The middle Pliocene mammalian fauna from Smiths Valley, Nevada

The mammalian fauna of the Smiths Valley area, Lyon County, Nevada, is described and its relationships are discussed. The fauna includes: Leporidae gen. indet., Aplodontidae gen. indet., ?Citellus sp., Pliosaccomys dubius Wilson, Pliozapus solus Wilson, Peromyscus near antiquus, Dipoides sp., Caninae gen. indet., Osteoborus sp., Indarctus nevadensis Macdonald n. sp., Felidae gen. indet., Mammut (Pliomastodon) nevadanus (Stock), Pliohippus cf. spectans, Aphelops sp., Prosthennops sp., ?Pliauchenia sp., Paracamelus sp., Antilocapridae gen. indet. A new name, Paracamelus brevirostrus, is proposed for Megatylopus gigas Matthew and Cook. This fauna is believed to be very close to the Rattlesnake fauna of Oregon in age as it contains a horse, Pliohippus cf. spectans, which may be co-specific with the Oregon species. An early Hemphillian age is also suggested by the primitive Dipoides, and the camel Paracamelus, from this fauna.

This record provided courtesy of AGI/GeoRef.