Catopsalis
Encyclopedia
Catopsalis is a genus
of extinct mammal
from the Paleocene
of North America
, though some Canadian
finds may be upper Cretaceous
. This animal was a relatively large member of the extinct order
of Multituberculata
. Most Multituberculates were much smaller.
At one time, the genus was also formally reported from the upper Cretaceous of Mongolia
. However, that material was subsequently referred to the genera of Djadochtatherium
and Catopsbaatar
. Catopsalis is within the suborder of Cimolodonta
and a member of the superfamily Taeniolabidoidea
. The genus was named by Cope E.D. in 1884 and has also partly been known as Polymastodon.
, Montana
and Wyoming
(USA), dating from 65-63 million years ago. Some material of this genus was previously assigned to C. foliatus and C. joyneri. Specimens are included in the collections of the American Museum of Natural History
in New York and the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University
. This species was a relative heavyweight among multituberculates.
The species Catopsalis calgariensis was named by Russell L.S. in 1926. Remains were found in Paleocene-age strata
of Wyoming and Alberta
, Canada
.
The holotype, collected in 1924, is in the collection of Alberta University. Further material is in the possession of Wyoming University. This species was a large heavyweight.
The species Catopsalis collariensis has been found in the Puercan (Paleocene)-age deposits of the Red Deer River of Canada. The type fossil is at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
The species Catopsalis fissidens was named by Cope E.D. in 1884. It has also been known as C. utahensis (Gazin C.L., 1939) and Polymastodon fissidens (Cope, 1884). It has been found in the Torrejonian (Paleocene)-age beds in the San Juan Basin of New Mexico
and Utah
. The University of Wyoming boasts a possible specimen. This species was a super-heavyweight.
The species Catopsalis foliatus was named by Cope E.D. in 1882. It has also been known as C. johnstoni (Fox R.C. 1989) and Polymastodon foliatus (Cope 1884). This species has been found in Puercan (Paleocene)-age strata of the San Juan Basin of New Mexico and in the Ravenscrag Formation of Canada. C. johnstoni, from Saskatchewan
, is also in the Alberta collection. It is a heavyweight among multis.
The species Catopsalis joyneri was named by Sloan R.E. and Van Valen L. in 1965. It is found in Paleocene-age strata of the Bug Creek Anthills of Montana, Wyoming and Saskatchewan
. One tooth studied at Wyoming and is Puercan. The Montana material is now thought to be Paleocene, though the Canadian site (Cypress Hill region) is considered Upper Cretaceous.
The species Catopsalis waddleae was named by Buckley G.A. in 1995. It has been found in the Puercan age beds of the Simpson Quarry of Montana. Relative to the other species it is an extreme heavyweight. Remains of this species have also recently been discovered in the Idah panhandle region.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of extinct mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
from the Paleocene
Paleocene
The Paleocene or Palaeocene, the "early recent", is a geologic epoch that lasted from about . It is the first epoch of the Palaeogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era...
of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, though some Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
finds may be upper Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
. This animal was a relatively large member of the extinct order
Order (biology)
In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
of Multituberculata
Multituberculata
The Multituberculata were a group of rodent-like mammals that existed for approximately one hundred and twenty million years—the longest fossil history of any mammal lineage—but were eventually outcompeted by rodents, becoming extinct during the early Oligocene. At least 200 species are...
. Most Multituberculates were much smaller.
At one time, the genus was also formally reported from the upper Cretaceous of Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
. However, that material was subsequently referred to the genera of Djadochtatherium
Djadochtatherium
Djadochtatherium is a mammal genus that lived in Mongolia during the Upper Cretaceous. It coexisted with some of the late dinosaurs. This animal was a member of the extinct order of Multituberculata. It's within the suborder of Cimolodonta, and a member of the family Djadochtatheriidae. It was...
and Catopsbaatar
Catopsbaatar
Catopsbaatar is an extinct genus of mammal that lived in Mongolia during the Upper Cretaceous Period. It coexisted with some of the late dinosaurs. This animal was a member of the extinct order Multituberculata within the Suborder Cimolodonta and family Djadochtatheriidae.The genus Catopsbaatar...
. Catopsalis is within the suborder of Cimolodonta
Cimolodonta
The Cimolodonta are a taxon of extinct mammals that lived from the Cretaceous to the Eocene. They were some of the more derived members of the extinct order Multituberculata. They probably lived something of a rodent-like existence until their ecological niche was assumed by true rodents...
and a member of the superfamily Taeniolabidoidea
Taeniolabidoidea
Taeniolabidoidea is a group of extinct mammals known from North America and Asia. They were the largest members of the also extinct order Multituberculata. Lambdopsalis even provides direct fossil evidence of mammalian fur in a fairly good state of preservation for a 60-million-year-old animal...
. The genus was named by Cope E.D. in 1884 and has also partly been known as Polymastodon.
Species
The species Catopsalis alexanderi was named by Middleton M.D. in 1982. It is found in the Puercan (Paleocene)-age Littleton Local Fauna of ColoradoColorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
and Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
(USA), dating from 65-63 million years ago. Some material of this genus was previously assigned to C. foliatus and C. joyneri. Specimens are included in the collections of the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
in New York and the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. This species was a relative heavyweight among multituberculates.
The species Catopsalis calgariensis was named by Russell L.S. in 1926. Remains were found in Paleocene-age strata
Stratum
In geology and related fields, a stratum is a layer of sedimentary rock or soil with internally consistent characteristics that distinguish it from other layers...
of Wyoming and Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
The holotype, collected in 1924, is in the collection of Alberta University. Further material is in the possession of Wyoming University. This species was a large heavyweight.
The species Catopsalis collariensis has been found in the Puercan (Paleocene)-age deposits of the Red Deer River of Canada. The type fossil is at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
The species Catopsalis fissidens was named by Cope E.D. in 1884. It has also been known as C. utahensis (Gazin C.L., 1939) and Polymastodon fissidens (Cope, 1884). It has been found in the Torrejonian (Paleocene)-age beds in the San Juan Basin of New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
and Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. The University of Wyoming boasts a possible specimen. This species was a super-heavyweight.
The species Catopsalis foliatus was named by Cope E.D. in 1882. It has also been known as C. johnstoni (Fox R.C. 1989) and Polymastodon foliatus (Cope 1884). This species has been found in Puercan (Paleocene)-age strata of the San Juan Basin of New Mexico and in the Ravenscrag Formation of Canada. C. johnstoni, from Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, is also in the Alberta collection. It is a heavyweight among multis.
The species Catopsalis joyneri was named by Sloan R.E. and Van Valen L. in 1965. It is found in Paleocene-age strata of the Bug Creek Anthills of Montana, Wyoming and Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
. One tooth studied at Wyoming and is Puercan. The Montana material is now thought to be Paleocene, though the Canadian site (Cypress Hill region) is considered Upper Cretaceous.
The species Catopsalis waddleae was named by Buckley G.A. in 1995. It has been found in the Puercan age beds of the Simpson Quarry of Montana. Relative to the other species it is an extreme heavyweight. Remains of this species have also recently been discovered in the Idah panhandle region.