• DOI:10.2307/2412851
• Corpus ID: 84395004

Cranial Anatomy and Evolution of Early Tertiary Plesiadapidae (Mammalia, Primates)

@article{Gingerich1977CranialAA,
  title={Cranial Anatomy and Evolution of Early Tertiary Plesiadapidae (Mammalia, Primates)},
  author={Philip D. Gingerich},
  journal={Systematic Biology},
  year={1977},
  volume={26},
  pages={233}
}

• P. Gingerich
• Published 1 June 1977
• Geography, Geology
• Systematic Biology

The Bighorn Basin of Wyoming is important paleontologically for two reasons. First, it is the only place in the world where the early Cenozoic diversification of mammalian life is recorded through such a long sequence of continental sediments representing virtually continuous deposition. The major groups of modern mammals appeared during this interval, and the Bighorn Basin is the best place to study how this happened. Secondly, many areas of the Bighorn Basin are richly fossiliferous, making it possible to trace evolutionary changes through time in much more detail than is possible elsewhere. Such studies promise to contribute in an important way to our understanding of the evolutionary process itself, both as it affects individual species and as it influences whole faunas. A better knowledge of species-level evolution contributes in turn to biostratigraphy and the refined biochronology necessary to understand the timing of mountain building and other events in the geological history of western North America. Thus the paleontological resources of the Bighorn Basin are of exceptional scientific interest and importance.