Paleobiota of the Klondike Mountain Formation

The Basal Angiosperms are represented by a single Nymphaeales water-lily species Nuphar carlquistii,[22] though a second member, Allenbya collinsonae, has been described from the Princeton Chert.

Under the APG IV system of flowering plant classification, the magnoliids are divided into four orders Canellales, Laurales, Magnoliales, and Piperales.

Piperales are known from the Princeton chert, with Saururus tuckerae representing the oldest confident Saururaceae species in the fossil record.

Not described to species Sassafras †Sassafras hesperia[16] Berry A sassafras Magnoliaceae Magnolia Undescribed[27] A magnolia, possibly Magnolia subgenus Talauma Not described to species incertae sedis †Dillhoffia †Dillhoffia cachensis[28] Manchester & Pigg A flower of uncertain floral affinity The second largest clade of flowering plants, monocots are divided into eleven separate orders and of those, the Alismatales, Asparagales, Liliales, and Poales are found in the Klondike Mountain Formation, each represented by a single taxon.

The Alismatales are represented by the Araceae species Orontium wolfei, which is considered similar to the modern golden clubs of eastern North America, while the extinct Paleoallium belongs to the Liliales.

Extinct genera of monocots are also represented in the Princeton chert by the arecalean palm Uhlia,[29] the alismatalean genus Heleophyton,[30] the alismatalean Keratosperma,[31] the asparagalean pollen morphogenus Pararisteapollis,[32] the lilialean genus Soleredera,[33] and the poalean genus Ethela,[34] Amaryllidaceae †Paleoallium †Paleoallium billgenseli[35] Pigg, Bryan, & DeVore An onion relative Araceae Orontium †Orontium wolfei[36] Bogner, Johnson, Kvaček & Upchurch A golden club Smilacaceae Smilax Undescribed[2] A greenbrier species.Not described to species.

Over a dozen different Rosaceae genera, both extant and extinct, have been identified in the formation providing some of the oldest reliable macrofossil records (excluding fossil pollen) for the family.

They noted the fossils might be stem Neillieae, the rose tribe containing both Physocarpus and Neillia, or possibly Rubus, Crataegus, or Ribes.

Broadly circumscribed four species in three genera have been identified at Republic, Paraconcavistylon wehrii, Pentacentron sternhartae, Tetracentron hopkinsii, and Trochodendron nastae.

Additionally the species Trochodendron drachukii is known from related Kamloops group shales at the McAbee Fossil Beds near Cache Creek, British Columbia.

[42] Wesley Wehr in 1994 reported Bignoniaceae seeds along with a single Rubiaceae fruit and an isolated Fabaceae leaf.

[43] An update of the floral list by Wehr and Manchester published in 1996 added an additional fifteen taxa identified from reproductive structures such as flowers fruits or seeds.

[24] Pigg, Manchester, and Wehr (2003) noted in during the description of Corylus johnsonii and Carpinus perryae that they were the oldest confirmed hazelnut and hornbeam fossils.

[46] †Rhus boothillensis[40] Flynn, DeVore, & Pigg A sumac, Hybridized with other Klondike Mountain Formation Rhus †Rhus garwellii[40] Flynn, DeVore, & Pigg A sumac, Hybridized with other Klondike Mountain Formation Rhus †Rhus malloryi[16][40] (Wolfe and Wehr) Flynn, DeVore & Pigg A sumac, Hybridized with other Klondike Mountain Formation Rhus †Rhus republicensis[40] Flynn, DeVore, & Pigg A sumac, Hybridized with other Klondike Mountain Formation Rhus Aquifoliaceae Ilex Undescribed[5] A holly Not described to species Araliaceae Aralia Undescribed[9] A spikenard speciesNot described to species.

†Pentacentron †Pentacentron sternhartae[41] Manchester et al. A Trochodendrale Tetracentron †Tetracentron hopkinsii[41] Pigg et al. A Trochodendrale,possibly the leaves of Pentacentron sternhartae Trochodendron †Trochodendron nastae[61] Pigg, Wehr, & Ickert-Bond A TrochodendronPossibly the leaves of Trochodendron drachukii †Zizyphoides Undescribed[9] A trochodendroid of uncertain placement.

Oreoptelea †Ulmus okanaganensis Denk & Dillhoff An elm species, the fruits were first identified as Ulmus section Chaetoptelea.

Vitaceae Vitis Undescribed[27][43] Grape seeds[43] and leaves[27]Not described to species †Calycites †Calycites ardtunensis[43] Crane A winged fruit of unidentified affinities †Pteroheterochrosperma †Pteroheterochrosperma horseflyensis[63] Smith, Greenwalt & Manchester A samara of uncertain affiliation.

†Republica †Republica hickeyi[16] Wolfe & Wehr An incertae sedis angiosperm possibly of Hamamelididae affiliations The insect fauna of the Klondike Mountain Formation includes representatives from over 13 orders, based on a 1992 estimate, including immature though adult specimens and both terrestrial and aquatic taxa.

[65] The next year Lewis and Wehr (1993) gave a slightly more detailed description of the specimens again identifying one to Heptageniidae, possibly in the genera Heptagenia or Stenonema.

There are several additional Apoidea fossils that were left as incertae sedis in the group based on the similarity between them and Paleorhopalosoma menatensis, a Paleocene species described from the Menat Formation Auvergne, France.

The placement of P. menatensis is uncertain, having been initially described as a member of Rhopalosomatidae, but is possibly an Angarosphecidae or closely related taxon, based on the wing and body morphology.

Incurvaria Undescribed[71] Trace fossilsincurvariid leaf mining similar to IncurvariaNot described to genus/species Nepticulidae Stigmella Undescribed[71] Trace fossilsnepticulid leaf mining referred to StigmellaNot described to genus/species A number of mecopteran species belonging to the families Cimbrophlebiidae, Dinopanorpidae, Eorpidae, and Panorpidae are also known.

Phylogenetic analysis of Susumanioidea published by Yang et al. (2021) resulted in placement of Eoprephasma as the sister group to Renphasma deep within the Susumaniidae subfamily Susumaniinae.

The phylogeny produced by Yang et al. indicated a sister group state with the Cretaceous genus Renphasma of China, and placed both as the most derived of the Susumaniinae taxa.

[109] Of the five species, two are unique to the formation, Hiodon woodruffi and Libotonius pearsoni were both described by paleoichthyologist Mark V. H. Wilson in 1978 and 1979 respectively.

The other three species, "Amia" hesperia, Amyzon aggregatum, and Eosalmo driftwoodensis, were first described from Okanagan Highlands formations in British Columbia and subsequently also identified from Ferry County fossils.

The fossils were tentatively identified by paleoichthyologist David Dunkle in 1962 and 1965 as members of the genera Amyzon, Tricophanes, Erismatopterus and an undefined salmonid.

[113] While not covering the Washington State fossils, Wilson named two of the species that are currently recognized from the Klondike Mountain Formation Amyzon aggregatum and Eosalmo driftwoodensis.

The hiodontids were subsequently described as the species Eohiodon woodruffi in 1978 based on differences between the Tom thumb Tuff fossils and those found in British Columbian sites.

[112] A year later the percopsid fossils were also described as Libotonius pearsoni, extending the range of the genus south from the Allenby Formation.