Preliminary Survey of a Paleocene Faunule from the Angels Peak Area, New Mexico

Nestled on the eastern rim of the San Juan Basin, the rugged badlands of Angels Peak expose a thin slice of Paleocene earth that has long intrigued paleontologists. Early 20th‑century explorers such as Walter Granger documented a handful of fragmentary mammals, hinting at a diverse Torrejonian community. Decades later, a University of Kansas team returned to the site, motivated by the promise of better‑preserved material hidden within a narrow band of reddish silt.

In the summer of 1948 the researchers uncovered roughly 150 specimens from a concentrated “bone pocket” spanning only a few hundred yards. Among the finds are representatives of multituberculates, early carnivores, and a newly recognized primate, each offering fresh clues about life shortly after the dinosaurs’ demise. While the report remains provisional, it lays out the stratigraphic context and catalog of species, setting the stage for a more detailed future synthesis of this early Cenozoic fauna.