Papers by Philip Gingerich
Fossil vertebrate remains were first found in the Bighorn Basin of northwestern Wyoming in 1880, ... more Fossil vertebrate remains were first found in the Bighorn Basin of northwestern Wyoming in 1880, and the Bighorn Basin and adjacent Clark's Fork Basin have since become classic collecting areas documenting the succession of early Cenozoic vertebrate faunas in ...
J Vertebrate Paleontol, 1995
Paleobiology, Sep 1, 2003
Skeletal remains of Eocene Archaeoceti provide the only direct and unequivocal evidence of the ev... more Skeletal remains of Eocene Archaeoceti provide the only direct and unequivocal evidence of the evolutionary transition of whales from land to sea. Archaeocete skeletons complete enough to be informative about locomotion are rare (principally Rodhocetus and Dorudon), and ...
Four genera and ten species of Viverravidae are known in faunas representing the Torrejonian and ... more Four genera and ten species of Viverravidae are known in faunas representing the Torrejonian and Tiffanian land-mammal ages in the Bighorn and Clark's Fork basins, Wyoming. These are, in order of appearance: Simpsonictis tenuis (Simpson), S. pegus (n. sp.), Brjlanictis tnicrolestes (Simpson), and Protictis hajxdenianus Cope from the Torrejonian; Raphictis gausion (n. gen. and sp.), Protictisparalus Holtzman, and P. agastor (n. sp.) from the middle Tiffanian; and Protictis laj~toni (n. sp.), P. schaJff;'(n. sp.), and P. dellensis (Dorr) from the late Tiffanian. Torrejonian "Bryanictis" van\jaleni (MacIntyre) from New Mexico and southern Wyoming is here placed in a new genus Intjlrictis. Most Paleocene viverravids are represented by dental remains. but a compressed cranium of pro tic ti.^ schaf;f; is known as well. The basicranium of this specimen preserves a canal medial to the petrosal interpreted to represent an inferior petrosal sinus, and grooves are preserved for both promontory and stapedial branches of the internal carotid artery. Protictis is one of five Torrejonian genera of Viverravidae known from North America. It is one of only two Tiffanian genera of Viverravidae. Paleocene Protictis may be the common ancestor of all known Eocene Viverravidae: Protictis schajfi is a likely ancestor for later Viverravus, and Protictis dellensis may be the ancestor of later Didj,mictis. Alternatively, Did.c'mictis may be independently derived from Bryanictis.
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Aug 24, 2010
This series of contributions from the Museum of Paleontology is a medium for publication of paper... more This series of contributions from the Museum of Paleontology is a medium for publication of papers based chiefly on collections in the Museum. When the number of pages issued is sufficient to make a volume, a title page and a table of contents will be sent to libraries on the mailing list, and to individuals upon request. A list of the separate issues may also be obtained by request. Correspondence should be directed to the Museum Abstract.-Fossil vertebrates are preserved in a variety of freshwater limestones in the Willwood Formation of the Clark's Fork Basin. Wyoming. Six limestones are described in detail. Three are interpreted to represent still water environments including the centers of hollow trees, flooded remnants of tree stumps or burrows, and shallow vegetated pans. The remaining three limestones represent a spectrum of moving water deposits ranging from a sizable perennial stream to an ephemeral stream o r storm wash.
Annual Review of Ecology Evolution and Systematics, 2009
Amer J Primatol, 1981
Many primatologists earn their keep comparing the morphology, ecology, behavior, and distribution... more Many primatologists earn their keep comparing the morphology, ecology, behavior, and distribution of living primates to determine how these are interrelated and how they shape individual and species fitness. History plays a role, of course, in determining primate morphology, ecology, behavior, and geography, and a common goal of com-
KEY WORDS Tooth size a Body size -Hominoidea . Aegrptopithecus . Proconsul . Relative brain size
Palaeontographica Abteilung a Stuttgart, 2009
Reconstructed Clarkforkian landscape in northwestern Wyoming, with Plesiadapis dubius and several... more Reconstructed Clarkforkian landscape in northwestern Wyoming, with Plesiadapis dubius and several Plesiadapis cookei in the foreground, and Chironzyoides rnajor in the background.
Four genera and six species of Miacidae are known from faunas representing the Clarkforkian throu... more Four genera and six species of Miacidae are known from faunas representing the Clarkforkian through middle Wasatchian land-mammal ages in the Clark's Fork Basin, Wyoming. These are, in order of appearance, Uintacyon rudis, Miacis winkleri (n. sp.), Miacis deutschi (n. sp.), Miacis exiguus, Vassacyon promicrodon, and Vulpavus cf. australis. In addition, one new miacid, Miacispetilus (n. sp.), is described from middle Wasatchian strata of the central Bighorn Basin. It includes many middle to late Wasatchian specimens formerly referred to M. exiguus. The diversity of early Miacidae (excluding Viverravinae, classified as a distinct family) increased from a single lineage in the Clarkforkian to two lineages through the early Wasatchian, and three lineages in the middle Wasatchian. Uintacyon appears to be a Clarkforkian immigrant, possibly from Europe or eastern Asia. The first records of Miacis and Vassacyon coincide with intervals of significant faunal turnover (Clarkforkian-Wasatchian boundary and Schankler's "Biohorizon A", respectively), and these genera may be immigrants as well. Early representatives of Vulpavus are so similar to Miacis that they are easily confused, and it appears that Vulpavus originated from Miacis exiguus or a very similar structural ancestor in the early to middle Wasatchian.
Douglass Quarry is the fourth major locality to yield fossil mammals in the eastern Crazy Mountai... more Douglass Quarry is the fourth major locality to yield fossil mammals in the eastern Crazy Mountain Basin of south-central Montana. It is stratigraphically intermediate between Gidley and Silberling quarries below, which are late Torrejonian (middle Paleocene) in age, and Scarritt Quarry above, which is early Tiffanian (late Paleocene) in age. The stratigraphic position of Douglass Quarry and the presence of primitive species of Plesiadapis, Nannodectes, Phenacodus, and Ectocion (genera first appearing at the Torrejonian-Tiffanian boundary) combine to indicate an earliest Tiffanian age. Earliest Tiffanian faunas are known from only four other localities in the Western Interior of North America.
Five local faunas of Eocene age (designated Wapiti I-V) are described from Wapiti Valley on the N... more Five local faunas of Eocene age (designated Wapiti I-V) are described from Wapiti Valley on the North Fork of the Shoshone River in northwestern Wyoming. These faunas were recovered from about 500 meters of stratigraphic section in the Willwood and overlying Aycross formations. The Willwood Formation in Wapiti Valley encompasses two or three land-mammal subages: the Lysitean(?) and Lostcabinian subages of the Wasatchian land-mammal age (early Eocene), and the Gardnerbuttean subage of the Bridgerian land-mammal age (middle Eocene). The Aycross Formation in Wapiti Valley spans two land-mammal subages: Bridger A(?) and Bridger B of the Bridgerian land-mammal age (middle Eocene). The Wapiti 11, 111, and V faunas are the best sampled. The Wapiti I1 fauna in the Willwood Formation includes associated Pristichampsus, Loveina (Lo veina wapitiensis, new species), Heptodon, Lambdotherium, and Eotitanops, indicating a Lostcabinian late Wasatchian age. The Wapiti I11 fauna in the Willwood Formation includes associated Smilodectes mcgrewi, Palaeosyops fontinalis and Trogosus sp., indicating a Gardnerbuttean early Bridgerian age. The Wapiti V fauna in the Aycross Formation contains Smilodectes gracilis, Washakius laurae (new combination), and Trogosus latidens, indicating a Bridger B middle Bridgerian age. Faunal and sedimentological evidence shows a change from lacustrine environments at the base of the Willwood section here to meandering stream systems through most of the overlying Willwood and Aycross formations. Widespread Absarokan volcanism started in Bridger A time and continued through the middle Eocene. Wapiti Valley faunas augment limited evidence concerning the composition of basin margin faunas and the distribution of faunas across different habitat types.
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Papers by Philip Gingerich