American Society of Mammalogists

A Bassarisk and a New Mustelid from the Later Tertiary of California

Author(s): E. Raymond Hall
Source: Journal of Mammalogy, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Feb., 1930), pp. 23-26
Published by: American Society of Mammalogists
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1373781 .
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 HALL-BASSARISK AND NEW MUSTELID FROM TERTIARY 23

A BASSARISK AND A NEW MUSTELID FROM THE LATER

TERTIARY OF CALIFORNIA

BY E. RAYMONDHALL

Prof. ChesterStock and Mr. E. L. Furlongof the CaliforniaInstitute

of Technology,knowingof the writer'sinterestin the familiesof smaller
Carnivora,have kindly placed in his hands,for study, the materialhere
described.
Bassariscus antiquusMatthew and Cook
Bassariscus antiquus Matthew and Cook, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 27,
pp. 377-378, fig. 6, Sept. 3, 1909; Hall, Univ. California Publ. Bull. Dept.
Geol. Sci., vol. 16, pp. 437-439, pI. 64, a, b, m, n, March 17, 1927.
Probassariscus antiquus, Merriam, Univ. California Publ. Bull. Dept. Geol. Sci.,
vol. 6, p. 248, figs. 21 a-b, Sept. 16, 1911; Matthew, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat.
Hist., vol. 50, p. 65, July 3, 1924.
Probassariscus antiquus matthewi Merriam, Univ. California Publ. Bull. Dept.
Geol. Sci., vol. 6, pp. 246-248, figs. 21 a-b, Sept. 16, 1911; vol. 9, p. 176, Feb.
23, 1916.
Material.-No. 66, California Inst. Tech. Coll. Vert. Palaeo.; two fragments of
left mandibular ramus, one bearing M1, P4 in part, and the alveoli of Pa, and the
other comprising the angle and adjacent parts of the jaw; from same locality as the
type specimen of Brachypsalis angustidens.
Remarks.-No. 66, as indicated by the comparative measurements given
below, agrees closely with the two previously described specimens of this species.
M1 of B. antiquus may be distinguished from that of B. sumichrasti by the fact
that the width of the talonid is less than one-half the length of the tooth and
from that of any other species of the genus by the relative length of the talonid
which is more than seven-tenths the length of the trigonid.
The two other known specimens come from Middle or Lower Miocene deposits;
the type specimen from the Lower Snake Creek, Merychippus paniensis zone, of
Western Nebraska, and the other from the Virgin Valley beds of northwestern
Nevada. These two occurrences, together with the one here reported from the
southern part of the San Joaquin Valley of California, indicate a geographic range
for the species which approaches, in area, that of the Recent Bassariscus astutus,
and which certainly is more extensive than that of the Recent Bassariscus
sumichrasti.
It is worth noting that the only other known extinct species of the genus,
Bassariscus parvus Hall (Univ. California Publ. Bull. Dept. Geol. Sci., vol. 16,
p. 440, pl. 64, f, i, 1927) which comes from the Esmeralda formation of west-
central Nevada, is, structurally, markedly more advanced than B. antiquus.
The structural features of B. antiquus (= subgenus Probassariscus) mark it
as more primitive than any other species of the genus. It is regarded as being
nearer, although not in, the line of descent of the subgenus Bassariscus (= B. par-

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24 JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY

vus, B. astutus and B. albipes which latter probably is at most a subspecies of B.

astutus) than the line of descent of the subgenus Jentinkia, which includes B.
sumichrasti, the most primitive Recent species. For a review of the evidence
on which these assumptions rest, see Hall, Univ. California Publ. Bull. Dept.
Geol. Sci., vol. 16, no. 11, 1927, and Univ. California Publ. Zool., vol. 30, no. 3,
1926.
Since writing the above a right M2 (no. 28501, Univ. California Coll. Vert.
Palaeo.) of Bassariscus has come to hand from the Barstow Miocene, eleven miles
northeast of Hinkley, San Bernardino County, California. This tooth, included
among fossil rodent material collected in 1923 by Miss Annie M. Alexander and
Miss Louise Kellogg at "Rodent Hill," agrees in relative proportions with the
corresponding tooth of Bassariscus sumichrasti but in actual size more nearly
resembles B. antiquus. The tooth is 5.3 mm. long and 3.2 mm. wide. Although
not specifically determinate, this M2 establishes a fifth locality record for fossil
representatives of the genus Bassariscus.

TABLE 1
Measurementsof M1 of the three known specimens of Bassariscus antiquus
NO. 12539, NO. 66, CALIF. NO 13860,
UNIV. CALIF. INST. TECH. M. MUS NAT
COLL. VERT. COLL. VERT. IST SNAKE
NKE
PALAEO.,VIRGIN PALAEO., KERN
RIVER BEDS, CREEKE BEDS,
VALLEY BEDS,
NEV. CALIF.

mm. mm. mm.

M,, length ............................. 7.5 7.5 7.5

M1, length of talonid .................. 3.2 3.2 3.2
M1, length of trigonid .................. 4.3 4.3 4.3
Ratio, length of trigonid to length of talo-
nid .................................. 74.4 74.4 74.4
M1, width of talonid .................. 3.7 3.6 3.5
Ratio, width of talonid to length of
tooth ................ ............... 49.3 48.0 46.7

Brachypsalis angustidens new species

Type.-No. 44, California Inst. Tech. Coll. Vert. Palaeo.; fragment of left
mandibular ramus bearing Ps, P4, M1 and the alveolus of M2; from Kern River
Pliocene, locality no. 49, California Inst. Tech. Coll. Vert. Palaeo., Kern River-
Poso Creek divide approximately nine miles northeast of Bakersfield, Kern
County, California, SE i of Sec. 23, T. 28S, R. 28E, Mt. Diablo Base and Mer.
Diagnosis.-Size (see measurements below) one-sixth less than that of Brachyp-
salis matutinus Matthew; talonid of M1deeply (see fig. 1 A) basined; P4 with incip-
ient, posterior accessory cusp and strong anterior and posterior crests.
Comparison.-Selected points of difference from B. matutinus (as represented
by description, measurements and figures given by Matthew, Bull. Amer. Mus.
Nat. Hist., vol. 50, p. 133), in addition to smaller size, are: Relatively narrower
M1;Pt with, rather than without, posterior accessory cusp.

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 HALL-BASSARISK AND NEW MUSTELID FROM TERTIARY 25

Remarks.-The external part of the protoconid is broken away. Although

the talonid of M1 is much worn, it shows the external margin of the talonid to
have been separated from the posterior margin of the protoconid by a distinct
notch, and suggests that the internal margin of the talonid was without a distinct
entoconid and was continuous with the posterior margin of the metaconid.
In addition to the presence of an incipient, posterior cusp, P4 is strongly crested
anteriorly and posteriorly and has a well developed heel on the posterior border
and a smaller basal ledge anteriorly. P3 is similarily crested anteriorly and pos-
teriorly and has a well developed basal ledge anteriorly and posteriorly but lacks
an accessory cusp.

?c-A

A B
FIG. 1. A, OCCLTSALVIEW AND B, LATERAL VIEW OF TYPE SPECIMEN OF
BRACHYPSALISANGUSTIDENS

TABLE 2
Measurements of Brachypsalis angustidens
mm.
Length of P3 to Ml (inclusive) ................ ...................... 22.4
Length of P8 and P4 ..................................................... 12.2
L ength of P s ............................................................. 5.7
B readth of P .......................................................... 2.9
Length of P 4 ............................................................ 6.8
B readth of P 4............................................................ 3.5
Length of M ............................................................ 11.2
Breadth of M1 ........................................................... 5.0
Length of talonid of M ................................................. 3.6
Length of alveolus of M2. .............................................. 3.4
Breadth of alveolus of M2 ......... ..................... 2.8

Of the numerous described Tertiary mustelids known to the writer, B. angusti-

dernsappears to be structurally most closely related to Brachypsalis matutinus
Matthew from the Lower Sheep Creek beds, Middle or Lower Miocene of western
Nebraska. In a comparison with Matthew's (loc. cit., fig. 32) line drawing of the
lower jaw of B. matutinus, B. angustidens has a relatively longer talonid on M1, a
more complex construction of P4 and, relative to M1, probably a smaller M2.
The latter tooth in B. angustidens is, however, represented only by the alveolus.
These differences would seem to indicate that B. angustidens was more advanced
structurally, than B. matutinus. Also, the premolars appear to be less crowded
in B. angustidens.

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26 JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY

The generic reference of each of the two mentioned species is admittedly

questionable. As treated by Matthew (loc. cit., p. 131), the genus Brachypsalis
embraces species differing widely in structural details. However, until we have
more information about the type species of the genus, it seems best to place these
several forms within a single genus. Because it resembles one of these, B. angusti-
dens is provisionally placed in the genus Brachypsalis.

Berkeley, California.

THE FOOD OF THE SORICIDAE

BY W. J. HAMILTON,JR.

While the food of moles has been made a subject of considerable study,
that of the shrews has been quite neglected. This has been due, in large
measure, to the difficulty in determining the stomach contents. More
often than not the food is so well chewed that it is a difficult matter to
determine what has been eaten. Often only fragments of chitin, per-
haps an isopod leg, or simply a mass of partially digested flesh leave the
investigator to conjecture on the possible food preferences of these
animals.
For the past three years I have been making examinations of the
stomach and intestinal tracts, from fresh and preserved material, of
Blarina brevicaudatalpoides, Sorex cinereus cinereus, Sorex fumeus, and
Sorex palustris albibarbis. These have been taken in all sorts of habi-
tats and I have specimens of the first named for every month in the year.
The method employed was to wash the contents of the stomach
and alimentary tract into a large petri dish, separate the food with
dissecting needles, and study under a low-powered binocular. Smaller
parts were mounted on slides and determined with the aid of a compound
microscope. When as much of the food as possible was determined, it
was separated into piles and the percentage by bulk determined as
accurately as possible.
FOOD OF BLARINA BREVICAUDA

General writers of natural history list the food of the short-tailed

shrew as insects, worms, slugs, snails, mice and other small animals.
Merriam (1886) states that Blarina subsists on beechnuts, earthworms,

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