1 / 21

Mammals of the Badlands

Mammals of the Badlands. By Christina Hurley. Badlands: Geologic History. Started forming about 75 million years ago Are composed of 6 different formations Pierre Shale Yellow Mounds Chadron Formation Brule Formation Rockyford Ash Sharps Formation. Pierre Shale.

lotus
Download Presentation

Mammals of the Badlands

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Mammals of the Badlands By Christina Hurley

  2. Badlands:Geologic History • Started forming about 75 million years ago • Are composed of 6 different formations • Pierre Shale • Yellow Mounds • Chadron Formation • Brule Formation • Rockyford Ash • Sharps Formation

  3. Pierre Shale • Deposited 69-75 mya by shallow inland sea • Black mud hardened to shale • Fossil clams, ammonites, and sea reptiles have been found

  4. Yellow Mounds • Weathered black ocean mud • Had been exposed from formation of the Black Hills • Example of fossil soil (paleosol)

  5. Chadron Formation • Deposited 34-37 mya • River flood plain • New floods would make each deposit • Known for titanotheres fossils (large, rhinoceros-like mammals)

  6. Brule Formation • Deposited 30-34 mya • Open savannah • Bands of sandstone show rivers • Red bands paleosol • Oreodonts (sheep-like animals) dominated

  7. Rockyford Ash • Volcanic Ash • Bottom layer of Sharps Formation • Serves as a boundary between Sharps and Brule Formations

  8. Sharps Formation • 28-30 million years old • Deposited by wind and water • Volcanic eruptions from the west provided ash

  9. Hyracodon Subhyracodon Metamynodon Tapiroids Colodon Protapirus Mesohippus Miohippus Archaeotherium Protoceras Hyaenodon Poebrotherium Oreodont Nimravid Hesperocyon Paleontology

  10. Hesperocyon

  11. Hesperocyon • “Mongoose-like mammal” • One of the earliest Canidae family members • Spent little time in the trees and hunted mostly on the ground • Had retractable claws to allow ground walking and climbing trees “There once was a goose named Mon. He was a mongoose.” – Allison Moon

  12. Mesohippus celer

  13. Means “middle horse” Appeared suddenly (geologically speaking) Preceding horses had 4 toes, Mesohippus only had 3 Cerebral hemispheres notably larger Brain more distinctly equine Last 3 premolars are like the 3 molars Like today’s horses have 6 grinding cheek teeth Mesohippus celer

  14. Leptauchenia nitida (Oreodont)

  15. Leptauchenia nitida (Oreodont) • Called “ruminants hogs” • Have distinctive canine teeth • High set eyes and nostrils suggest aquatic life-style • Clawed toes indicate terrestrial habitat • Debated whether it is related to pigs or sheep • It’s a SHIG!

  16. Nimravids

  17. Nimravids • Are not saber-toothed cats, not even true cats • Illustrates parallel evolution • Differences are: • Paths of various nerve and blood vessels in skull are more primitive • Lack a two-chambered auditory bulla • Teeth are more coned shaped • No modern relatives – truly extinct

  18. B - nimravid; A, C - felids; D - marsupial Illustration of different evolution theories. Third being the most current.

  19. Conclusion • Hesperocyon – brought dogs down from the trees • Mesohippus celer – 4 toes down to 3, more equine like brain • Oreodont – importance still unknown • Nimravids – shows parallel evolution

  20. References • http://fossilmuseum.net/Fossil_Sites/badlands.html • http://fossilmuseum.net/Fossil_Galleries/Mammalia/Oreodont/Oreodont.htm • http://talkorigins.org/faqs/horses/horse_evol.html • http://laelaps.wordpress.com/2007/06/28/just-what-is-a-nimravid-anyway/ • http://www.nps.gov/badl/upload/07Newspaper.pdf • Warren, Dean M.. Small Animal Care and Management. 2. Thomson Delmar Learning, 2002.

More Related