Comments
With the discovery of Orellan apatemyids the geochronological range of the family in North America is shown to extend from the Torrejonian through the Orellan land-mammal ages. The discoveries reported here enlarge the Oligocene record of apatemyids to include not only the type specimen of Sinclairella dakotensis, a skull and associated mandible from South Dakota, but also seven isolated teeth, representing at least two individuals, from a Chadronian fossil locality in Nebraska and one specimen from each of two Orellan fossil localities in northeastern Colorado. Simpson (1944:73, and 1953:127) presented tabulations of the published records of American apatemyids and suggested the data indicated the populations of these mammals were of small size throughout the history of the family. The few pre-Oligocene occurrences of apatemyids described subsequently (note McKenna, 1960, figs. 3-10, and p. 48) and occurrences described here tend to reinforce Simpson's interpretation. This interpretation may have to be modified to some degree, however, when current studies of collections of pre-Oligocene apatemyids are completed (McKenna, personal communication).
Although information concerning the evolutionary trends of American apatemyids has been published, no data on the morphological variation in a population are available in the literature. An adequate basis for evaluating the significance of the morphological differences between the P4's of Princeton no. 13585 and KU no. 12110 coupled with the similarities of their M1-2's is lacking. In the evolution of American apatemyids the P4 underwent reduction in size and, apparently, curtailment of function. This history suggests the range of morphological variation of P4 in populations of Sinclairella dakotensis could be expected to be greater than that of the molars and encompass the morphological differences between the P4's of Princeton no. 13585 and KU no. 12110. The difference in age of the Chadronian and Orellan fossils does not constitute proof that they pertain to different species. Although the identification is admittedly provisional until more fossils including other parts of the skeleton are discovered, the Orellan fossils described here are referred to Sinclairella dakotensis.
Table 1.—Measurements (in millimeters) of Teeth of Sinclairella
dakotensis Jepsen.
| P4 | M1 | M2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| length | width | length[1] | width[1] | length[1] | width[1] | |
| Princeton no. 13585[2] | 2.1 | 1.1 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 4.7 |
| RAM no. 381 | 4.1 | 3.5 | ||||
| RAM no. 1674 | 3.4 | 4.2 | ||||
| KU no. 11210 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 3.9 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 4.1+ |
| UCM no. 21073 | 3.6 | 4.1 | ||||
| m1 | m2 | |||||
| length | width | length | width | |||
| Princeton no. 13585[3] | 3.5 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 2.8 | ||
| RAM no. 1000 | 3.5 | 2.2 | ||||
| RAM no. 598 | 3.8 | 2.6 | ||||
| RAM no. 1001 | 3.6+ | 2.6 | ||||
| RAM no. 1079 | 4.0 | 2.8 | ||||
| RAM no. 3013 | 3.6 | 2.8 | ||||
[1] Length defined as maximum dimension of the labial half of the crown measured parallel to a line drawn through the apices of paracone and metacone. Width defined as maximum coronal dimension measured along line perpendicular to line defined by apices of paracone and metacone.
[2] Dimensions provided by Dr. Glenn L. Jepsen.
[3] Dimensions taken from Jepsen (1934:300).