Carnivora and Creodonta of the Calf Creek Local Fauna (Late Eocene, Chadronian), Cypress Hills Formation, Saskatchewan

Abstract

The Mammalia from the Calf Creek Local Fauna, Cypress Hills Formation, Saskatchewan, include various Carnivora (197 specimens) and Creodonta (nine specimens). Most specimens are isolated teeth. The fauna includes Daphoenus sp., Daphoenocyon dodgei, daphoenine sp., Parictis parvus, Parictis sp., nimravid spp., Hesperocyon gregarius, Hemipsalodon grandis, Hyaenodon horridus, H. microdon, Hyaenodon spp., and indeterminate taxa. Most of the large number of deciduous teeth are referred to Hesperocyon or the Daphoeninae. Daphoenus canadensis, Russell, 1934, is a junior synonym of Daphoenocyon dodgei. Upper molars are tentatively referred to P. parvus; the geographic range of P. parvus is extended to include Saskatchewan and Wyoming. The Calf Creek Hesperocyon closely resembles samples of the genus from Pipestone Springs Local Fauna, Montana, and most levels at Flagstaff Rim, Wyoming. Most of the previously described Carnivora and Creodonta from Cypress Hills localities can be referred to species that occur in the Calf Creek Local Fauna. The Carnivora and Creodonta are consistent with an early to medial Chadronian age for this local fauna and suggest a relatively early age within that interval.