Rodents include squirrels, mice, rats, voles, gerbils, beavers, and others. These small mammals are particularly important for the studies of age relationships and paleoenvironment. Specific rodents are known to occur in certain geologic age and the science of biostratigraphy is increasingly dependent on fossil rodents. The Red Rock Canyon strata produce a rich variety of rodents, due to an intensive effort of screening in the past decades. Fossil rodents are often preserved as isolated teeth such as shown below.
Cheek tooth of Copemys (LACM 125596).
Cheet tooth of Phelosaccomys (LACM 126813)
Did you know?
The fossils of prehistoric animals during the past 7-12 million years ago can be found entombed in the sediments, including extinct elephants, rhinos, three-toed horses, giraffe-like camels, saber-toothed cats, and bone-crushing dogs. There are also fascinating small creatures such as ancestral skunks, alligator lizards, rodents and shrews.