In most regions of the world,
Paleocene mammals occur in a limited number of well-separated
"faunas". Such a fauna (which may also be called a "local
fauna") can combine fossils from several localities which are
geographically close and which are assumed to represent approximately the same
time of deposition. If such a local fauna is sufficiently well known, it may
give a rough picture of the mammal fauna existing in a certain area at a
certain point in time, like a kind of snapshot of mammal life. On many
continents, we know just a few faunas of Paleocene mammals. Each single fauna
is then an important reference.
Since scientific work on a
certain fauna is often ongoing, identification of fossils belonging fauna may
change, or completely new genera or species may be described. This means that
the content of a certain fauna may be continually changing, even if the fauna
has been known for a long time. To facilitate keeping track of such changes for
myself and others, I provide faunal lists for regions with a limited number
of local faunas (which means I do not plan to cover the vast number of
Paleocene faunas known from
For each fauna, information
on location and age is given, together with a list of references that were used
to compile the faunal list.