Additional Carnivores from the Rexroad Formation (Upper Pliocene) of Southwestern Kansas

Abstract

Fossil carnivores from the Upper Pliocene Rexroad Formation of southwestern Kansas represent at least eighteen taxa. Five of the taxa are new to the Rexroad Formation including a new species of mink-like Mustela. Additional morphological and distributional data are reported for eight of the previously recorded taxa, particularly Urocyon progressus, Procyon rexroadensis, Buisnictis breviramus, and Satherium piscinarium. Trans. Kans. Acad. Sci., 76 (1), 1973. As a result of my studies of the carnivores from the Hagerman local fauna of Idaho (Bjork, 1970), I have had to make comparisons with the nearly contemporaneous Rexroad local fauna of Southwestern Kansas. Several interesting specimens have come to my attention among the existing curated specimens and discovery of identifiable material in miscellaneous bone scrap which escaped notice in the preliminary sorting of collections. The purpose of this paper is to report on forms new to the Rexroad Formation and additional referred materials which provide more information about known taxa. All specimens reported on are deposited in the University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology. Specimens included in this study are from the following localities: University of Kansas' Mead County locality no. 3 which is often referred to as Rexroad loc. 3, University of Michigan Wendell Fox pasture locality, UM-K3-53, and University of Michigan Fox Canyon locality, UM-KI-47. Rexroad loc. 3 has been the most productive. For a more complete description see Hibbard (1941 and 1950). Wendell Fox pasture locality was studied in part by Woodburne (1961). Rexroad loc. 3 and the Wendell Fox locality are nearly contemporaneous. The Fox Canyon locality of Hibbard (1950) was separated from the Rexroad local fauna by Zakrzewski (1967) and is slightly older than the Rexroad local fauna. Acknowledgments Dr. C. W. Hibbard made this study possible and allowed me access to collections in the Museum of Paleontology of the University of Michigan (UMMP). Alice R. Ballard made the drawings while supported by National Science Foundation Grant GB-5450 to Dr. Hibbard. An X-ray Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science, Vol. 76, No. 1, 1973.