Category Archives: Research

Highs and Lows of the Rocky Mountains in the Middle to Late Eocene – #365papers – 2017 – 97

#365papers for April 7, 2017

Fan, Constensius, and Dettman, 2017, Prolonged high relief in the northern Cordilleran orogenic front during middle and late Eocene extension based on stable isotope paleoaltimetry: Earth and Plantery Science Letters, v. 457, p. 376-384.

What’s it about?

The Rocky Mountains have been around for a long, long time. This study focuses on a part of the Rockies that was still growing between about 46 to about 34 million years ago. Through the study of fossil soils and fossil snails, the authors show that the difference between the lowest basins and the highest mountain peaks was around 4 km – which is a lot!Continue reading “Highs and Lows of the Rocky Mountains in the Middle to Late Eocene – #365papers – 2017 – 97”

G is for Grangeria – #AtoZChallenge – 2017 – Uintan Mammals

G is for Grangeria.

Grangeria is a large hoofed mammal closely related to horses that lived during the middle Eocene. Whether or not Grangeria is a valid name, or that members of Grangeria are better called Eomoropus is a topic of discussion in paleontology.

Nevertheless, Grangeria is a member of a group called chalicotheres, which were unusual hoofed mammals in that their front legs were proportionately very long, and they may have knuckle-walked like modern anteaters.

F is for Forstercooperia – #AtoZChallenge – 2017 – Uintan Mammals

F is for Forstercooperia

Forstercooperia is a rhinocerotid (a hoofed mammal closely related to rhinos) from the Eocene of Asia. Originally, this name was applied to a similar mammal from the Uinta Formation of Utah, but the Utahn specimens have since been renamed Uintaceras (“Uinta horn”)

Forstercooperia by Roman Yevseyev (on DeviantArt)

E is for Epihippus – #AtoZChallenge – 2017 – Uintan Mammals

E is for Epihippus.

Epihippus is a fossil horse. You know it’s a horse because of the ‘hippus’ in its name, which means ‘horse.’

These horses were smaller than modern horses and possessed four hoofed toes on its front legs and three hoofed toes on its back legs.

Epihippus gracilis. Credit: U.S. National Park Service.

A Little Giant from John Day – #365papers – 2017 – 96

#365papers for April 6, 2017

Mihlbachler and Samuels, 2016, A small-bodied species of Brontotheriidae from the middle Eocene Nut Beds of the Clarno Formation, John Day Basin, Oregon: Journal of Paleontology, v. 90, p. 1233-1244.

What’s it about?

This is a description of a new species of brontothere, giant rhino-like mammals from the middle Eocene (about 44 million years ago). This new species, Xylotitan, is actually small, as brontotheres go – only about the size of a modern tapir.Continue reading “A Little Giant from John Day – #365papers – 2017 – 96”

D is for Diplobunops – #AtoZChallenge – 2017 – Uintan Mammals

D is for Diplobunops.

Diplobunops is a small hoofed mammal related to pigs. The group of mammals that contains Diplobunops and other related species is loosely referred to as oreodonts.

Diplobunops matthewi (Peterson, 1919) – fossil mammal skeleton from the Eocene of Utah, USA. (CM 11801, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA)

C is for Colodon – #AtoZChallenge – 2017 – Uintan Mammals

C is for Colodon.

The genus Colodon made its first appearance in the Uintan. It is a type of hooved mammal most closely related to modern tapirs.

You can read more about Colodon here:

Colbert, 2005, The Facial Skeleton of the Early Oligocene Colodon (Perissodactyla, Tapiroidea): Palaeontologia Electronica, v. 8.

B is for Bunomeryx – #AtoZChallenge – 2017 – Uintan Mammals

B is for Bunomeryx.

Bunomeryx is a member of the Family Dichobunidae, a group of hoofed mammals potentially related to pigs and hippopotamuses.They would have been small in size (probably less than 20 pounds). Their feet had several toes, each ending in a tiny hoof.

Uintan Mammals from A to Z – #AtoZChallenge – 2017

It’s April, so it’s time for the A to Z Blogging Challenge!

Each year in April there is a challenge to write 26 blog posts during the month, one for each letter of the English alphabet. I’ve done:

Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) (2016)
Beer and Brewing (2015)
Cameras (2014)
Paleocene Mammals (2013)

This year, I’m going back to a paleontology theme. I’ll be looking for fossils of Uintan Age mammals, provided I can find them.

The Uintan is a North American Land Mammal “age,” that is, a period of time in North America defined by a particular suite of fossil mammals. In years, the Uintan lasted from around 45 to 40 million years ago.Continue reading “Uintan Mammals from A to Z – #AtoZChallenge – 2017”