Owen 1869 horse
Equus niobrarensis Hay 1913 horse
 Artiodactyla - Camelidae
Camelops hesternus Leidy 1873 camel
Hemiauchenia sp. Gervais and Ameghino 1880 camel
 Artiodactyla - Cervidae
? Cervalces sp. Scott 1885 stag moose
Odocoileus cf. virginianus Zimmermann 1780 white-tailed deer
Rangifer sp. Hamilton-Smith 1827 reindeer
small
Rangifer tarandus Linnaeus 1758 reindeer
Cervus canadensis Erxleben 1777 elk
 Artiodactyla - Bovidae
Ovis canadensis Shaw 1804 bighorn sheep
Bison cf. latifrons Harlan 1825 bison
 Artiodactyla - Antilocapridae
Antilocapra cf. americana Ord 1815 pronghorn
 Carnivora - Felidae
"Felis atrox" = Panthera leo atrox Leidy 1853 lion
"Felis leo atrox"
Lynx canadensis Kerr 1792 Canadian lynx
 Carnivora - Procyonidae
Procyon lotor Linnaeus 1758 raccoon
 Carnivora - Mustelidae
Mustela nigripes Audubon and Bachman 1851 black-footed ferret
OK according to Anderson et al. 1986
 Carnivora - Canidae
Canis lupus Linnaeus 1758 gray wolf
Vulpes vulpes Linnaeus 1758 red fox
 Megatherioidea - Megalonychidae
? Megalonyx sp. Harlan 1825 edentate
 Proboscidea - Elephantidae
Mammuthus columbi Falconer 1857 Columbian mammoth