PBDB Collection

Skull Spring (Miocene of the United States)

Also known as CIT 57; UO 2490, 2491, 2492

Where: Malheur County, Oregon (43.6° N, 117.5° W: paleocoordinates 44.4° N, 114.4° W)

• coordinate based on political unit

When: Butte Creek Formation, Barstovian (16.3 - 12.5 Ma)

Environment/lithology: terrestrial; volcaniclastic sediments

• Volcanic Sandstone

Size class: macrofossils

Primary reference: C. L. Gazin. 1932. A Miocene Mammalian Fauna From South-Eastern Oregon. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication 418(3):37-86 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Marcot]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 19056: authorized by John Alroy, entered by John Alroy on 26.07.1994, edited by Jonathan Marcot

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• not in the Sucker Creek Fm., contra Tedford et al. 1987
within the Red Basin and based on float material from several localities, most or all of which were a few miles south of UO 2495 and 2497

Show authors, comments, and common names

Mammalia
Proboscidea - Proboscidea	Proboscidea indet.⁹ Proboscidea indet.⁹ proboscidean UO 2491
Rodentia - Aplodontidae	Liodontia alexandrae Liodontia alexandrae Furlong 1910 mountain beaver
Rodentia - Sciuridae	Citellus ridgwayi n. sp.³, "Sciurus malheurensis n. sp." = Protospermophilus malheurensis, "Sciurus tephrus n. sp." = Protospermophilus tephrus Citellus ridgwayi n. sp.³ Gazin 1932 ground squirrel "Sciurus malheurensis n. sp." = Protospermophilus malheurensis Gazin 1932 squirrel "Sciurus tephrus n. sp." = Protospermophilus tephrus Gazin 1932 squirrel includes type of "Citellus ridgwayi"
Rodentia - Heteromyidae	"? Diprionomys oregonensis n. sp." = Peridiomys oregonensis "? Diprionomys oregonensis n. sp." = Peridiomys oregonensis Gazin 1932 rodent
Rodentia - Mylagaulidae	Hesperogaulus gazini n. sp.⁷ Hesperogaulus gazini n. sp.⁷ Korth 1999 rodent
Perissodactyla - Rhinocerotidae	Rhinocerotidae indet. Rhinocerotidae indet. Gray 1821 rhinoceros
Perissodactyla - Equidae	Merychippus brevidontus², "Merychippus isonesus" = Acritohippus isonesus, Parahippus coloradensis, Hypohippus sp. Merychippus brevidontus² Bode 1935 horse "Merychippus isonesus" = Acritohippus isonesus Cope 1889 horse Parahippus coloradensis Gidley 1907 anchitheriine horse Hypohippus sp. Leidy 1858 anchitheriine horse may include "? Chalicotheriidae indet." according to Skinner 1968
Artiodactyla - Moschidae	Blastomerycinae indet.¹ Blastomerycinae indet.¹ Frick 1937 musk deer
Artiodactyla - Dromomerycidae	Dromomeryx borealis Dromomeryx borealis Cope 1877 ruminant includes type of "Rakomeryx gazini" of Frick 1937
Artiodactyla - Antilocapridae	Paracosoryx sp.⁴ Paracosoryx sp.⁴ Frick 1937 pronghorn
Artiodactyla - Merycoidodontidae	Ticholeptus zygomaticus⁸ Ticholeptus zygomaticus⁸ Cope 1878 oreodont assigned to "Metoreodon cf. profectus" and "Pronomotherium sp." by Thorpe 1937, but i.d. confirmed by Schultz and Falkenbach 1940; this is probably T. zygomaticus of Kelly and Lander 1988 from "Skull Springs"
Artiodactyla - Tayassuidae	Tayassuinae indet.⁵ Tayassuinae indet.⁵ Palmer 1897 peccary
Carnivora - Ursidae	Ursavus cf. primaevus⁶ Ursavus cf. primaevus⁶ Gaillard 1899 bear
Carnivora - Mustelidae	"Martes (Tomictis) gazini n. sp." = Plionictis gazini "Martes (Tomictis) gazini n. sp." = Plionictis gazini Hall 1931 mustelid carnivore from CIT 57: see Hall 1931
Carnivora - Amphicyonidae	Amphicyon cf. frendens, "Amphicyon sinapius" = Cynelos sinapius, cf. Pliocyon medius Amphicyon cf. frendens Matthew 1924 bear-dog "Amphicyon sinapius" = Cynelos sinapius Matthew 1902 bear-dog cf. Pliocyon medius Matthew 1918 bear-dog
Carnivora - Canidae	? Canidae indet., Paratomarctus temerarius¹⁰, Euoplocyon brachygnathus¹⁰ ? Canidae indet. Fischer de Waldheim 1817 canid Paratomarctus temerarius¹⁰ Leidy 1858 bone-crushing dog Euoplocyon brachygnathus¹⁰ Douglass 1903 bone-crushing dog

¹Alroy 2002; ²Bode 1935; ³Bryant 1945; ⁴Frick 1937; ⁵Gazin 1938; ⁶Hunt 1998; ⁷Korth 1999; ⁸MacFadden 2006; ⁹Shotwell 1968; ¹⁰Wang et al. 1999