The Tiffanian North American Stage on the

geologic timescale The geologic time scale, or geological time scale, (GTS) is a representation of time based on the rock record of Earth. It is a system of chronological dating that uses chronostratigraphy (the process of relating strata to time) and geochronol ...

is the North American

faunal stage In chronostratigraphy, a stage is a succession of rock strata laid down in a single age on the geologic timescale, which usually represents millions of years of deposition. A given stage of rock and the corresponding age of time will by convent ...

according to the

North American Land Mammal Ages The North American land mammal ages (NALMA) establishes a geologic timescale for North American fauna beginning during the Late Cretaceous and continuing through to the present. These periods are referred to as ages or intervals (or stages when ref ...

chronology (NALMA), typically set from 60,200,000 to 56,800,000 years BP lasting . It is usually considered to overlap the

Selandian The Selandian is a stage in the Paleocene. It spans the time between . It is preceded by the Danian and followed by the Thanetian. Sometimes the Paleocene is subdivided in subepochs, in which the Selandian forms the "middle Paleocene". Stratigr ...

and

Thanetian The Thanetian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy, ICS Geologic timescale, the latest age (geology), age or uppermost stage (stratigraphy), stratigraphic stage of the Paleocene epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), Serie ...

within the

Paleocene The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 mya (unit), million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), E ...

. The Tiffanian is preceded by the

Torrejonian The Torrejonian North American Stage on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology (NALMA), typically set from 63,300,000 to 60,200,000 years BP lasting . It is usually ...

and followed by the

Clarkforkian The Clarkforkian North American Stage, on the geologic timescale, is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology (NALMA), typically set from 56,800,000 to 55,400,000 years BP lasting . Considered t ...

NALMA stages.

Substages

The Tiffanian is considered to contain the following substages: *Ti6: Lower boundary source of the base of the Tiffanian (approximate). *Ti5 Lower boundary source of the base of the Tiffanian (approximate) and upper boundary source of the base of the Clarkforkian (approximate). *Ti4: Lower boundary source of the base of the Tiffanian (approximate) and upper boundary source of the base of the Clarkforkian (approximate). *Ti3: Lower boundary source of the base of the Tiffanian (approximate) and upper boundary source of the base of the Clarkforkian (approximate). *Ti2: Lower boundary source of the base of the Tiffanian (approximate) and upper boundary source of the base of the Clarkforkian (approximate). *Ti1: Upper boundary source of the base of the Clarkforkian (approximate)

Fauna

Notable mammals

Multituberculata Multituberculata (commonly known as multituberculates, named for the multiple tubercles of their teeth) is an extinct order of rodent-like mammals with a fossil record spanning over 130 million years. They first appeared in the Middle Jurassic, a ...

- non-therian mammals * ''

Neoplagiaulax ''Neoplagiaulax'' is a mammal genus from the Paleocene of Europe and North America. In the case of the latter continent, there may possibly be some slightly earlier, Upper Cretaceous material too. It existed in the age immediately following the e ...

'', neoplagiaulacid multituberculate * ''

Ptilodus ''Ptilodus'' (meaning "soft-haired") is a genus of mammals from the extinct order of Multituberculata, and lived during the Paleocene in North America. ''Ptilodus'' was a relatively large multituberculate of in length, which is about the same s ...

'',

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...

-sized ptilodontid

Metatheria Metatheria is a mammalian clade that includes all mammals more closely related to marsupials than to placentals. First proposed by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1880, it is a more inclusive group than the marsupials; it contains all marsupials as well ...

- marsupials * ''

Peradectes ''Peradectes'' is an extinct genus of small metatherian mammals known from the CretaceousKorth, W. W. (2008). Marsupialia. In C. M. Janis, G. F. Gunnell, & M. D. Uhen (Eds.)Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America: Volume 2, Small Mammals, ...

'', peradectid marsupial

Apatotheria Apatemyidae is an extinct family of placental mammals that took part in the first placental evolutionary radiation together with other early mammals such as the leptictids. Their relationships to other mammal groups are controversial; a 2010 stu ...

- primitive, arboreal mammals * '' Labidolemur'',

aye-aye The aye-aye (''Daubentonia madagascariensis'') is a long-fingered lemur, a strepsirrhine primate native to Madagascar with rodent-like teeth that perpetually grow and a special thin middle finger. It is the world's largest nocturnal primate. ...

-like

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the Animal locomotion, locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. Th ...

mammal

Condylarthra Condylarthra is an informal group – previously considered an order – of extinct placental mammals, known primarily from the Paleocene and Eocene epochs. They are considered early, primitive ungulates. It is now largely considered to be a wast ...

- archaic

ungulates Ungulates ( ) are members of the diverse clade Ungulata which primarily consists of large mammals with hooves. These include odd-toed ungulates such as horses, rhinoceroses, and tapirs; and even-toed ungulates such as cattle, pigs, giraffes, cam ...

* '' Claenodon'', large, arctocyonid condylarth * ''

Ectocion ''Ectocion'' (sometimes ''Ectocyon'') is an extinct genus of placental mammals of the family Phenacodontidae. The genus was earlier classified as ''Gidleyina'' (Simpson 1935) and ''Prosthecion'' (Patterson and West 1973). Retrieved May 2013. Pa ...

'',

phenacodontid Phenacodontidae is an extinct family of large herbivorous mammals traditionally placed in the “wastebasket taxon” Condylarthra, which may instead represent early-stage perissodactyls. They lived in the Paleocene and Eocene epochs (about 60� ...

condylarth * '' Lambertocyon'', arctocyonid condylarth * ''

Phenacodus ''Phenacodus'' (Greek: "deception" (phenax), "tooth' (odus)) is an extinct genus of mammals from the late Paleocene through middle Eocene, about 55 million years ago. It is one of the earliest and most primitive of the ungulates, typifying the fa ...

'', phenacodontid condylarth * '' Thryptacodon'', raccoon-like arctocyonid condylarth

Dinocerata Dinocerata (from the Greek (), "terrible", and (), "horn") is an extinct order of plant-eating hoofed mammals with horns and protuberant canine teeth. Classification A 2015 phylogenetic study recovered Dinocerata as closely related to '' ...

- large, tusked herbivores * ''

Probathyopsis ''Probathyopsis'' is an extinct genus of Uintatheriidae. It was similar to ''Prodinoceras''. ''Probathyopsis'' lived in the United States in the Paleocene epoch. Its name means "before ''Bathyopsis ''Bathyopsis'' is an extinct genus of uintathe ...

'', early North American

uintathere Uintatheriidae is a family of extinct ungulate mammals that includes ''Uintatherium''. Uintatheres belong to the order Dinocerata, one of several extinct orders of primitive hoofed mammals that are sometimes united in the Condylarthra. Uintathe ...

Eulipotyphla Eulipotyphla (, which means "truly fat and blind") is an order of mammals suggested by molecular methods of phylogenetic reconstruction, which includes the laurasiatherian members of the now-invalid polyphyletic order Lipotyphla, but not the afr ...

- insectivorous mammals * '' Adunator'', erinaceomorph insectivore * '' Leptacodon'', nyctitheriid insectivore * '' Litocherus'', erinaceomorph insectivore

Primatomorpha The Primatomorpha are a proposed mirorder of mammals containing the flying lemurs (order Dermoptera or colugos) and lemurs (Strepsirrhini, adapiformes and lemuriformes). However, notably, the haplorhini are sister to the lemurs, together form ...

- primates and relatives * ''

Carpodaptes ''Carpodaptes'' ("fruit eater" from Ancient Greek κᾰρπός arpós “fruit, grain” + δᾰ́πτης áptēs "eater, consumer") was a genus that encompassed small, insectivorous animals that roamed the Earth during the Late Paleocene. Sp ...

'', carpolestid

plesiadapiform Plesiadapiformes (" Adapid-like" or "near Adapiformes") is a group of Primates, a sister of the Dermoptera. While none of the groups normally directly assigned to this group survived, the group appears actually not to be literally extinct (in ...

* ''

Carpolestes ''Carpolestes'' ("fruit thief" from Ancient Greek κᾰρπός (karpós), “fruit, grain” + λῃστής (lēistḗs), “thief”) is a genus of extinct primate-like mammals from the late Paleocene of North America. It first existed arou ...

'', carpolestid plesiadapiform * ''

Chiromyoides ''Chiromyoides'' is a small plesiadapid primatomorph that is known for its unusually robust upper and lower incisors, deep dentary, and comparatively small cheek teeth. Species of ''Chiromyoides'' are known from the middle Tiffanian through lat ...

'', small plesiadapid * ''

Ignacius ''Ignacius'' is a genus of extinct mammal from the early Cenozoic era. This genus is present in the fossil record from around 62-33 Ma (late Torrejonian-Chadronian North American Land Mammals Ages). The earliest known specimens of ''Ignacius'' ...

'', paramomyid plesiadapiform * '' Nannodectes'', basal plesiadapid * '' Phenacolemur'', paramomyid plesiadapiform * ''

Plesiadapis ''Plesiadapis'' is one of the oldest known primate-like mammal genera which existed about 58–55 million years ago in North America and Europe. ''Plesiadapis'' means "near-Adapis", which is a reference to the adapiform primate of the Eocene pe ...

'', plesiadapid plesiadapiform Proteutheria - basal eutherians * '' Palaeoryctes'', small insectivorous mammal

References

{{Paleogene Footer Paleocene life Paleocene animals of North America