Paleocene primates from western Canada

Abstract

Plesiadapiform primates have been recovered from seven Paleocene sites in western Canada: (1) Roche Percée (Ravenscrag Formation) — Carpodaptes cygneus, Plesiadapis churchilli, Ignacius frugivorus, Micromomys vossae, n. sp.; (2) Police Point (Ravenscrag Formation) — Carpodaptes cf. cygneus, Plesiadapis sp., Ignacius sp.; (3) Calgary site 2E (Porcupine Hills Formation) — Microsyopinae incertae sedis; (4) Cochrane site 11 (Porcupine Hills Formation) — Elphidotarsius russelli, n. sp., Pronothodectes? sp., Paromomys cf. depressidens, Picrodus silberlingi; (5) Erickson's Landing (Paskapoo Formation) — Plesiadapis rex; (6) Canyon Ski Quarry (Paskapoo Formation) — Carpodaptes cygneus; and (7) Swan Hills site 1 (Paskapoo Formation) — Carpodaptes cygneus, Plesiadapis sp.The primate evidence now available from western Canada permits biostratigraphic correlation with Paleocene sites in the western interior of the United States. The Roche Percée, Canyon Ski Quarry, and Swan Hills sites are accorded a late (but not latest) Tiffanian age. Police Point appears to be slightly older and is assigned to the middle Tiffanian, as is Erickson's Landing. A late Torrejonian age is tentatively given Cochrane site 11. The single primate tooth from Calgary site 2E provisionally suggests a Torrejonian age.The evidence from fossil mammals, primarily primates, suggests that the local faunas from sites in the Alberta Foothills (Cochrane and Calgary) are considerably older than those from the Plains (Erickson's Landing and Canyon Ski Quarry). This does not accord with earlier lithostratigraphic studies, which suggest the reverse should be the case.