Mutituberculate mammals from the Wahweap (Campanian, Aquilan) and Kaiparowits (Campanian, Judithian) Formations within and near Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, southern Utah (MP 02-4)

By: I. G. Wong, W. J. Silva, S. S. Olig, P. Thomas, D. Wright, F. X. Ashland, and N. Gregor

Multituberculate mammals from the Campanian Kaiparowits Formation of southern Utah include: two new species of Mesodma and a possible third new species; three species of Cimolodon, including a new species; a new genus and species of a possible cimolodontid; a new species of Cedaromys, a genus previously reported only from the mid-Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation; a taxon, Cimexomys magnus, is transferred to the genus Dakotamys; at least two species of Cimolomys close to C. trochuus and a new species questionably assigned to that genus; two species of Meniscoessus; and Cimexomys sp. cf. C. judithae. A possible relationship of Cimolomys to Cedaromys and Bryceomys is suggested. The fauna strongly supports an interpretation of a Judithian Land Mammal Age for the Kaiparowits Formation, however, the formation may be somewhat older than the type Judithian because of the close relationship of the fauna to the Aquilan fauna recovered from the underlying Wahweap Formation; however, this may be an artifact of both faunas being recovered from a continuous stratigraphic sequence.

The purpose of this paper is the alpha-level systematic description of the multituberculate faunas recovered from the Wahweap and Kaiparowits Formations and assessment of their biostratigraphic correlations to North American Land Mammal Ages.

Other Information:
Published: 2002
Pages: 50 p. + CD-ROM
Location: Salt Lake County
Media Type: Paper Publication & CD-ROM