Early Eocene Leptictida, Pantolesta, Creodonta, Carnivora, and Mesonychidae (Mammalia) from the Eureka Sound Group, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
• Main Authors: Eberle, Jaelyn J, McKenna, Malcolm C
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 2002
• Subjects: General Earth and Planetary Sciences; Nunavut; Ellesmere Island; Eureka; Eureka Sound; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/e02-001; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/e02-001

We describe the leptictid Prodiacodon; the pantolestids Palaeosinopa sp.nov., cf. Palaeosinopa, and Pantolestidae, gen. et sp. indet.; the creodonts Palaeonictis and Prolimnocyon; the carnivorans Viverravus, cf. Vulpavus, and Miacis; and the mesonychid Pachyaena from early Eocene (i.e., Wasatchian) strata of the Eureka Sound Group on central Ellesmere Island, Nunavut. Palaeosinopa and Palaeonictis may have originated in mid-latitude North America and subsequently migrated to Europe via a north Atlantic land bridge, while Prolimnocyon and Pachyaena probably originated in Asia. Additionally, the occurrence of Pachyaena in the Early Eocene of Europe probably is best explained by dispersal from high-latitude North America to Europe via a north Atlantic land bridge. We update the Eureka Sound Group mammalian faunal list.