Elderberry Canyon Quarry
Basic information
Sample name: Elderberry Canyon Quarry

Reference: R. J. Emry. 1990. Mammals of the Bridgerian (middle Eocene) Elderberry Canyon Local Fauna of eastern Nevada. Geological Society of America Special Paper 243:187-210 [ER 4129]
Geography
Country: United States

State: Nevada


County: White Pine


Coordinate: 39.23° N, -114.90° W
Coordinate basis: estimated from map

Formation: Sheep Pass

Time interval: Early Eocene

Zone: Bridgerian

Ma: 49.75

Age basis: AEO

Geography comments: "near Ely" and shown as immediately south and slightly west of the town in FIg. 1 (coordinate based on Elderberry Canyon)
correlated with the "lower part, or Black's Fork Member, of the Bridger Formation"

Environment
Lithology: limestone

Taphonomic context: lake deposit

Habitat comments: the limestone is interpreted as having deposited in "a warm, heavily vegetated, shallow, permanent lake, with slow-moving currents"
teeth, jaws, skulls, and "larger bones" are all present

Methods
Life forms: bats,carnivores,primates,rodents,ungulates,other large mammals,other small mammals

Sampling methods: quarry

Sample size: 195 specimens

Years: 1975 - 1977, 1979, 1980

Museum: USNM

Sampling comments: "discovered in the summer of 1975 by Dr. Thomas Fouch, his daughter Melissa Fouch, and Forrest G. Poole... who collected several blocks... of bone-bearing limestone.... Additional blocks of limestone were collected in 1976" and "in 1977, 1979, and 1980"
the limestone was prepared "in a dilute formic acid" in multiple cycles
"small anuran amphibians and small reptiles are represented by many specimens that are not yet sorted and identified. Birds are represented by several limb elements too poorly preserved to allow identification"
"bivalve and gastropod molluscs, and unidentified ostracodes" are also present

Metadata
Sample number: 4574

Contributor: John Alroy

Enterer: John Alroy

Modifier no: John Alroy

Created: 2024-12-07 09:29:11

Modified: 2024-12-07 09:43:51

Abundance distribution
27 species
7 singletons
total count 195
geometric series index: 46.7
Fisher's α: 8.503
geometric series k: 0.8703
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.9061
Shannon's H: 2.7251
Good's u: 0.9643
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
Register
Apatemys bellus8
Pantolestes longicaudus4
Microchiroptera indet.5
two numbered specimesn and "Several uncataloged isolated teeth" (3 or more) representing "At least two species"
Tetrapassalus cf. mckennai2
Notharctus tenebrosus1
Trogolemur myodes9
Uintasorex sp. small4
"two mandibular rami and isolated upper and lower teeth"
Uintasorex sp. large4
"mandible and maxilla fragments and isolated teeth"
Reithroparamys delicatissimus7
Reithroparamys cf. huerfanensis10
Microparamys sambucus28
type
Ischyromyidae indet.1
Sciuravus sp.3
Pauromys exallos12
type
Knightomys sp.1
Elymys complexus37
type
Mattimys sp.1
Sinopa minor = †Sinopa rapax3
Viverravus minutus1
Viverravidae indet.1
two numbered specimens representing one individual
Hyopsodus paulus17
Hyrachyus modestus23
Hyrachyus affinis3
Fouchia elyensis5
Emry 1989: type; "? Hyrachyidae" said to be new
Helaletes nanus2
Isectolophus latidens1
Antiacodon pygmaeus2