Ellesmere Island (Lower): Wasatchian, Canada

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
Mammalia - Leptictidae
Prodiacodon sp. Matthew 1929
Eberle 2001
locality 85
Mammalia - Coryphodontidae
Coryphodon radians (Cope 1872)
Alroy 2002
and "C. subquadratus" Lucas 1998b: "C. sp." in part
    = Coryphodon pisuqti n. sp. Dawson 2012
Dawson 2012
Coryphodon lobatus Cope 1877
Lucas 1998
in part
    = Coryphodon pisuqti n. sp. Dawson 2012
Dawson 2012
Mammalia - Acreodi - Mesonychidae
Pachyaena sp. Cope 1874
Eberle and McKenna 2002
D7 locality
Mammalia - Perissodactyla - Brontotheriidae
Lambdotherium sp. Cope 1880
Mammalia - Perissodactyla - Equidae
Equidae indet. Gray 1821
Alroy 2002
omitted by Dawson 1980
Mammalia - Perissodactyla
Hyrachyus sp. Leidy 1871
localities 76H7-10-3 (type of Thuliadanta), 76-60, 76H7-10-1, Mck7/15/87-1, 76-49
    = Thuliadanta mayri n. gen., n. sp. Eberle 2005
Eberle 2005
Mammalia - Procreodi - Arctocyonidae
Anacodon sp. Cope 1882
Eberle and McKenna 2002
Mammalia - Viverravidae
Viverravus sp. Marsh 1872
McKenna 1980
at locality 85, see Eberle 2001, Eberle and McKenna 2002
Mammalia
cf. Vulpavus sp. Marsh 1871
Eberle 2001
locality 85
Miacis sp. Cope 1872
Eberle 2001
locality 85; "Miacidae indet."
Arcticanodon dawsonae n. gen., n. sp. Rose et al. 2004
Rose et al. 2004
locality 76-85 (7 measurements)
Mammalia - Creodonta - Oxyaenidae
Palaeonictis sp. de Blainville 1842
Eberle and McKenna 2002
Locality 87H7-22-4
Mammalia - Creodonta
Prolimnocyon sp. Matthew and Granger 1915
Dawson 1990
confirmed and placed at locality 44 by Eberle 2001, Eberle and McKenna 2002; "Hyaenodontidae indet."; see also McKenna 1980a
Mammalia - Pantolestidae
Palaeosinopa sp. Matthew 1901
Eberle 2001
locality 85; two forms; apparently includes "Pantolestes sp." and "Pantolestes natans" of Dorr 1977
    = Palaeosinopa nunavutensis n. sp. Eberle and McKenna 2002
Eberle and McKenna 2002
Mammalia - Rodentia - Ischyromyidae
Microparamys bayi n. sp. Dawson 2001
Dawson 2001
locality 85
Strathcona major n. sp. Dawson 2001
Dawson 2001
locality 85 (1 measurement)
Strathcona minor n. sp. Dawson 2001
Dawson 2001
locality 85 (1 measurement)
Paramys hunti n. sp. Dawson 2001
Dawson 2001
locality 85; also at locality 44: "Ischyromyidae indet." (2 measurements)
? Paramyinae indet. Simpson 1945
Dawson 2001
locality 49
Mammalia - Dermoptera
Ellesmene eureka n. sp. Dawson et al. 1993
Dawson et al. 1993
replaces ID of Dawson 1990; "Plagiomenidae indet." (6 measurements)
    = Plagiomene sp. Matthew 1918
West et al. 1977
omitted by Dawson 1980
Mammalia - Primates - Paromomyidae
Paromomyidae indet. Simpson 1940
"two species of Ignacius-like paromomyids": McKenna 1980a
Mammalia - Multituberculata - Neoplagiaulacidae
Neoplagiaulax sp. Lemoine 1882
    = Neoplagiaulacidae indet. Ameghino 1890
Alroy 2002
no published description and i.d. predates Krause 1982, 1987
Reptilia - Boidae
Erycinae indet. Bonaparte 1825
Estes and Hutchison 1980
Reptilia - Anguidae
Anguidae indet. Gray 1825
Estes and Hutchison 1980
Reptilia - Varanidae
Varanidae indet. Hardwicke and Gray 1824
Estes and Hutchison 1980
genus and species unidentified
Reptilia - Testudines
Cryptodira indet. Cope 1868
Estes and Hutchison 1980
genus incertae sedis
Reptilia - Testudines - Trionychidae
Estes and Hutchison 1980
    = Trionychidae indet. Gray 1825
Alroy 2006
Reptilia - Testudines - Emydidae
Emydinae indet. Rafinesque 1815
Estes and Hutchison 1980
genus and species unidentified
Reptilia - Testudines - Testudinidae
Geochelone sp. Fitzinger 1835
Estes and Hutchison 1980
Reptilia - Testudines - Kinosternoidea
Kinosterninae indet. Baur 1893
Estes and Hutchison 1980
genus and species unidentified
Reptilia
Allognathosuchus sp. Mook 1921
Estes and Hutchison 1980
Amphibia - Temnospondyli - Urodela
Piceoerpeton cf. willwoodense (Meszoely 1967)
Estes and Hutchison 1980
    = Piceoerpeton willwoodense Meszoely 1967
Gardner 2012
four atlantes (CMN 32390 and three uncatalogued), multiple trunk vertebrae (CMN 32391 and unreported number of uncatalogued, fragmentary specimens), and fragmentary jaws and limb bones (all CMN specimens)
Actinopteri - Amiiformes - Amiidae
Amia cf. uintaensis (Leidy 1873)
Estes and Hutchison 1980
nomen dubium belonging to Amiinae
Amia fragosa Jordan 1927
Estes and Hutchison 1980
Actinopteri - Lepisosteiformes - Lepisosteidae
? Lepisosteus sp. Agassiz 1843
Estes and Hutchison 1980
Actinopteri - Esociformes - Esocidae
Esox sp. Linnaeus 1758
Estes and Hutchison 1980
see common names

Geography
Country:Canada State/province:Northwest Territories
Coordinates: 78.5° North, 82.0° West (view map)
Paleocoordinates:75.8° North, 30.2° West
Basis of coordinate:based on nearby landmark
Geographic resolution:local area
Time
Period:Paleogene Epoch:Eocene
Stage:Ypresian 10 m.y. bin:Cenozoic 2
*Period:Tertiary
Key time interval:Wasatchian
Age range of interval:54.90000 - 50.50000 m.y. ago
* legacy (obsolete) database fields
Stratigraphy
Geological group:Eureka Sound Formation:Margaret
Stratigraphic resolution:member
Stratigraphy comments: said by Hickey et al. 1983 to be Clarkforkian and within Chron 25N, but clearly Wasatchian, and paleomag correlation seriously questioned by Kent et al. 1984
Eureka Sound Group was originally treated as a formation, but broken into multiple formations by Miall (1986); the Margaret Formation is the same as Member IV of West et al. (1981)
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology: not reported
Environment:deltaic indet.
Geology comments: "lush proximal delta front to delta plain environment, with abundant channels and coal swamps" (Rose et al. 2004)
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body
Size of fossils:macrofossils,mesofossils
Collection methods and comments
Collection methods:bulk,surface (float),sieve,field collection
Rock censused:227 kg
Reason for describing collection:paleoecologic analysis
Museum repositories:CM
Collection method comments: "Approximately 500 pounds of matrix from this locality [76-85] was screen-washed"
Taxonomic list comments:stratigraphic position unclear: Pachyaena sp. Eberle 2001: D7 Locality, Bay Fiord area
"Chadronia sp." is listed by McKenna 1980a and Dawson 1990 but level is unclear
"cf. Mesonyx sp." Dawson 1990: level not indicated
Metadata
Also known as:Bay Fiord; Locality 76-85 (locality 85 and CMN loc. P7502); D7 Locality; localities 44, 49 (= 76-49?), 76-60, 76H7-10-1, 76H7-10-3, Mck7/15/87-1
Database number:15583
Authorizer:J. Alroy, P. Mannion, K. Beard, P. Holroyd Enterer:J. Alroy, P. Mannion, K. Beard, P. Holroyd
Modifier:J. Alroy Research group:vertebrate
Created:1994-04-30 00:00:00 Last modified:2012-11-02 22:18:48
Access level:the public Released:1994-04-30 00:00:00
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:
3612. R. M. West, M. R. Dawson, and J. H. Hutchison. 1977. Fossils from the Paleogene Eureka Sound Formation, N.W.T., Canada; occurrence, climatic and paleogeographic implications. In West, R. M. (ed), Paleontology and plate tectonics with special reference to the history of the Atlantic Ocean. Milwaukee Public Museum Contributions in Biology and Geology 2:77-93 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Alroy]

Secondary references:

6294 J. Alroy. 2002. Synonymies and reidentifications of North American fossil mammals. [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/M. Kouvari]
18120 J. Alroy. 2006. Synonymies and reidentifications of North American fossil vertebrates. [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Alroy]
1345 M. R. Dawson. 1990. in Canada's Missing Dimension [J. Alroy/J. Alroy]
4148 M. R. Dawson. 2001. Early Eocene rodents (Mammalia) from the Eureka Sound Group of Ellesmere Island, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 38(7):1107-1116 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/L. van den Hoek Ostende]
41279 M. R. Dawson. 2012. Coryphodon, the northernmost Holarctic Paleogene pantodont (Mammalia), and its global wanderings. Swiss Journal of Palaeontology 131:11-22 [K. Beard/K. Beard]
1353 M. R. Dawson, M. C. McKenna, K. C. Beard and J. H. Hutchison. 1993. An early Eocene plagiomenid mammal from Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg Islands, Arctic Canada. Kaupia 3:179-192 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/D. Nicholson]
4183 J. J. Eberle. 2001. Early Eocene Leptictida, Pantolesta, Creodonta, Carnivora, and Cete from Ellesmere Island--Arctic Links to Europe and Asia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 21(3):46A [J. Alroy/R. Whatley/R. Whatley]
19836 J. J. Eberle. 2005. A new 'tapir' from Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada - Implications for northern high latitude palaeobiogeography and tapir palaeobiology. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 227:311-322 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy]
7158 J. J. Eberle and M. C. McKenna. 2002. Early Eocene Leptictida, Pantolesta, Creodonta, Carnivora, and Mesonychidae (Mammalia) from the Eureka Sound Group, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 39(6):899-910 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Alroy]
17569 R. Estes and J. H. Hutchison. 1980. Eocene lower vertebrates from Ellesmere Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 30:325-347 [P. Holroyd/P. Holroyd/J. Alroy]
44340 J. D. Gardner. 2012. Revision of Piceoerpeton MESZOELY (Caudata: Scapherpetontidae) and description of a new species from the late Maastrichtian and ? early Paleocene of western North America. Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France 183(6):611-620 [P. Mannion/P. Mannion]
6280 S. G. Lucas. 1998. Fossil mammals and the Paleocene/Eocene series boundary in Europe, North America, and Asia. In M.-P. Aubry, S. G. Lucas and W. A. Berggren (eds.), Late Paleocene–Early Eocene Biotic and Climatic Events in the Marine and Terrestrial Records 451-500 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/M. Uhen]
2535 M. C. McKenna. 1980. Eocene paleolatitude, climate, and mammals of Ellesmere Island. Palaeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 30(3-4):349-362 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Alroy]
18125 K. D. Rose, J. J. Eberle, and M. C. McKenna. 2004. Arcticanodon dawsonae, a primitive new palaeanodont from the lower Eocene of Ellesmere Island, Canadian High Arctic. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 41:757-763 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy]