FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   >>  
from South Dakota, but also seven isolated teeth, representing at least two individuals, from a Chadronian fossil locality in Nebraska and one specimen from each of two Orellan fossil localities in northeastern Colorado. Simpson (1944:73, and 1953:127) presented tabulations of the published records of American apatemyids and suggested the data indicated the populations of these mammals were of small size throughout the history of the family. The few pre-Oligocene occurrences of apatemyids described subsequently (note McKenna, 1960, figs. 3-10, and p. 48) and occurrences described here tend to reinforce Simpson's interpretation. This interpretation may have to be modified to some degree, however, when current studies of collections of pre-Oligocene apatemyids are completed (McKenna, personal communication). Although information concerning the evolutionary trends of American apatemyids has been published, no data on the morphological variation in a population are available in the literature. An adequate basis for evaluating the significance of the morphological differences between the P4's of Princeton no. 13585 and KU no. 12110 coupled with the similarities of their M1-2's is lacking. In the evolution of American apatemyids the P4 underwent reduction in size and, apparently, curtailment of function. This history suggests the range of morphological variation of P4 in populations of _Sinclairella dakotensis_ could be expected to be greater than that of the molars and encompass the morphological differences between the P4's of Princeton no. 13585 and KU no. 12110. The difference in age of the Chadronian and Orellan fossils does not constitute proof that they pertain to different species. Although the identification is admittedly provisional until more fossils including other parts of the skeleton are discovered, the Orellan fossils described here are referred to _Sinclairella dakotensis_. TABLE 1.--MEASUREMENTS (IN MILLIMETERS) OF TEETH OF SINCLAIRELLA DAKOTENSIS JEPSEN. ========================================================================== | P4 | M1 | M2 -----------------------+------------+------------------+------------------ |length|width|length[1]|width[1]|length[1]|width[1] -----------------------+------+-----+---------+--------+---------+-------- Princeton no. 13585[2] | 2.1 | 1.1 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 4.7 RAM no. 381
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   >>  



Top keywords:
apatemyids
 

morphological

 

Princeton

 

Orellan

 

American

 

length

 
fossils
 

occurrences

 

history

 
Oligocene

McKenna

 

Sinclairella

 

dakotensis

 

variation

 
differences
 

interpretation

 

Although

 
published
 

Simpson

 

Chadronian


populations

 

fossil

 
molars
 

encompass

 

representing

 

expected

 
greater
 

difference

 
constitute
 
evolution

lacking

 

individuals

 

underwent

 

reduction

 

suggests

 

function

 

apparently

 

curtailment

 

pertain

 
DAKOTENSIS

JEPSEN
 

SINCLAIRELLA

 

MILLIMETERS

 

Dakota

 
MEASUREMENTS
 

provisional

 

admittedly

 
species
 

identification

 

including