Washakie Formation

Washakie Formation
Stratigraphic range: Lutetian (Bridgerian-Uintan) ~48–42  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Type	Formation
Sub-units	Adobe Town & Kinney Rim members
Lithology
Primary	Sandstone
Location
Coordinates	41°42′N109°00′W / 41.7°N 109.0°W / 41.7; -109.0
Approximate paleocoordinates	45°36′N95°06′W / 45.6°N 95.1°W / 45.6; -95.1
Region	Colorado & Wyoming
Country	United States
Extent	Sand Wash & Washakie Basins
Washakie Formation (the United States) Show map of the United States Washakie Formation (Wyoming) Show map of Wyoming

The Washakie Formation is a geologic formation in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming. It preserves many mammal, bird, reptile and other fossils dating back to the Lutetian stage of the Eocene within the Paleogene period. The sediments fall in the Bridgerian and Uintan stages of the NALMA classification. ^[1]

Fossil content

The Washakie Formation has provided many fossil mammals, turtles and other reptiles, birds and other fossils. ^[1]

The artiodactyl Heliosus apophis was described from the formation by Burger and Jolley, ^[2] and the rodents Pareumys flynni , Pauromys turnbulli and Thisbemys intermedius by Korth in 2020. ^{[3] [4]}

Mammals

Color key Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon		Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.

Taeniodonts
Genus	Species	Presence	Material	Notes	Images
Stylinodon	S. mirus	Lower part of the Adobe Town Member. [5]	6 specimens. [5]	A stylinodontid taeniodont.

Ferae
Genus	Species	Presence	Material	Notes	Images
Carnivoraformes gen. indet.	species A	Adobe Town Member. [6]	Tooth fragments. [6]	A carnivoraform.
	species B	Adobe Town Member. [6]	Teeth. [6]	A carnivoraform.
Harpalodon	H. sylvestris	Adobe Town Member. [6]		A carnivoraform.
Hyaenodontidae	Hyaenodontidae gen. indet.		2 partial teeth. [6]	A hyaenodont.
Limnocyon	L. potens	Adobe Town Member. [6]	Partial skeleton. [6]	A hyaenodont.
	L. verus	Adobe Town Member. [6]		A hyaenodont.
Lycarion	L. medius	Adobe Town Member. [6]	Cranium, dentary and right humerus. [6]	A carnivoraform.
Machaeroidinae	Machaeroidinae gen. indet.		Posterior fragment of a right molar. [6]	An oxyaenid.
Neovulpavus	N. mccarrolli	Adobe Town Member. [6]		A carnivoraform.
	N. washakius	Adobe Town Member. [6]		A carnivoraform.
Oodectes	O. proximus	Adobe Town Member. [6]	Labial fragment of right molar. [6]	A miacid.
	O. pugnax	Adobe Town Member. [6]	Partial left dentary. [6]	A miacid.
Patriofelis	P. ferox	Adobe Town Member. [6]		An oxyaenid.
Sinopa	S. lania	Adobe Town Member. [6]		A hyaenodont.
	S. major	Adobe Town Member. [6]		A hyaenodont.
	S. cf. S. minor	Adobe Town Member. [6]	"FMNH PM 56405, right m1 with broken paraconid". [6]	A hyaenodont.
	S. species A	Adobe Town Member. [6]	Left maxillary fragment. [6]	A hyaenodont.
Thinocyon	T. cf. T. medius	Adobe Town Member. [6]	Teeth. [6]	A hyaenodont.
	T. velox	Adobe Town Member. [6]		A hyaenodont.
Tritemnodon	T. sp.		Dentary fragments, fragments of vertebra and ulna. [6]	A hyaenodont.
Uintacyon	U. jugulans	Adobe Town Member. [6]	Left dentary fragment and right molar. [6]	A miacid.
Viverravus	V. gracilis	Adobe Town Member. [6]	Dentaries and teeth. [6]	A viverravid.
	V. minutus	Adobe Town Member. [6]	Right dentary fragment. [6]	A viverravid.
	V. sp. indet.		Right dentary fragment. [6]	A viverravid.

Rodents
Genus	Species	Presence	Material	Notes	Images
Mattimys	M. sp.	Lower Adobe Town Member. [3]	"FMNH PM 56559, right dentary fragment with m1." [3]	An ischyromyid.
Metaparamys	M. compressidens	Middle and upper Adobe Town Member. [3]	Skull fragment and dentaries. [3]	An ischyromyid.
Mysops	M. sp.	Adobe Town Member. [3]	"FMNH PM 55377, right m1 or m2." [3]	A cylindrodontid.
Pareumys	P. flynni	Lower, middle and upper Adobe Town Member. [3]	Dentaries and teeth. [3]	A cylindrodontid.
Pauromys	P. turnbulli	Middle Adobe Town Member. [3]	Dentaries. [3]	A sciuravid.
Perasciuravus	P. mcintoshi	Lower and possibly middle Adobe Town Member. [7]		A sciuravid.
Protoptychus	P. hatcheri	Middle Adobe Town Member. [3] [8]
Quadratomus	Q. grandis	Lower Adobe Town Member. [3]	"FMNH PM 55166, left M1 or M2; FMNH PM 55348, associated right p4 and m1." [3]	An ischyromyid.
Thisbemys	T. intermedius	[4]		An ischyromyid.
	T. cf. T. uintensis	[4]		An ischyromyid.
Tillomys	T. senex	Lower and middle Adobe Town Member. [3]	Left dentary and teeth. [3]	A sciuravid.
Uintaparamys	U. bridgerensis	Lower and middle Adobe Town Member. [3]	Left and right dentaries. [3]	An ischyromyid.

Ungulates
Genus	Species	Presence	Material	Notes	Images
Amynodon	A. advenus	Middle unit of the Adobe Town Member. [9]		An amynodontid.
Dilophodon	D. minusculus	Middle unit of the Adobe Town Member. [9]		A helaletid.
Dolichorhinus	D. sp.	Middle unit of the Adobe Town Member. [9]		A brontothere.
Eobasileus	E. cornutus	Adobe Town Member. [10]		A dinoceratan.
Eomoropus	E. amarorum	Middle unit of the Adobe Town Member. [9]		An eomoropid.
Epihippus	E. gracilis	Upper unit of the Adobe Town Member. [9]		An equid.
cf. Forstercooperia	cf. F. minuta	Middle unit of the Adobe Town Member. [9]		A paracerathere, now reassigned to the genus Pappaceras .
Harpagolestes	H. immanis	Adobe Town Member. [6]		A mesonychid.
	H. sp. indet.		Mandibular fragments. [6]	A mesonychid.
Helaletes	H. nanus	Kinney Rim Member. [9]		A helaletid.
Heliosus	H. apophis	Lower Adobe Town Member. [11]	Dentary and associated humerus. [11]	A helohyid.
Hyrachyus	H. eximius	Kinney Rim Member and lower unit of the Adobe Town Member. [9]		A rhinoceratoid.
	H. modestus	Kinney Rim Member and lower unit of the Adobe Town Member. [9]		A rhinoceratoid.
Isectolophus	I. latidens	Lower unit of the Adobe Town Member. [9]		An isectolophid.
Mesatirhinus	M. sp.	Kinney Rim Member and lower unit of the Adobe Town Member. [9] [12]	Over 20 partial skeletons. [12]	A brontothere.
Mesonychia?	Mesonychia? gen. indet.		Teeth. [6]	A mesonychian.
Metarhinus	M. sp.	Middle unit of the Adobe Town Member. [9]		A brontothere.
Orohippus	O. sp.	[9]		An equid.
Pappaceras	P. minuta	Middle unit of the Adobe Town Member. [9]		A paracerathere.
Simidectes	aff. S.?		Left molar. [6]	A mesonychian.
Synoplotherium	S. lanius	Adobe Town Member. [6]		A mesonychid.
	S. sp. indet.	[6]		A mesonychid.
Telmatherium	T. sp.	Lower unit of the Adobe Town Member. [9]		A brontothere.
Triplopus	T. cubitalis	Middle unit of the Adobe Town Member. [9]		A hyracodontid.
	T. implicatus	[9]		A hyracodontid.
Uintatherium	U. anceps	Adobe Town Member. [10]		A dinoceratan.

Reptiles

Color key Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon		Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.

Birds
Genus	Species	Presence	Material	Notes	Images
Bathornis	B. grallator	"Sand Wash Basin, Wyoming, locality 196". [13]	Partial skeleton (CM 9377). [13]	A bathornithid.
Neocathartes	N. grallator	"Sand Wash Basin, Wyoming, locality 196". [13]		Considered a junior synonym of Bathornis grallator.

Testudines
Genus	Species	Presence	Material	Notes	Images
Anosteira	A. pulchra	Adobe Town Member (Sweetwater County, Wyoming). [14]	FMNH PR966, a near-complete cranium. [14]	A carettochelyid turtle.

See also

• List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Wyoming
• Paleontology in Wyoming
• Bridger Formation
• Green River Formation
• Uinta Formation
• Wasatch Formation

References

1. Washakie Formation at Fossilworks.org
2. Burger & Jolley, 2020, p.178
3. Korth, William W. (2020-05-14). "New material of fossil rodents (Mammalia) from the Eocene (Bridgerian-Uintan) Washakie Formation, southcentral Wyoming". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 133 (1): 18. doi: 10.2988/19-00011 . ISSN   0006-324X. S2CID   219442645.
4. Korth, William W. (October 2020). "The Eocene ischyromyid rodent Thisbemys from the Washakie Formation, Wyoming (early Eocene, late Bridgerian) with comments on the systematics of the genus" . Journal of Paleontology. 94 (6): 1180–1190. doi:10.1017/jpa.2020.37. ISSN   0022-3360. S2CID   222231682.
5. Turnbull, William D. (December 2004). "Taeniodonta of the Washakie Formation, Southwestern Wyoming" . Bulletin of Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 2004 (36): 303–333. doi:10.2992/0145-9058(2004)36[303:TOTWFS]2.0.CO;2. ISSN   0145-9058. S2CID   128542095.
6. Tomiya, Susumu; Zack, Shawn P.; Spaulding, Michelle; Flynn, John J. (March 2021). "Carnivorous mammals from the middle Eocene Washakie Formation, Wyoming, USA, and their diversity trajectory in a post-warming world". Journal of Paleontology. 95 (S82): 1–115. doi: 10.1017/jpa.2020.74 . hdl: 2433/274918 . ISSN   0022-3360. S2CID   232358160.
7. Korth, William W. (2020-07-31). "A New Sciuravid Rodent (Mammalia) from the Early Eocene (Bridgerian) and the Sciuravid-Eomyid Transition". Annals of Carnegie Museum. 86 (2): 197–205. doi:10.2992/007.086.0204. S2CID   221348410.
8. Turnbull, William D. (1991). Protoptychus hatcheri Scott, 1895: the mammalian faunas of the Washakie Formation, Eocene age, of southern Wyoming. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Chicago, Ill. : Field Museum of Natural History.
9. McCarroll, Steven M.; Flynn, John J.; Turnbull, William D. (1996). The mammalian faunas of the Washakie Formation, Eocene age, of southern Wyoming. Chicago, Ill: Field Museum of Natural History.
10. Turnbull, W. (1978). "The Mammalian faunas of the Washakie Formation, Eocene Age, of Southern Wyoming: Part I: Introduction: The geology, history, and setting". Fieldiana Geology. doi: 10.5962/BHL.TITLE.5350 . S2CID   132030789.
11. Burger, Benjamin John; Jolley, Lea Ann (March 2020). "A New Large Body Helohyid (Artiodactyla) from the Bridgerian Middle Eocene Washakie Formation Of Southern Wyoming". Paludicola. 12 (4): 175–184.
12. Turnbull, William D.; Martill, David M. (1988-02-15). "Taphonomy and preservation of a monospecific titanothere assemblage from the Washakie formation (Late Eocene), southern Wyoming. An ecological accident in the fossil record" . Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. Ecological and Evolutionary Implications of Taphonomic Processes. 63 (1): 91–108. Bibcode:1988PPP....63...91T. doi:10.1016/0031-0182(88)90092-2. ISSN   0031-0182.
13. Mayr, Gerald (March 2016). "Osteology and phylogenetic affinities of the middle Eocene North American Bathornis grallator—one of the best represented, albeit least known Paleogene cariamiform birds (seriemas and allies)" . Journal of Paleontology. 90 (2): 357–374. doi:10.1017/jpa.2016.45. ISSN   0022-3360. S2CID   88936361.
14. Joyce, Walter G.; Volpato, Virginie S.; Rollot, Yann (2018-12-13). "The skull of the carettochelyid turtle Anosteira pulchra from the Eocene (Uintan) of Wyoming and the carotid canal system of carettochelyid turtles". Fossil Record. 21 (2): 301–310. doi: 10.5194/fr-21-301-2018 . ISSN   2193-0074. S2CID   92601499.

Bibliography

• Burger, B.J.; Jolley, L.A. (2020). "A new large body helohyid (Artiodactyla) from the Bridgerian Middle Eocene Washakie Formation of southern Wyoming". Paludicola . 12 (4): 175–184. Retrieved 2020-06-28– via ResearchGate.
• Korth, William W (2020a). "New material of fossil rodents (Mammalia) from the Eocene (Bridgerian-Uintan) Washakie Formation, southcentral Wyoming". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington . 133 (1): 18–34. doi: 10.2988/19-00011 . S2CID   219442645.
• Korth, William W (2020b). "The Eocene ischyromyid rodent Thisbemys from the Washakie Formation, Wyoming (early Eocene, late Bridgerian) with comments on the systematics of the genus". Journal of Paleontology . 94 (6): x. doi:10.1017/jpa.2020.37. S2CID   222231682.

Further reading

• W. G. Joyce, V. S. Volpato, and Y. Rollot. 2018. The skull of the carettochelyid turtle Anosteira pulchra from the Eocene (Uintan) of Wyoming and the carotid canal system of carettochelyid turtles. Fossil Record 21:301-310
• N. Vitek. 2011. Insights into the Taxonomy and Systematics of North American Eocene Soft-Shelled Turtles from a Well-Preserved Specimen. Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History 52(2):189-208
• S. M. McCarroll, J. J. Flynn, and W. D. Turnbull. 1996. Biostratigraphy and magnetostratigraphy of the Bridgerian-Uintan Washakie Formation, Washakie Basin, Wyoming. In D. R. Prothero and R. J. Emry (eds.), The Terrestrial Eocene-Oligocene Transition in North America 25-39
• R. K. Stucky, D. R. Prothero, W. G. Lohr and J. R. Snyder. 1996. Magnetic stratigraphy, sedimentology, and mammalian faunas of the early Uintan Washakie Formation, Sand Wash Basin, northwestern Colorado. In D. R. Prothero and R. J. Emry (eds.), The Terrestrial Eocene-Oligocene Transition in North America 40-51
• S. M. McCarroll, J. J. Flynn, and W. D. Turnbull. 1996. The Mammalian Faunas of the Washakie Formation, Eocene Age, of Southern Wyoming. Part III. The Perissodactyls. Fieldiana, Geology 33:1-38
• A. Wetmore. 1944. A new terrestrial vulture from the Upper Eocene deposits of Wyoming. Annals of Carnegie Museum 30:57-69
• R. Zangerl. 1944. Brachyuranochampsa eversolei, gen. et sp. nov., a new crocodilian from the Washakie beds of Wyoming. Annals of Carnegie Museum 30:77-84
• O. P. Hay. 1908. The fossil turtles of North America. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication 75:1-568