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Spathorhynchus
''Spathorhynchus'' is an extinct genus of amphisbaenians or worm lizards that existed from the Middle Eocene to the Early Oligocene in what is now Wyoming. It includes two species, the type species ''S. fossorium'', named in 1973 from the Middle Eocene Bridger and Wind River Formations, and the species ''S. natronicus'', named in 1977 from the Lower Oligocene White River Formation. ''Spathorhynchus'' belongs to the family Rhineuridae, which includes many other extinct species that ranged across North America at various times in the Cenozoic but only has one surviving member, ''Rhineura floridana'', from Florida. ''Spathorhynchus'' differs from all other rhineurids except ''Dyticonastis'' from the Late Oligocene-Early Miocene of Oregon in having a slightly widened, spatula-shaped snout tip with a low angle of about 30 degrees. The two taxa may be closely related, having evolved in isolation in western North America after the formation of the Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhineuridae
Rhineuridae is a family of amphisbaenians (commonly called worm lizards) that includes one living genus and species, ''Rhineura floridana'', as well as many extinct species belonging to both ''Rhineura'' and several extinct genera. The living ''R. floridana'' is found only in Georgia and Florida, but extinct species ranged across North America, some occurring as far west as Oregon. The family has a fossil record stretching back 60 million years to the Paleocene and was most diverse in the continental interior during the Eocene and Oligocene. Fossil record The fossil record of the Rhineuridae extends back almost to the Mesozoic, with the oldest rhineurid, '' Plesiorhineura tsentasai'', occurring in the Early Paleocene. ''Plesiorhineura'' is only known from a partial jaw, but it shares many features with modern rhineurids. Eocene rhineurids, such as '' Spathorhynchus fossorium'', are remarkably similar to the modern ''Rhineura'', suggesting very conservative evolution within the fam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dyticonastis
''Dyticonastis'' is an extinct genus of amphisbaenians, or worm lizards, that includes a single species, ''Dyticonastis rensbergeri'', that lived during the late Oligocene and early Miocene in what is now Oregon. Fossils of the species come from the John Day Formation. It belongs to Rhineuridae, a family that includes many other extinct North American amphisbaenians but only one living species, ''Rhineura floridana'', from Florida. ''Dyticonastis rensbergeri'' occurs the farthest west of all rhineurid species. Like all rhineurids, ''Dyticonastis'' has a shovel-like snout adapted for burrowing underground, but it differs from most other members of the group in having a relatively shallow angle to its snout wedge (about 30 degrees) and in having a widened snout tip. The only other rhineurids that share these features are species of the genus '' Spathorhynchus'', which lived from the Middle Eocene to the Early Oligocene in what is now Wyoming. A 2007, phylogenetic analysis of amphisba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bridger Formation
The Bridger Formation is a geologic formation in southwestern Wyoming. It preserves fossils dating back to the Ypresian Epoch of the Paleogene Period. The formation was named by American geologist Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden for Fort Bridger, which had itself been named for mountain man Jim Bridger. The Bridger Wilderness covers much of the Bridger Formation's area. History Before colonization, the lands making up the Bridger Formation had been inhabited by the Apsáalooke, Bannock, Eastern Shoshone, Hinono'eino, Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, Só'taeo'o, Tsétsêhéstâhese, and Ute nations. European settlers began to settle the area around the Bridger Formation in the 19th century, beginning with the establishment of the Oregon Trail in 1830. Fort Bridger – for which the formation would later be named – was established in 1843 by Jim Bridger and Louis Vasquez. In 1868, the remaining Indigenous communities in the area were displaced by the Treaty of Fort Bridger, remov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wind River Formation
The Wind River Formation is a geologic formation in Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the sou .... It preserves fossils dating back to the Paleogene Period (geology), period. A recent study by Stanford suggests that Hydraulic fracturing, fracking has contaminated the entire ground water resource in the basin. Fossil content Mammals Apatotheres Cimolestans Leptictids Primatomorphs Rodents Ungulates Reptiles Squamates Invertebrates Insects Plants See also * List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Wyoming * Paleontology in Wyoming References * Paleogene geology of Wyoming {{Paleogene-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in the southwestern United States. Depending on differing definitions between Canada and the U.S., its northern terminus is located either in northern British Columbia's Terminal Range south of the Liard River and east of the Trench, or in the northeastern foothills of the Brooks Range/ British Mountains that face the Beaufort Sea coasts between the Canning River and the Firth River across the Alaska- Yukon border. Its southernmost point is near the Albuquerque area adjacent to the Rio Grande rift and north of the Sandia–Manzano Mountain Range. Being the easternmost portion of the North American Cordillera, the Rockies are distinct from the tectonically younger Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada, which both lie farther to its west. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eocene Genus First Appearances
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "dawn") and (''kainós'', "new") and refers to the "dawn" of modern ('new') fauna that appeared during the epoch. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the Eocene is marked by a brief period in which the concentration of the carbon isotope 13C in the atmosphere was exceptionally low in comparison with the more common isotope 12C. The end is set at a major extinction event called the ''Grande Coupure'' (the "Great Break" in continuity) or the Eocene–Oligocene extinction event, which may be related to the impact of one or more large bolides in Siberia and in what is now Chesapeake Bay. As with other geologic periods, the strata that define the start and end of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prehistoric Lizard Genera
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of symbols, marks, and images appears very early among humans, but the earliest known writing systems appeared 5000 years ago. It took thousands of years for writing systems to be widely adopted, with writing spreading to almost all cultures by the 19th century. The end of prehistory therefore came at very different times in different places, and the term is less often used in discussing societies where prehistory ended relatively recently. In the early Bronze Age, Sumer in Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley Civilisation, and ancient Egypt were the first civilizations to develop their own scripts and to keep historical records, with their neighbors following. Most other civilizations reached the end of prehistory during the following Iron Age. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oligocene Reptiles Of North America
The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the epoch are slightly uncertain. The name Oligocene was coined in 1854 by the German paleontologist Heinrich Ernst Beyrich from his studies of marine beds in Belgium and Germany. The name comes from the Ancient Greek (''olígos'', "few") and (''kainós'', "new"), and refers to the sparsity of extant forms of molluscs. The Oligocene is preceded by the Eocene Epoch and is followed by the Miocene Epoch. The Oligocene is the third and final epoch of the Paleogene Period. The Oligocene is often considered an important time of transition, a link between the archaic world of the tropical Eocene and the more modern ecosystems of the Miocene. Major changes during the Oligocene included a global expansion of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eocene Reptiles Of North America
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "dawn") and (''kainós'', "new") and refers to the "dawn" of modern ('new') fauna that appeared during the epoch. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the Eocene is marked by a brief period in which the concentration of the carbon isotope 13C in the atmosphere was exceptionally low in comparison with the more common isotope 12C. The end is set at a major extinction event called the ''Grande Coupure'' (the "Great Break" in continuity) or the Eocene–Oligocene extinction event, which may be related to the impact of one or more large bolides in Siberia and in what is now Chesapeake Bay. As with other geologic periods, the strata that define the start and end of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oligocene Lepidosaurs
The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the epoch are slightly uncertain. The name Oligocene was coined in 1854 by the German paleontologist Heinrich Ernst Beyrich from his studies of marine beds in Belgium and Germany. The name comes from the Ancient Greek (''olígos'', "few") and (''kainós'', "new"), and refers to the sparsity of extant forms of molluscs. The Oligocene is preceded by the Eocene Epoch and is followed by the Miocene Epoch. The Oligocene is the third and final epoch of the Paleogene Period. The Oligocene is often considered an important time of transition, a link between the archaic world of the tropical Eocene and the more modern ecosystems of the Miocene. Major changes during the Oligocene included a global expansion of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eocene Lepidosaurs
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "dawn") and (''kainós'', "new") and refers to the "dawn" of modern ('new') fauna that appeared during the epoch. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the Eocene is marked by a brief period in which the concentration of the carbon isotope 13C in the atmosphere was exceptionally low in comparison with the more common isotope 12C. The end is set at a major extinction event called the ''Grande Coupure'' (the "Great Break" in continuity) or the Eocene–Oligocene extinction event, which may be related to the impact of one or more large bolides in Siberia and in what is now Chesapeake Bay. As with other geologic periods, the strata that define the start and end of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphisbaenians
Amphisbaenia (called amphisbaenians or worm lizards) is a group of usually legless squamates, comprising over 200 extant species. Amphisbaenians are characterized by their long bodies, the reduction or loss of the limbs, and rudimentary eyes. As many species have a pink body and scales arranged in rings, they have a superficial resemblance to earthworms. While the genus ''Bipes (lizard), Bipes'' retains forelimbs, all other genera are limbless. Although superficially similar to the snakes and Dibamidae, blind lizards, recent phylogenetic studies suggest that they are most closely related to Podarcis, wall lizards of the family Lacertidae. Amphisbaenians are widely distributed, occurring in North America, Europe, Africa, South America, Western Asia and the Caribbean. Most species are less than long. Description image:Amphisbaenia 1.jpg, 200px, left, Close-up of the head of'' Rhineura'' Despite a superficial resemblance to some primitive snakes, amphisbaenians have many unique fea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
