Soricids (Mammalia, Insectivora) from the Blufftop Local Fauna, Blancan Ringold Formation of Central Washington, and the correlation of Ringold Formation faunas

ABSTRACT

Two species of soricid insectivores, Paracryptotis rex and Sorex powersi, are the first soricids to be reported from the Ringold Formation. They make up a portion of a new stratigraphically separate local fauna, the Blufftop local fauna, from the upper part of the White Bluffs, Franklin County, Washington. This fauna occurs at a stratigraphic position near a paleomagnetic boundary, which has been interpreted as the Gauss-Gilbert boundary but may be an older boundary within the Gilbert. Compared to other Ringold Formation local faunas, the Blufftop l.f. is older than the Taunton l.f. (which on new evidence is closer in age to the Hagerman l.f. of Idaho) and is similar to the underlying White Bluffs local fauna.