2025/01/10 by Kevin D. Mulcahy, Kurt N. Constenius, K. Christopher Beard · 1 voice
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · #Evolution and Paleontology Studies #Bat Biology and Ecology Studies #Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies
paper · doi:10.2992/007.090.0305
openalex publication_date 2025/01/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
Dinoceratans or uintatheres are a phylogenetically enigmatic clade of extinct mammalian herbivores that were among the first eutherians to obtain truly massive body size. Uintatheres were reasonably common elements of North American mammal faunas spanning from the late Paleocene (late Tiffanian, Ti-5) through the middle Eocene (Uintan). However, prior records of North American uintatheres have been geographically restricted to the central Rockies, Texas, and California. Here, we report the first occurrence of a uintathere from the Kishenehn Formation in northern Montana, ∼750 km northwest of their previously known range. The Kishenehn uintathere is currently documented by a single upper molar bearing several characters that may indicate it pertains to a new taxon. Because various lineages of uintatheres are known to have inhabited North America and Asia, additional fossils from higher latitudes of North America could be essential in untangling their evolution, dispersal, and biogeographic history.