Oligo-Miocene vertebrates from Puerto Rico : with a catalog of localities. American Museum novitates ; ; no. 2965.

Vertebrates from Oligocene and Miocene localities in northern Puerto Rico are described. Two vertebrae-one of a probable boid and one of a possible iguanid-from fluviatile/nearshore facies of the Miocene Cibao Formation are the first specimens ofland vertebrates to be recovered from Tertiary sediments on this island. Other finds, mainly from the Miranda Sand Member of the Cibao Formation, include chelonians, crocodilians, and sirenians (the last including one probably new species, and another provisionally identified as the New World dugongid Metaxytherium calvertense). Fossil vertebrates from the extensive paleontological collection ofNarciso Rabell Cabrero, briefly described here, include chelonians, crocodilians, selachians, and numerous sirenian remains partly attributable to the San Sebastian (Late Oligocene) dugongid Caribosiren turneri. Although paleontological prospecting for Tertiary vertebrates in Puerto Rico began in the early years of this century, no analytical catalog of localities has been published heretofore. The catalog included in this paper selectively emphasizes mammals and reptiles.