Late Torrejonian (middle Paleocene) mammals from south central Alberta, Canada

Abstract

The Paskapoo Formation in central and south central Alberta, Canada, preserves continental sediments of Paleocene age. Outcrops of the formation on Nose Creek in northeast Calgary, at a locality called Who Nose?, have yielded fossil mammals from the middle part of the epoch. To date, some 400 dental specimens representing eight mammalian orders have been recovered, among them numerous well-preserved jaws. Newly named taxa include new species of Parectypodus and Baiotomeus (Multituberculata); new species of Parectypodus, Litomylus (Condylarthra), and Cyriacotherium (Pantodonta) are left unnamed. Biostratigraphic correlation indicates a late Torrejonian age for the local fauna based on the presence of the plesiadapid primate Pronothodectes matthewi. Faunal comparisons suggest a close similarity to the penecontemporaneous Gidley Quarry fauna, Montana, with a taxonomic diversity consistent with other co-eval faunas in the Western Interior of the United States. The specimens from Who Nose? constitute the largest collection of Torrejonian mammals from Canada, offering a unique perspective on mammalian diversity from an otherwise poorly represented interval in western Canada.