Fossil Record 17(2): 69-74, doi: 10.5194/fr-17-69-2014
The stratigraphic importance of the brontothere (cf. Diplacodon elatus) in the Brennan Basin Member of the Duchesne River Formation of Utah
B. J. Burger‡, L. Tackett II‡‡ Department of Geology, Utah State University, Uintah Basin Regional Campus 320 North Aggie Blvd. Vernal, UT 84078, United States of America
© B. J. Burger, L. Tackett II. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Citation:
Burger BJ, Tackett II L (2014) The stratigraphic importance of the brontothere (cf. Diplacodon elatus) in the Brennan Basin Member of the Duchesne River Formation of Utah. Fossil Record 17(2): 69-74. https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-17-69-2014 |  |
Abstract
We report on the first occurrence of an early horned brontothere in theBrennan Basin Member of the Duchesne River Formation in northeastern Utah.This is the first record of a brontothere from the Brennan Basin Member.Previously, brontotheres have been reported from the higher stratigraphic LaPoint Member (Duchesneodus uintensis) and the lower stratigraphicUinta Formation (Sphenocoelus uintensis, Fossendorhinus diploconus,Metarhinus fluviatilis, Metarhinus abbotti, Sthenodectes incisivum, Metatelmatherium ultimum,Protitanotherium emarginatum, Pollyosbornia altidens, Diplacodon elatus). Therecovered specimen consists of an upper third molar, which is comparable tothe species Diplacodon elatus. The specimen supports the continued presence of brontotheresthroughout the deposition of the Duchesne River Formation across the lateUintan to early Duchesnean North American Land Mammal Age. The previous lackof brontotheres within the lower beds of the Duchesne River Formation islikely a result of poor sampling and the relative rarity of fossils fromthis unit.