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Marsupials (Mammalia, Metatheria) from the Brule Formation (Whitneyan, Oligocene) North Dakota

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 July 2020

William W. Korth Open the ORCID record for William W. Korth [Opens in a new window] ,
Clint A. Boyd ,
Robert J. Emry  and
Jeff J. Person
William W. Korth*
Affiliation:
Rochester Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology, 265 Carling Rd., Rochester, NY14610 Rochester Museum & Science Center, 657 East Ave., Rochester, NY14607
Clint A. Boyd
Affiliation:
North Dakota Geological Survey, 600 East Boulevard Ave., Bismarck, ND58505
Robert J. Emry
Affiliation:
Department of Paleobiology, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, PO Box 37012 MRC 121, Washington, DC20013
Jeff J. Person
Affiliation:
North Dakota Geological Survey, 600 East Boulevard Ave., Bismarck, ND58505
*
*Corresponding author
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Abstract

Five marsupial species are recognized from the Brule Formation at two localities in southwestern North Dakota: Fitterer Ranch and Obritsch Ranch (middle Oligocene; Whitneyan North American Land Mammal Age [NALMA]). The herpetotheriids Herpetotherium fugax Cope, 1873a, Copedelphys superstes new species, and the peradectid Nanodelphys hunti (Cope, 1873b) are represented at both localities. A fourth species is H. sp., cf. H. merriami (Stock and Furlong, 1922), represented by a single specimen from Fitterer Ranch, being limited elsewhere to the later Arikareean NALMA. A fifth species is represented by two isolated lower cheek teeth, interpreted as m1s, from Fitterer Ranch that are unique in lacking a trigonid (only two cusps present) while having a well-developed talonid. These specimens are referred to an indeterminate herpetotheriine species. The new species of Copedelphys is distinct from other species of the genus in that the anterior two lower molars are enlarged relative to the posterior molars. Overall, this new species is more similar in proportions to the latest Eocene (Chadronian) C. titanelix (Matthew, 1903) than the Oligocene (Orellan and Whitneyan) C. stevensoni (Cope, 1873b). This study adds a third and fourth Whitneyan marsupial fauna from the Great Plains region of North America, increases the known diversity of Whitneyan marsupials, and provides further evidence that marsupial diversity during the late Paleogene in North America was relatively stable until the late early Arikareean NALMA.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/b8534802-b9ed-4120-baca-fc72917f7d6a

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 95 , Issue 1 , January 2021 , pp. 193 - 204
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Copyright
Copyright © 2020, The Paleontological Society

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