Abstract
New fossils of Palaeanodonta from the Wind River Formation (Wasatchian to earliest Bridgerian) of the Wind River Basin include at least four and possibly more species: the metacheiromyid cf. Palaeanodon sp. (possibly more than one species), the epoicotheriids Pentapassalus woodi and Tubulodon taylori (probably congeneric), and a new genus and species, Dipassalus oryctes. The latter is a diminutive, highly fossorial species with a reduced dentition resembling that of Metacheiromys (i.e., retention of only two vestigial postcanines) but with postcranial modifications foreshadowing those of the advanced Oligocene epoicotheriid Epoicotherium. The reduced dental condition is considered convergent, and Dipassalus is tentatively included in the Epoicotheriidae. -Authors
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 63-82 |
Number of pages | 20 |
Journal | Annals of Carnegie Museum |
Volume | 60 |
Issue number | 1 |
State | Published - 1991 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Geology