Carcharodontosaurus Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 (edited) I am writing a creative fiction story about an island in the Pacific Ocean that holds wildlife descended from prehistoric animals that emigrated from Asia and North America at various points in time. It is not meant to be especially realistic, but the suspension of disbelief can only go so far. So I've decided to only use animals from the western part of North America, and eastern parts of Asia such as Mongolia. However, I am concerned that this will mean I will not be able to include an animal group that I thought would be good as the dominant herbivores of the island. These animals are gomphotheres. Are gompotheres known from western North America, or were they restricted to places like Florida? Edited August 27, 2014 by Carcharodontosaurus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpc Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 Nebraska Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichW9090 Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 Gomphotheres are known from throughout the western US, beginning in the middle Miocene with Gomphotherium and extending right up to the Pleistocene with Stegomastodon and Cuvieronius. The plural of "anecdote" is not "evidence". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carcharodontosaurus Posted August 27, 2014 Author Share Posted August 27, 2014 Thanks for the information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boesse Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 There's a nice pair of jaws of Trilophodon published by RA Stirton from the late Miocene of the Oakland Hills in the San Francisco area. And, a similar pair of jaws from the Madison Valley Formation in Gallatin County, Montana. I'm sure there are many, many other records. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Siphuncle Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 i once found half a gomph tooth in texas. Grüße, Daniel A. Wöhr aus Südtexas "To the motivated go the spoils." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carcharodontosaurus Posted August 28, 2014 Author Share Posted August 28, 2014 Again, thanks for the information. I've come up with two gomphothere species for the island. One is a regular-sized browsing species, and the other is a semi-aquatic species that feeds on water plants, and is around the size of a pygmy hippo. Both are still in the genus Gomphotherium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdevey Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 They are found in Oregon as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFOOLEY Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Middle Miocene, New Mexico. "I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?" ~Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) New Mexico Museum of Natural History Bulletins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
painshill Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 This global distribution map comes from "Paleobiogeography of trilophodont gomphotheres (Mammalia: Proboscidea). A reconstruction applying DIVA (Dispersion-Vicariance Analysis)" [Alberdi et al. 2011]: Roger I keep six honest serving-men (they taught me all I knew);Their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and Who [Rudyard Kipling] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siteseer Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 One of the oldest occurrences of gomphotheres in North America is the Sharktooth Hill Bonebed, Bakersfield, California. I am writing a creative fiction story about an island in the Pacific Ocean that holds wildlife descended from prehistoric animals that emigrated from Asia and North America at various points in time. It is not meant to be especially realistic, but the suspension of disbelief can only go so far. So I've decided to only use animals from the western part of North America, and eastern parts of Asia such as Mongolia. However, I am concerned that this will mean I will not be able to include an animal group that I thought would be good as the dominant herbivores of the island. These animals are gomphotheres. Are gompotheres known from western North America, or were they restricted to places like Florida? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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