Optima: Hemphillian, Oklahoma

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
Mammalia - Proboscidea - Mammutidae
Pliomastodon sp. Osborn 1926
    = Mammut sp. Blumenbach 1799
Savage 1941
"Proboscidea indet."
Mammalia - Megalonychidae
Megalonychidae indet. Gervais 1855
    = Megalonyx sp. Harlan 1825
Hirschfeld and Webb 1968
replaces ID of Savage 1941
Mammalia - Carnivora - Felidae
Adelphailurus sp. Hibbard 1934
Schultz 1990
Machairodus catacopis
(1 measurement)
    = Machairodus cf. coloradensis Cook 1922
Schultz 1990
recombined as Amphimachairodus coloradensis
and "M. coloradensis" of Savage 1941; "? Machaerodus"
Felis proterolyncis n. sp. Savage 1941
(1 measurement)
    = Lynx proterolyncis Savage 1941
Savage 1941
Mammalia - Carnivora - Ursidae
Agriotherium sp. Wagner 1837
    = Agriotherium schneideri Sellards 1916
Savage 1941
recombined as Huracan schneideri
"A. coffeyorum" of Schultz 1990e
Mammalia - Carnivora - Mustelidae
Taxidea sp. Waterhouse 1839
    = Pliotaxidea cf. nevadensis Butterworth 1916
Schultz 1990
Plesiogulo sp. Zdansky 1934
(6 measurements)
    = Plesiogulo marshalli Martin 1928
Schultz 1990
replaces ID of Savage 1941; "? Mustelidae indet."
Mammalia - Carnivora - Procyonidae
Arctonasua fricki n. sp. Baskin 1982
Baskin 1982
Mammalia - Carnivora - Canidae
Leptocyon sp. Matthew 1918
(1 measurement)
    = Vulpes stenognathus n. sp. Savage 1941
Savage 1941
Canis davisi Merriam 1911
    = Eucyon davisi Merriam 1911
Schultz 1990
Tedford et al. 2009
recombined as Eucyon ferox
Osteoborus cf. cyonoides (Martin 1928)
    = Borophagus secundus VanderHoof 1931
Alroy 2002
confirmed by Wang et al. 1999
Mammalia - Camelidae
Pliauchenia sp. Cope 1875
    = Hemiauchenia vera Matthew 1909
Schultz 1990
recombined as Pleiolama vera
replaces ID of Savage 1941
Megatylopus cf. gigas (Matthew and Cook 1909)
    = Megatylopus matthewi Webb 1965
Schultz 1990
replaces ID of Savage 1941
Alforjas taylori Harrison 1979
Schultz 1990
probably "? Alticamelus sp." of Savage 1941
Mammalia - Tayassuidae
Prosthennops sp. Matthew and Gidley 1904
    = Tayassuinae indet. Palmer 1897
Savage 1941
comparisons are to Aptenohyus niobrarensis and A. xiphodonticus!
Mammalia - Palaeomerycidae
Pediomeryx hemphillensis Stirton 1936
Savage 1941
"? Drepanomeryx"; includes type of "Yumaceras falkenbachi" of Frick 1937 (6 measurements)
Mammalia - Antilocapridae
? Texoceros minorei n. sp. Frick 1937
Frick 1937
see also MacFadden et al. 1979
Texoceros guymonensis n. sp. Frick 1937
Frick 1937
presumably includes "Capromeryx altidens"
Mammalia - Perissodactyla - Rhinocerotidae
Teleoceras hicksi Cook 1927
Prothero 1989
pers. comm.: probably "T. cf. fossiger" of Savage 1941 and "T. sp."
Teleoceras sp. Hatcher 1894
Prothero 1989
pers. comm.: said to be a new species
    = Teleoceras guymonense n. sp. Prothero 2005
Prothero 2005
Mammalia - Perissodactyla - Equidae
Pliohippus interpolatus (Cope 1893)
    = Dinohippus leidyanus Osborn 1918
MacFadden 1984
Calippus ansae (Matthew and Stirton 1930)
    = Astrohippus ansae Matthew and Stirton 1930
Alroy 2002
Nannippus lenticularis (Cope 1893)
Savage 1941
synonym of Cormohipparion ingenuum
definitely Nannippus based on Savage's figures: JA pers. obs. 10.7.96
Hipparion sp. de Christol 1832
    = Neohipparion gidleyi Merriam 1915
Schultz 1990
Neohipparion eurystyle (Cope 1893)
definitely Neohipparion based on figures of Hesse and Savage: JA pers. obs. 10.7.96
Mammalia - Lagomorpha - Leporidae
Hypolagus cf. vetus (Kellogg 1910)
Savage 1941
Mammalia - Rodentia - Castoridae
Dipoides sp. Jaeger 1835
Savage 1941
Mammalia - Rodentia - Sciuridae
Marmota sp. Frisch 1775
Gordon and Czaplewski 2000
new specimens; definitely not Paenemarmota
Mammalia - Rodentia - Mylagaulidae
Mylagaulidae indet. Cope 1881
said to be "Mylagaulus sp." by Savage 1941
see common names

Geography
Country:United States State/province:Oklahoma County:Texas
Coordinates: 36.7° North, 101.4° West (view map)
Paleocoordinates:37.0° North, 99.7° West
Basis of coordinate:based on political unit
Time
Period:Neogene
10 m.y. bin:Cenozoic 6
*Period:Tertiary *Epoch:Miocene
Key time interval:Hemphillian
Age range of interval:9.40000 - 4.70000 m.y. ago
* legacy (obsolete) database fields
Stratigraphy
Formation:Ogallala
Stratigraphy comments: Baskin 1981 says late Hemphillian
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology: not reported
Environment:terrestrial indet.
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body
Size of fossils:macrofossils
Collection methods and comments
Collection excludes:some genera
Collection methods:field collection
Reason for describing collection:general faunal/floral analysis
Taxonomic list comments:much closer to Optima than to Guymon
new material of Savage 1941 seems to be entirely from a later collection
see also Schultz 1990e
Metadata
Also known as:Guymon; OMNH V52; UCMP V-2902
Database number:18304
Authorizer:J. Alroy, J. Marcot Enterer:J. Alroy, J. Marcot
Modifier:J. Alroy Research group:vertebrate
Created:1992-08-05 00:00:00 Last modified:2009-12-18 11:46:38
Access level:the public Released:1992-08-05 00:00:00
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:
1832. C. J. Hesse. 1936. A Pliocene Vertebrate Fauna From Optima, Oklahoma. University of California Publications, Bulletin of the Department of Geological Sciences 24(3):57-70 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Marcot]

Secondary references:

6294 J. Alroy. 2002. Synonymies and reidentifications of North American fossil mammals. [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/M. Kouvari]
10285% 29740J. A. Baskin. 1982. Tertiary Procyoninae (Mammalia: Carnivora) of North America. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 2(1):71-93 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Alroy]
6222 C. Frick. 1937. Horned ruminants of North America. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 69:1-669 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/M. Uhen]
1689 C. L. Gordon and N. J. Czaplewski. 2000. A fossil marmot from the late Miocene of western Oklahoma. Oklahoma Geology Notes 60(2):28-32 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Alroy]
1919 S. E. Hirschfeld and S. D. Webb. 1968. Plio-Pleistocene Megalonychid Sloths of North America. Bulletin of the Florida State Museum 12(5) [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Ju]
2368 B. J. MacFadden. 1984. Astrohippus and Dinohippus from the Yepomera Local Fauna (Hemphillian, Mexico) and Implications for the Phylogeny of One-Toed Horses. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 4(2):273-283 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Marcot]
6328 D. R. Prothero. 1989. Personal communication regarding rhinocerotid identifications. [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Alroy]
51726 D. R. Prothero. 2005. The Evolution of North American Rhinoceroses. 1-218 [J. Marcot/J. Marcot]
3013 D. E. Savage. 1941. Two New Middle Pliocene Carnivores from Oklahoma with Notes on the Optima Fauna. American Midland Naturalist 25(3):692-710 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Marcot]
6209 G. E. Schultz. 1990. Stop 16: Late Hemphillian faunas of the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles. In T. C. Gustavson (ed.), Tertiary and Quaternary stratigraphy and vertebrate paleontology of parts of northwestern Texas and eastern New Mexico; Guidebook - Bureau of Economic Geology, University of Texas at Austin 104-111 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Alroy]
52058 R. H. Tedford, X. Wang, and B. E. Taylor. 2009. Phylogenetic Systematics of the North American Fossil Caninae (Carnivora: Canidae). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 325:1-218 [J. Marcot/J. Marcot/G. Lloyd]