FOSSIL ASSEMBLAGE OF THE LOWER SCENIC MEMBER, BRULE FORMATION (EARLY OLIGOCENE), BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK

The rock layers of Badlands National Park, South Dakota, contain some of the most fossiliferous units in North America. The first step in managing such an important natural resource is documenting fossils found within the hundreds of thousands of acres enclosed by the park. Here, I describe the faunal assemblage of new fossil localities discovered while working as a Scientist in Parks (SIP) intern for Badlands National Park’s 2022 Paleontological Field Survey. Fossils were primarily recovered from the mudstones and siltstones of the lower Scenic Member of the Brule Formation (early Oligocene). The majority of fossil specimens found in these units were vertebrates, with mammalian groups such as the Merycoidodontidae, Leptomerycidae, Equidae, and Leporidae among the most common. Less common taxa discovered during the survey included leptochoerids and carnivorans such as nimravids and amphicyonids. In recording such information, field surveys serve to inform decisions on the management and preservation of fossil resources in public lands like Badlands National Park.