Talk:Paleontology in Montana

Dogs
The article refers to dogs: The Cenozoic covers the period from 66 million years ago to the present. The dog evolved from a wolf starting about 15,000 years ago, long after the "early" Cenozoic. Gray wolf says, "C. lupus' most recent probable ancestor is Canis lepophagus, a small, narrow skulled North American canid of the Miocene era...." Canis lepophagus says "Canis lepophagus, the hare-eating wolf or Johnston's coyote is an extinct species of canid which was endemic to much of North America and lived from the Miocene epoch through Early Pleistocene, 10.3—1.8 Mya." So even the ancestor to the gray wolf appears only within the last 10.3 million years, long after the "early" Cenozoic. If the second usage is intended to convey that Montana was home to dog-like creatures and titanotheres, it should say exactly that: "Montana was home to dog-like creatures and titanotheres." But "creatures like dogs" will imply to some readers "creatures including dogs", which is wrong. —Anomalocaris (talk) 17:15, 22 January 2015 (UTC)
 * During the early Cenozoic the sea began to withdraw from the state. Plants, insects, dogs, and titanotheres are preserved from this time.
 * During the early Cenozoic era ... Montana was home to creatures like dogs and titanotheres.