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 includesDaphoenussp.,Daphoenocyon dodgei, daphoenine sp.,Parictis parvus, Parictissp., nimravid spp.,Hesperocyon gregarius, Hemipsalodon grandis, Hyaenodon horridus, H. microdon, Hyaenodonspp., and indeterminate taxa. Most of the large number of deciduous teeth are referred toHesperocyonor the Daphoeninae.Daphoenus canadensis, Russell, 1934, is a junior synonym ofDaphoenocyon dodgei.Upper molars are tentatively referred toP. parvus; the geographic range ofP. parvusis extended to include Saskatchewan and Wyoming. The Calf CreekHesperocyonclosely 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.