11 Future Voices in Geoscience- Undergraduate Research Posters

This session is for two-year college and four-year college and university students presenting research posters in any subdiscipline of geosciences. Posters and presentations will be judged for awards.

Monday, 18 May 2026
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Alvarado D/E

FOSSIL OCCURRENCES OF CREODONTA AND CARNIVORAMORPHA IN THE LOWER EOCENE WILLWOOD FORMATION (~56-53 Ma), BIGHORN BASIN, WYOMING, USA

Paper number: 11-1
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:00 AM – 8:00 AM

Authors

Abstract

The ecological dynamics among faunivorous mammals within an ecosystem reveal important insights into interspecies competition and niche partitioning. By examining predators of varying body masses, their relative abundances over time, and their proximity to water sources, one can infer characteristics of past ecosystems. In particular, the time required for ancient soils to develop (as indicated by paleosol stage data) offers a valuable framework for reconstructing paleobiomes and understanding the environmental pressures that shaped extinct species. Relative occurrences of faunivorous mammals from the Orders Carnivora (including Didymictis, Viverravus, Miacis, Oodectes, Uintacyon, Vassacyon, and Vulpavus) and Creodonta (including Oxyaena, Dipsalidictides, Arfia, Galecyon, Prolimnocyon, Prototomus, and Tritemnodon) suggest a progressive shift closer to water sources throughout the lower Eocene. Temporal changes in the relative abundance of creodonts versus carnivorans likely reflect prey decline or alterations in key ecological variables. Specimens collected from AMNH, CSU, USGS, and UW localities within the Willwood Formation demonstrate a consistent trend of higher faunivore abundance in lower paleosol levels throughout time. This pattern indicates an ecological response to a gradual climatic transition toward warmer and drier conditions during this period.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 58, No. 4

doi: 10.1130/abs/2026RM-410714

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