UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PUBLICATIONS 



BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 



GEOLOGY 



Vol. 10, No. 22, pp. 421-443, 1 text-figure Issued November 16, 1917 



RELATIONSHIPS OF PLIOCENE MAMMALIAN 

 FAUNAS FROM THE PACIFIC COAST AND 

 GREAT BASIN PROVINCES OF 

 NORTH AMERICA* 



BY 



JOHN C. MEERIAM 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 



Introduction 421 



American Pliocene raunas 424 



Pacific Coast province 424 



Great Basin province 427 



Great Plains province 434 



Atlantic province 438 



Time relations of American faunas 439 



Correlation with Old World faunas 442 



INTRODUCTION 



Much less than a decade ago the imperfection of our knowledge 

 of North American Pliocene mammal faunas was so evident that it 

 merited comment. Questions frequently arose concerning the relative 

 paucity of mammalian remains and of formations representing this 

 period, and explanation of the absence of Pliocene records included 

 suggestion that the faunas had been largely described as Miocene or 

 Pleistocene, or that conditions of relief had been unfavorable for 

 accumulation of continental deposits. 



As recently as 1909 Pliocene mammalian life known west of the 

 Rocky Mountains was practically all comprised within seven more or 

 less doubtfully determined species from the Rattlesnake Pliocene of 



* Read before the Palaeontological Society, Albany, New York, December 27, 

 1916. 



nian in**/. 



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