University of Florida Thesis Or Dissertation Formatting

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

University of Florida Thesis Or Dissertation Formatting STABLE ISOTOPE PALEOECOLOGY OF AN EARLY MIOCENE EQUID (PARAHIPPUS LEONENSIS) FROM THE THOMAS FARM SITE, GILCHRIST COUNTY, FLORIDA By SEAN MICHAEL MORAN A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2014 © 2014 Sean Michael Moran To Mom, whose constant bravery and strength during her fight against cancer has been a constant source of inspiration ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor, Bruce MacFadden, for providing superb guidance of the project along the way. He always pushed me to look at things in a different light when the data appeared utterly uninteresting. I also thank my committee, Jonathan Bloch and Andrea Dutton, who provided much needed, valuable input over the last couple of years. The Geological Society of America, National Science Foundation (CSBR 1203222, PIRE 0966884), University of Florida Department of Geological Sciences, and the Southwest Florida Fossil Club provided funding throughout the duration of this project and for that I am grateful. For those listed below, who provided assistance, whether lending an ear to listen to various ideas, providing useful suggestions, critiquing the final product, or assisting with sampling and sample selection: Elliot Arnold, Jason Bourque, Mark Brenner, Jason Curtis, Amanda Friend, Pam Haines, Richard Hulbert, Michal Kowalewski, Carly Manz, Ellen Martin, Candace McCaffery, Paul Morse, Irv Quitmyer, Dave Steadman, Chanika Symister, Julia Tejada, Lane Wallet, Evan Whiting, Aaron Wood, and my family. This is far from an inclusive list and I am truly appreciative for the many other people who have provided support. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ 7 LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... 8 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................. 9 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 10 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 12 Background ............................................................................................................. 12 The Thomas Farm Site ........................................................................................... 13 An Important Miocene Equid ................................................................................... 15 Stable Isotopes ....................................................................................................... 16 A Review of δ13C .................................................................................................... 18 A Review of δ18O .................................................................................................... 19 Research Questions ............................................................................................... 20 2 MATERIALS AND METHODS ................................................................................ 24 Sample Selection .................................................................................................... 24 Isotope Sample Collection ...................................................................................... 25 Sample Pretreatment .............................................................................................. 25 Sample Analysis ..................................................................................................... 26 3 RESULTS ............................................................................................................... 28 δ13C: Corrections .................................................................................................... 28 δ18O: Conversions and Corrections ........................................................................ 28 δ13C: Results ........................................................................................................... 30 18 δ Ocarbonate: Results ................................................................................................ 31 18 δ Ow: Results ......................................................................................................... 32 Diagenesis .............................................................................................................. 33 4 DISCUSSION ......................................................................................................... 44 No Evidence for C4 Feeding in Parahippus leonensis ............................................. 44 Patterns of Weaning ............................................................................................... 45 Paleoclimatic Interpretations of Thomas Farm ........................................................ 48 No Evidence for Seasonality of Birthing in P. leonensis ......................................... 51 5 Mineralization Patterns ........................................................................................... 52 5 CONCLUSIONS ..................................................................................................... 55 APPENDIX A ISOTOPIC DATA .................................................................................................... 57 LIST OF REFERENCES ............................................................................................... 61 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ............................................................................................ 70 6 LIST OF TABLES Table page 18 3-1 δ Ow (V-SMOW) estimates for the four known equations. ................................ 34 3-2 δ13C (V-PDB) data for each of the six sample locations ..................................... 34 18 3-3 δ Ocarbonate (V-PDB) data for each of the six sample locations .......................... 34 18 3-4 δ Ow (V-SMOW) data for each of the six sample locations ............................... 35 A-1 All isotope data collected from the study ............................................................ 58 7 LIST OF FIGURES Figure page 1-1 Map of Florida showing the location of the Thomas Farm locality and other data used in the study. ....................................................................................... 22 1-2 Diagram showing δ13C fractionation in vegetation and herbivores. All values given are in reference to V-PDB ......................................................................... 23 2-1 UF 258802 .......................................................................................................... 27 18 18 3-1 Plot showing the linear relationship between δ Ophosphate and δ Ow ................. 36 18 3-2 Box and whisker plot showing the variation in δ Ow estimates between equations 3-3 to 3-6 ............................................................................................ 37 18 13 3-3 Bivariate plot of estimates of δ Ow and δ C ...................................................... 38 3-4 Box and whisker plot of δ13C by sample location ................................................ 39 3-5 Plot of δ13C values of each sample position compared with a resampled distribution .......................................................................................................... 40 13 13 3-6 Plot of mean δ C against Δδ Capex-base. ............................................................ 41 13 3-7 Histogram showing the distribution of Δδ Capex-base values. ............................... 42 18 3-8 Box and whisker plot for estimated δ Ow values. .............................................. 43 4-1 Graph of δ18O values for north-central Florida. ................................................... 54 8 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS E/P Ratio of evaporation to precipitation FGS Specimens collected by the Florida Geological Survey, now in collections of the Florida Museum of Natural History Vertebrate Paleontology division FLMNH Florida Museum of Natural History M1 Upper first molar m1 Lower first molar M2 Upper second molar m2 Lower second molar m3 Lower third molar p2 Lower second premolar UF Denotes specimens housed in the collections of the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida 9 Abstract of Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science STABLE ISOTOPE PALEOECOLOGY OF AN EARLY MIOCENE EQUID (PARAHIPPUS LEONENSIS) FROM THE THOMAS FARM SITE, GILCHRIST COUNTY, FLORIDA By Sean Michael Moran August 2014 Chair: Bruce MacFadden Major: Geology The importance of the early Miocene equid, Parahippus leonensis, in the evolution of modern grazing horses of the subfamily Equinae has long been recognized. Several important characteristics suggest an increase in grass consumption in P. leonensis compared to earlier equids, including an increase in molar crown height, presence of cement, increased wear rates, and a dental microwear pattern with an abundance of fine scratches. I used carbon and oxygen stable isotope compositions of a large sample (n=74) of P. leonensis tooth enamel, extracted from along the molar tooth row to control
Recommended publications
  • Carnivora from the Late Miocene Love Bone Bed of Florida
    Bull. Fla. Mus. Nat. Hist. (2005) 45(4): 413-434 413 CARNIVORA FROM THE LATE MIOCENE LOVE BONE BED OF FLORIDA Jon A. Baskin1 Eleven genera and twelve species of Carnivora are known from the late Miocene Love Bone Bed Local Fauna, Alachua County, Florida. Taxa from there described in detail for the first time include the canid cf. Urocyon sp., the hemicyonine ursid cf. Plithocyon sp., and the mustelids Leptarctus webbi n. sp., Hoplictis sp., and ?Sthenictis near ?S. lacota. Postcrania of the nimravid Barbourofelis indicate that it had a subdigitigrade posture and most likely stalked and ambushed its prey in dense cover. The postcranial morphology of Nimravides (Felidae) is most similar to the jaguar, Panthera onca. The carnivorans strongly support a latest Clarendonian age assignment for the Love Bone Bed. Although the Love Bone Bed local fauna does show some evidence of endemism at the species level, it demonstrates that by the late Clarendonian, Florida had become part of the Clarendonian chronofauna of the midcontinent, in contrast to the higher endemism present in the early Miocene and in the later Miocene and Pliocene of Florida. Key Words: Carnivora; Miocene; Clarendonian; Florida; Love Bone Bed; Leptarctus webbi n. sp. INTRODUCTION can Museum of Natural History, New York; F:AM, Frick The Love Bone Bed Local Fauna, Alachua County, fossil mammal collection, part of the AMNH; UF, Florida Florida, has produced the largest and most diverse late Museum of Natural History, University of Florida. Miocene vertebrate fauna known from eastern North All measurements are in millimeters. The follow- America, including 43 species of mammals (Webb et al.
    [Show full text]
  • Three-Toed Browsing Horse Anchitherium (Equidae) from the Miocene of Panama
    J. Paleonl., 83(3), 2009, pp. 489-492 Copyright © 2009, The Paleontological Society 0022-3360/09/0083-489S03.00 THREE-TOED BROWSING HORSE ANCHITHERIUM (EQUIDAE) FROM THE MIOCENE OF PANAMA BRUCE J. MACFADDEN Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville FL 32611, <[email protected]> INTRODUCTION (CRNHT/APL); L, left; M, upper molar; R upper premolar; R, DURING THE Cenozoic, the New World tropics supported a rich right; TRN, greatest transverse width. biodiversity of mammals. However, because of the dense SYSTEMATIC PALEONTOLOGY vegetative ground cover, today relatively little is known about extinct mammals from this region (MacFadden, 2006a). In an Class MAMMALIA Linnaeus, 1758 exception to this generalization, fossil vertebrates have been col- Order PERISSODACTYLA Owen, 1848 lected since the second half of the twentieth century from Neo- Family EQUIDAE Gray, 1821 gene exposures along the Panama Canal. Whitmore and Stewart Genus ANCHITHERIUM Meyer, 1844 (1965) briefly reported on the extinct land mammals collected ANCHITHERIUM CLARENCI Simpson, 1932 from the Miocene Cucaracha Formation that crops out in the Gail- Figures 1, 2, Table 1 lard Cut along the southern reaches of the Canal. MacFadden Referred specimen.—UF 236937, partial palate (maxilla) with (2006b) formally described this assemblage, referred to as the L P1-M3, R P1-P3, and small fragment of anterointernal part of Gaillard Cut Local Fauna (L.E, e.g., Tedford et al., 2004), which P4 (Fig. 1). Collected by Aldo Rincon of the Smithsonian Tropical consists of at least 10 species of carnivores, artiodactyls (also see Research Institute, Republic of Panama, on 15 May 2008.
    [Show full text]
  • Unit-V Evolution of Horse
    UNIT-V EVOLUTION OF HORSE Horses (Equus) are odd-toed hooped mammals belong- ing to the order Perissodactyla. Horse evolution is a straight line evolution and is a suitable example for orthogenesis. It started from Eocene period. The entire evolutionary sequence of horse history is recorded in North America. " Place of Origin The place of origin of horse is North America. From here, horses migrated to Europe and Asia. By the end of Pleis- tocene period, horses became extinct in the motherland (N. America). The horses now living in N. America are the de- scendants of migrants from other continents. Time of Origin The horse evolution started some 58 million years ago, m the beginning of Eocene period of Coenozoic era. The modem horse Equus originated in Pleistocene period about 2 million years ago. Evolutionary Trends The fossils of horses that lived in different periods, show that the body parts exhibited progressive changes towards a particular direction. These directional changes are called evo- lutionary trends. The evolutionary trends of horse evolution are summarized below: 1. Increase in size. 2. Increase in the length of limbs. 3. Increase in the length of the neck. 4. Increase in the length of preorbital region (face). 5. Increase in the length and size of III digit. 6. Increase in the size and complexity of brain. 7. Molarization of premolars. Olfactory bulb Hyracotherium Mesohippus Equus Fig.: Evolution of brain in horse. 8. Development of high crowns in premolars and molars. 9. Change of plantigrade gait to unguligrade gait. 10. Formation of diastema. 11. Disappearance of lateral digits.
    [Show full text]
  • Paleobiology of Archaeohippus (Mammalia; Equidae), a Three-Toed Horse from the Oligocene-Miocene of North America
    PALEOBIOLOGY OF ARCHAEOHIPPUS (MAMMALIA; EQUIDAE), A THREE-TOED HORSE FROM THE OLIGOCENE-MIOCENE OF NORTH AMERICA JAY ALFRED O’SULLIVAN A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2002 Copyright 2002 by Jay Alfred O’Sullivan This study is dedicated to my wife, Kym. She provided all of the love, strength, patience, and encouragement I needed to get this started and to see it through to completion. She also provided me with the incentive to make this investment of time and energy in the pursuit of my dream to become a scientist and teacher. That incentive comes with a variety of names - Sylvan, Joanna, Quinn. This effort is dedicated to them also. Additionally, I would like to recognize the people who planted the first seeds of a dream that has come to fruition - my parents, Joseph and Joan. Support (emotional, and financial!) came to my rescue also from my other parents—Dot O’Sullivan, Jim Jaffe and Leslie Sewell, Bill and Lois Grigsby, and Jerry Sewell. To all of these people, this work is dedicated, with love. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I thank Dr. Bruce J. MacFadden for suggesting that I take a look at an interesting little fossil horse, for always having fresh ideas when mine were dry, and for keeping me moving ever forward. I thank also Drs. S. David Webb and Riehard C. Hulbert Jr. for completing the Triple Threat of Florida Museum vertebrate paleontology. In each his own way, these three men are an inspiration for their professionalism and their scholarly devotion to Florida paleontology.
    [Show full text]
  • University of Florida Thesis Or Dissertation Formatting
    UNDERSTANDING CARNIVORAN ECOMORPHOLOGY THROUGH DEEP TIME, WITH A CASE STUDY DURING THE CAT-GAP OF FLORIDA By SHARON ELIZABETH HOLTE A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2018 © 2018 Sharon Elizabeth Holte To Dr. Larry, thank you ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my family for encouraging me to pursue my interests. They have always believed in me and never doubted that I would reach my goals. I am eternally grateful to my mentors, Dr. Jim Mead and the late Dr. Larry Agenbroad, who have shaped me as a paleontologist and have provided me to the strength and knowledge to continue to grow as a scientist. I would like to thank my colleagues from the Florida Museum of Natural History who provided insight and open discussion on my research. In particular, I would like to thank Dr. Aldo Rincon for his help in researching procyonids. I am so grateful to Dr. Anne-Claire Fabre; without her understanding of R and knowledge of 3D morphometrics this project would have been an immense struggle. I would also to thank Rachel Short for the late-night work sessions and discussions. I am extremely grateful to my advisor Dr. David Steadman for his comments, feedback, and guidance through my time here at the University of Florida. I also thank my committee, Dr. Bruce MacFadden, Dr. Jon Bloch, Dr. Elizabeth Screaton, for their feedback and encouragement. I am grateful to the geosciences department at East Tennessee State University, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard for the loans of specimens.
    [Show full text]
  • Download PDF File
    1.08 1.19 1.46 Nimravus brachyops Nandinia binotata Neofelis nebulosa 115 Panthera onca 111 114 Panthera atrox 113 Uncia uncia 116 Panthera leo 112 Panthera pardus Panthera tigris Lynx issiodorensis 220 Lynx rufus 221 Lynx pardinus 222 223 Lynx canadensis Lynx lynx 119 Acinonyx jubatus 110 225 226 Puma concolor Puma yagouaroundi 224 Felis nigripes 228 Felis chaus 229 Felis margarita 118 330 227 331Felis catus Felis silvestris 332 Otocolobus manul Prionailurus bengalensis Felis rexroadensis 99 117 334 335 Leopardus pardalis 44 333 Leopardus wiedii 336 Leopardus geoffroyi Leopardus tigrinus 337 Pardofelis marmorata Pardofelis temminckii 440 Pseudaelurus intrepidus Pseudaelurus stouti 88 339 Nimravides pedionomus 442 443 Nimravides galiani 22 338 441 Nimravides thinobates Pseudaelurus marshi Pseudaelurus validus 446 Machairodus alberdiae 77 Machairodus coloradensis 445 Homotherium serum 447 444 448 Smilodon fatalis Smilodon gracilis 66 Pseudaelurus quadridentatus Barbourofelis morrisi 449 Barbourofelis whitfordi 550 551 Barbourofelis fricki Barbourofelis loveorum Stenogale Hemigalus derbyanus 554 555 Arctictis binturong 55 Paradoxurus hermaphroditus Genetta victoriae 553 558 Genetta maculata 559 557 660 Genetta genetta Genetta servalina Poiana richardsonii 556 Civettictis civetta 662 Viverra tangalunga 661 663 552 Viverra zibetha Viverricula indica Crocuta crocuta 666 667 Hyaena brunnea 665 Hyaena hyaena Proteles cristata Fossa fossana 664 669 770 Cryptoprocta ferox Salanoia concolor 668 772 Crossarchus alexandri 33 Suricata suricatta 775
    [Show full text]
  • Objections Sustained! (2001)
    Objections Sustained! (2001) Kyle J. Gerkin Introduction (2001) At a recent family gathering the issue of my atheism was raised, though not for the first time, and I professed that I was as staunch an unbeliever as ever. Afterwards, an aunt of mine (who has recently become an evangelical Christian) pulled me aside and handed me a book. The book was, of course, Lee Strobel's The Case For Faith . Apparently it is being hailed by evangelicals as a great "witnessing tool," especially for spiritual skeptics. I hadn't read the Christian apologists in depth for a couple of years, so I was interested to take a stroll down memory lane. Needless to say, they're still plugging away. I felt compelled to inform my aunt just why I don't buy into the Christian position or their apologetics. The next thing I knew I was hammering away at a page- by-page review of the book, and sending the chapters to her via email as I completed them. Here I have presented the critique in its entirety. Naturally, I have done a bit of editing so that it is more tailored for publication. However, if the review is personal or direct at times, please bear in mind its email roots. Strobel has decided that there are eight major objections to Christianity which act as stumbling blocks on the path to spirituality. Strobel has decided to pose these objections to eight prominent Christian apologists and let them make "the case for faith." The meat of the book consists of eight chapters, each one essentially an interview with a particular apologist dealing with one of Strobel's "Big Eight" objections.
    [Show full text]
  • Agate Fossil Beds
    University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln U.S. National Park Service Publications and Papers National Park Service 1980 Agate Fossil Beds Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/natlpark "Agate Fossil Beds" (1980). U.S. National Park Service Publications and Papers. 160. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/natlpark/160 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the National Park Service at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in U.S. National Park Service Publications and Papers by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Agate Fossil Beds cap. tfs*Af Clemson Universit A *?* jfcti *JpRPP* - - - . Agate Fossil Beds Agate Fossil Beds National Monument Nebraska Produced by the Division of Publications National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Washington, D.C. 1980 — — The National Park Handbook Series National Park Handbooks, compact introductions to the great natural and historic places adminis- tered by the National Park Service, are designed to promote understanding and enjoyment of the parks. Each is intended to be informative reading and a useful guide before, during, and after a park visit. More than 100 titles are in print. This is Handbook 107. You may purchase the handbooks through the mail by writing to Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC 20402. About This Book What was life like in North America 21 million years ago? Agate Fossil Beds provides a glimpse of that time, long before the arrival of man, when now-extinct creatures roamed the land which we know today as Nebraska.
    [Show full text]
  • Florida Fossil Horse Newsletter
    Florida Fossil horse Newsletter Volume 10, Number 1, 1st Half 2001 What's Inside? Fossil Horses On the Road: Archaeohippus and Parahippus Check Out the Bluegrass State Meet Our Artists Volunteers Help the Museum While Enhancing Their Own Education Thunderbeasts, Sexual Selection and Extinction Skeleton "Under Construction" Homeschooling Groups Request More Family Days at Thomas Farm Book Review - The Fossil Vertebrates of Florida Introducing A New Logo For Pony Express's 10th Anniversary Fossil Horses On the Road: Archaeohippus and Parahippus Check Out the Bluegrass State Lexington, Kentucky welcomed Miocene horses at a special event at the Lexington Children's Museum, March 3, 2001. Loaned by the Florida Museum of Natural History, many fossils of the two small prehistoric horses from Thomas Farm are being displayed at the Children's Museum through March and April. Touchable casts of the skulls and feet are also charming the kids, who think the "little horses" are just awesome. At the all-day fossil event, a large display was set up with a case for some of the more fragile horse Seth Woodring, 3, of Winchester, made himself a plaster "fossil" with some help from his mother, fossils. Three Beth, and 5-year-old sister, Rayne. David Stephenson photo (reprinted with permission from tables held fossil Herald Leader) bones and casts, with modern horse bones for comparison. Experts Dr. Teri Lear and Dr. Lenn Harrison, with the Department of Veterinary Science at the University of Kentucky, presented Archaeohippus and Parahippus to the public. Teri has participated in several digs at Thomas Farm, and talked with visitors about the Miocene digs and fossils.
    [Show full text]
  • Systematic Revision of the Early Miocene Fossil Pseudoepicrates
    Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2018, XX, 1–18. With 10 figures. Systematic revision of the early Miocene fossil Pseudoepicrates (Serpentes: Boidae): implications for the evolution and historical biogeography of the West Indian boid snakes (Chilabothrus) SILVIO ONARY1* AND ANNIE S. HSIOU1 1Departamento de Biologia, Laboratório de Paleontologia de Ribeirão Preto, Faculdade de Filosofia Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. Received 20 June 2017; revised 28 November 2017; accepted for publication 23 December 2017 The taxonomy of the early Miocene genus Pseudoepicrates is controversial. Originally interpreted as the viperid Neurodromicus, subsequent work deemed the material to represent an extinct boid, Pseudoepicrates stanolseni. However, more recent work considered Pseudoepicrates to be a synonym of the extant Boa constrictor. Due to these conflicting interpretations, we provide a revision of the systematic affinities of P. stanolseni. This redescription was based on the first-hand analysis of all material of Pseudoepicrates, together with the comparison of extant boids. Our findings suggest that, in addition to being an invalid taxon, ‘Pseudoepicrates’ cannot be referred to B. constric- tor. Instead, the extant Chilabothrus is here regarded as the most cogent generic assignment, with Chilabothrus stanolseni comb. nov. proposed for the extinct species. The referral of this material to Chilabothrus suggests that the genus originated as early as ~18.5 Mya. The revised history of this record has interesting implications for our understanding of the early divergence of the group. The presence of Chilabothrus in the early Miocene of Florida supports biogeographical hypotheses, which suggest that the genus reached the West Indian island complex around 22 Mya, dispersing into the North American territory by at least 18.5 Mya.
    [Show full text]
  • Intercontinental Migration of Large Mammalian Carnivores: Earliest Occurrence of the Old World Beardog Amphicyon (Carnivora, Amphicyonidae) in North America Robert M
    University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Papers in the Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of 2003 Intercontinental Migration of Large Mammalian Carnivores: Earliest Occurrence of the Old World Beardog Amphicyon (Carnivora, Amphicyonidae) in North America Robert M. Hunt Jr. University of Nebraska-Lincoln, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/geosciencefacpub Part of the Earth Sciences Commons Hunt, Robert M. Jr., "Intercontinental Migration of Large Mammalian Carnivores: Earliest Occurrence of the Old World Beardog Amphicyon (Carnivora, Amphicyonidae) in North America" (2003). Papers in the Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. 545. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/geosciencefacpub/545 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Papers in the Earth and Atmospheric Sciences by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Chapter 4 Intercontinental Migration of Large Mammalian Carnivores: Earliest Occurrence of the Old World Beardog Amphicyon (Carnivora, Amphicyonidae) in North America ROBERT M. HUNT, JR.1 ABSTRACT North American amphicyonid carnivorans are prominent members of the mid-Cenozoic terres- trial carnivore community during the late Eocene to late Miocene (Duchesnean to Clarendonian). Species range in size from ,5kgto.200 kg. Among the largest amphicyonids are Old and New World species of the genus Amphicyon: A. giganteus in Europe (18±;15? Ma) and Africa, A. ingens in North America (15.9±;14.2 Ma). Amphicyon ®rst appears in the Oligocene of western Europe, surviving there until the late Miocene.
    [Show full text]
  • (Chiroptera: Natalidae) from the Early Miocene of Florida, with Comments on Natalid Phylogeny
    Journal of Mammalogy, 84(2):729±752, 2003 A NEW BAT (CHIROPTERA: NATALIDAE) FROM THE EARLY MIOCENE OF FLORIDA, WITH COMMENTS ON NATALID PHYLOGENY GARY S. MORGAN* AND NICHOLAS J. CZAPLEWSKI New Mexico Museum of Natural History, 1801 Mountain Road NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104, USA (GSM) Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article/84/2/729/2373805 by guest on 29 September 2021 Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73072, USA (NJC) We describe a new extinct genus and species of bat belonging to the endemic Neotropical family Natalidae (Chiroptera) from the Thomas Farm Local Fauna in northern peninsular Florida of early Miocene age (18±19 million years old). The natalid sample from Thomas Farm consists of 32 fossils, including a maxillary fragment, periotics, partial dentaries, isolated teeth, humeri, and radii. A proximal radius of an indeterminate natalid is reported from the I-75 Local Fauna of early Oligocene age (about 30 million years old), also from northern Florida. These fossils from paleokarst deposits in Florida represent the 1st Tertiary records of the Natalidae. Other extinct Tertiary genera previously referred to the Natalidae, including Ageina, Chadronycteris, Chamtwaria, Honrovits, and Stehlinia, may belong to the superfamily Nataloidea but do not ®t within our restricted de®nition of this family. Eight derived characters of the Natalidae sensu stricto are discussed, 5 of which are present in the new Miocene genus. Intrafamilial phylogenetic analysis by parsimony of the Natal- idae suggests that the 3 living subgenera, Natalus (including N. major, N. stramineus, and N. tumidirostris), Chilonatalus (including C.
    [Show full text]