Re: Condylarths (TINGAMARRA REVISITED)

["Tim Williams" <twilliams_alpha@hotmail.com>]

David Marjanovic wrote:

> > There was also, the famous *Protoungulatum donnae*
>
> Yes, but it doesn't appear at the mentioned site. May it have turned out to
> be Paleocene?

I can't recall the stratigraphical details, but _Protungulatum donnae_ is 
earliest Paleocene.  The material comes from the Bug Creek Anthills of 
Montana.

Some workers have followed Van Valen in regarding _Protungulatum_ as an 
arctocyonid, at least provisionally (e.g. Lillegraven, 1998).  Another 
approach is to regard this genus as an ungulate (or ungulatomorph) incertae 
sedis (e.g. McKenna and Bell, 1997; Archibald, 1998).

In a recent study of the "condylarths", Muizon and Cifelli (2000) placed 
_Protungulatum_ close to the base of the Ungulatomorpha, but more derived 
than the zhelestids (the most primitive known ungulatomorphs).


Tim

------------------------------------------------------------

Timothy J. Williams

USDA/ARS Researcher
Agronomy Hall
Iowa State University
Ames IA 50014

Phone: 515 294 9233
Fax:   515 294 3163

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