Further desmostylian remains from the upper Oligocene of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

The North Pacific rim was home to an extinct group of semiaquatic marine mammals, the order Desmostylia, which superficially resembled hippos. Desmostylians are an uncommon fossil vertebrate in most localities where they occur, and Oligocene taxa particularly so. Beyond the type dentition and t...

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Main Author: BRIAN LEE BEATTY
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Institute of Paleobiology PAS 2023-06-01
Series:Acta Palaeontologica Polonica
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.4202/app.00990.2022
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author BRIAN LEE BEATTY
author_facet BRIAN LEE BEATTY
author_sort BRIAN LEE BEATTY
collection DOAJ
description The North Pacific rim was home to an extinct group of semiaquatic marine mammals, the order Desmostylia, which superficially resembled hippos. Desmostylians are an uncommon fossil vertebrate in most localities where they occur, and Oligocene taxa particularly so. Beyond the type dentition and two femora of Cornwallius sookensis, and the skull and postcrania of Behemotops proteus, both previously described from the region of Muir Creek locality of the upper Oligocene Sooke Formation of southern coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, no other records from this site have been reported. Additional specimens of teeth have now been found in the Royal British Columbia Museum and Canadian Museum of Nature, including a long-forgotten and unreported paratype. In total, three additional teeth, one of B. proteus and two possibly belonging to C. sookensis, are reported here from its type locality. More importantly, the upper molar reported here, as well as UCMP 36078 from Baja California and USNM 181740 from Oregon, all resemble each other but should be considered as belonging to Cornwallius only with caution.
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spelling doaj.art-6dcdd7211d9541a69ec5847840e60c622023-08-03T13:41:45ZengInstitute of Paleobiology PASActa Palaeontologica Polonica0567-79201732-24212023-06-0168237337810.4202/app.00990.2022Further desmostylian remains from the upper Oligocene of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, CanadaBRIAN LEE BEATTY0NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine, Northern Blvd, Old Westbury, New York 11568, USA; National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USAThe North Pacific rim was home to an extinct group of semiaquatic marine mammals, the order Desmostylia, which superficially resembled hippos. Desmostylians are an uncommon fossil vertebrate in most localities where they occur, and Oligocene taxa particularly so. Beyond the type dentition and two femora of Cornwallius sookensis, and the skull and postcrania of Behemotops proteus, both previously described from the region of Muir Creek locality of the upper Oligocene Sooke Formation of southern coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, no other records from this site have been reported. Additional specimens of teeth have now been found in the Royal British Columbia Museum and Canadian Museum of Nature, including a long-forgotten and unreported paratype. In total, three additional teeth, one of B. proteus and two possibly belonging to C. sookensis, are reported here from its type locality. More importantly, the upper molar reported here, as well as UCMP 36078 from Baja California and USNM 181740 from Oregon, all resemble each other but should be considered as belonging to Cornwallius only with caution.https://doi.org/10.4202/app.00990.2022
spellingShingle BRIAN LEE BEATTY
Further desmostylian remains from the upper Oligocene of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
Acta Palaeontologica Polonica
title Further desmostylian remains from the upper Oligocene of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
title_full Further desmostylian remains from the upper Oligocene of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
title_fullStr Further desmostylian remains from the upper Oligocene of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
title_full_unstemmed Further desmostylian remains from the upper Oligocene of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
title_short Further desmostylian remains from the upper Oligocene of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
title_sort further desmostylian remains from the upper oligocene of vancouver island british columbia canada
url https://doi.org/10.4202/app.00990.2022
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