A history of land mammals in the western hemisphereScott, William Berryman
History
A history of land mammals in the western hemisphere
Scott, William Berryman
Mammals; Mammals, Fossil
Among the hoofed animals there were two of the antique orders which
became extinct before the end of the Eocene, indeed, one of these groups,
the †Condylarthra, made its last appearance in the Wind River. This
extremely primitive group, which, in a sense, connected the hoofed with
the clawed mammals, will be described under the more ancient faunas.
The other order, the †Amblypoda, was represented by two very different
families, one of which, the †uintatheres, was so flourishing in the
Bridger, where it formed the most characteristic and by far the most
striking element of the fauna. The Wind River genus (_†Bathyopsis_)
was a very much smaller animal than any of the Bridger forms and its
horn-like protuberances were in an incipient state, while in various
other respects it was decidedly more primitive than its successors. The
second family was represented by the genus _†Coryphodon_, which did
not survive into the Bridger, but was especially characteristic of the
Wasatch fauna, with which it will be described.
Turning now to the progressive orders, we note that the rodents, lemurs
and monkeys were very similar to those of the Bridger and belonged to
the same families, but were decidedly less numerous. This difference,
however, may be rather apparent than real and due to the much more
favourable conditions for the preservation of small mammals in the middle
Eocene. Among the Perissodactyla, the horses were intermediate in size
and structure between those of the Bridger and those of the Wasatch, but
were decidedly nearer to the latter. The †lophiodonts, so far as known,
were represented by a single genus (_†Heptodon_) which also occurred in
the Wasatch. The modest beginnings of the †titanotheres, the family which
became so very conspicuous in the middle and upper Eocene and lowest
Oligocene, may be noted in the Wind River fauna, in which there were
two genera. One of these (_†Eotitanops_), the very probable ancestor
of all the subsequent genera, was quite small, about two-thirds the
size of a modern tapir, while the other (_†Lambdotherium_) was a much
smaller, lighter and more slender animal and apparently belonged to an
abortive, short-lived phylum. Then, too, the first of the †hyracodonts,
or cursorial rhinoceroses, made their appearance here in the genus
_†Hyrachyus_, which was afterward so common in the Bridger.
No Artiodactyla have yet been found in the Wind River, though there can
be little doubt that they then inhabited North America, as they did both
before and afterward.
The Wind River fauna was of so much less peculiar and isolated character
than that of the Bridger as to suggest a connection with the eastern
hemisphere, a suggestion which is strengthened by the unheralded
appearance of the †titanotheres and †hyracodonts, of which no forerunners
have been found in the Wasatch.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account