The Rexroad Formation is a

geologic formation A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics ( lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock exp ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. It preserves

fossils A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

dating back to the

Neogene The Neogene ( ,) is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period million years ago. It is the second period of th ...

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Period (punctuation) * Era, a length or span of time *Menstruation, commonly referred to as a "period" Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (o ...

. These fossils include two types of skunk (''

Spilogale The genus ''Spilogale'' includes all skunks commonly known as spotted skunks. Currently, there are four accepted extant species: ''S. gracilis'', ''S. putorius'', ''S. pygmaea'', and ''S. angustifrons''. New research, however, proposes that ther ...

rexroadi'' and ''

Brachyprotoma ''Brachyprotoma'', also known as the short-faced skunks, is an extinct genus of large skunk that inhabited Pleistocene North America, with specimens having been found from Yukon to West Virginia. There currently exists only one accepted species, ...

breviramus''), a tree bat (''Lasiurus fossilis''), a

ringtail The ringtail (''Bassariscus astutus'') is a mammal of the raccoon family native to arid regions of North America. It is widely distributed and well-adapted to its distributed areas. It has been legally trapped for its fur. Globally, it is list ...

(''Bassariscus casei''), several snakes, such as ''

Elaphe obsoleta ''Pantherophis obsoletus'', also known Common name, commonly as the western rat snake, black rat snake, pilot black snake, or simply black snake, is a nonvenomous species of snake in the Family (biology), family Colubridae. The species is native ...

'', and a turkey ('' Agriocharis progenes'').

References

* Neogene geology of Kansas Neogene geology of Oklahoma {{Neogene-stub

See also

References