LATE PLEISTOCENE SHASTA GROUND SLOTH (XENARTHRA) DUNG, DIET, AND ENVIRONMENT FROM THE SIERRA VIEJA, PRESIDIO COUNTY, TEXAS

Abstract We present new information about the Late Pleistocene Shasta ground sloth (Nothrotheriops shastensis). Spirit Eye Cave in the Sierra Vieja along the Rio Grande provides the newest evidence that the Shasta ground sloth inhabited further south in the mountains of the southwestern Trans-Pecos, Texas, than has been previously documented. The cave is one of only twelve known Nothrotheriops dung localities. During excavation of the cave, packrat middens and sloth dung were discovered. Two areas within the cave provide radiocarbon dated ground sloth dung and packrat midden macrobotanical remains which permit the reconstruction of the sloth diet and local biotic habitat at 30,800 and 12,900 calibrated YBP. The local community at 30,800 calibrated years ago was a pinyon-juniper woodland with yucca, sandpaper bush, globemallow, cactus, and barberry in the understory based on the packrat midden from the cave. The dung contents indicate that the diet of the sloth included C3 and C4 grasses along with Agave. Data for the local vegetation community and sloth diet from 12,900 years ago indicate that during this late glacial time, the region was still a pinyon-juniper woodland but also contained Celtis, Quercus, and Larrea, among other taxa.

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Geomorphic and sedimentary responses of the Bull Creek Valley (Southern High Plains, USA) to Pleistocene and Holocene environmental change

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1016/j.yqres.2015.11.006 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 85 (1) ◽

pp. 118-132 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Hanna M. Arauza ◽

Alexander R. Simms ◽

Leland C. Bement ◽

Brian J. Carter ◽

Travis Conley ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Environmental History ◽

Late Pleistocene ◽

Environmental Conditions ◽

Late Glacial ◽

High Plains ◽

Climate Conditions ◽

Fluvial Terraces ◽

Sedimentary Sequences ◽

New Information ◽

Bull Creek

Fluvial geomorphology and stratigraphy often reflect past environmental and climate conditions. This study examines the response of Bull Creek, a small ephemeral creek in the Oklahoma panhandle, to environmental conditions through the late Pleistocene and Holocene. Fluvial terraces were mapped and their stratigraphy and sedimentology documented throughout the course of the main valley. Based on their elevations, terraces were broadly grouped into a late-Pleistocene fill terrace (T3) and two Holocene fill-cut terrace sets (T2 and T1). Terrace systems are marked by similar stratigraphies recording the general environmental conditions of the time. Sedimentary sequences preserved in terrace fills record the transition from a perennial fluvial system during the late glacial period and the Younger Dryas to a semiarid environment dominated by loess accumulation and punctuated by flood events during the middle to late Holocene. The highest rates of aeolian accumulation within the valley occurred during the early to middle Holocene. Our data provide significant new information regarding the late-Pleistocene and Holocene environmental history for this region, located between the well-studied Southern and Central High Plains of North America.

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A 12,000-Year Pollen Record from Lake Maliq, Albania

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1006/qres.2000.2179 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 54 (3) ◽

pp. 423-432 ◽

Cited By ~ 63

Author(s):

Michelle Denèfle ◽

Anne-Marie Lézine ◽

Eric Fouache ◽

Jean-Jacques Dufaure

Keyword(s):

Mixed Forest ◽

Late Glacial ◽

Pollen Record ◽

Pollen Data ◽

The Balkans ◽

Forest Flora ◽

New Information ◽

Winter Temperatures ◽

History Of ◽

Glacial Time

Pollen data from Lake Maliq, the first from Albania, contribute new information to the discussion of the vegetational, hydrological, and climatological history of the Balkans since 12,000 yr B.P. During late-glacial time, a perennial lake expanded at Maliq. It was surrounded by a complex vegetation association composed of steppe and mixed forest elements. The highly diverse forest flora suggest that late-glacial forest refugia were more developed here at middle altitude, rather than at higher altitude as previously suggested. The forest developed after 9800 yr B.P., while the water level remained high in the Korçë basin until 5000 yr B.P. Different environmental conditions, characterized by lower available moisture and warmer winters, progressively took place after this date. Human activity in the Korçë basin ca. 4500 yr B.P. was coeval with conditions characterized by an increase in winter temperatures and a decrease in summer moisture.

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Late-Pleistocene Environments of North Pacific North America. An Elaboration of Late-Glacial and Postglacial Climatic, Physiographic and Biotic Changes.

Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club ◽

10.2307/2483140 ◽

1961 ◽

Vol 88 (5) ◽

pp. 367

Author(s):

R. L. Pierce ◽

Calvin J. Heusser

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

Late Pleistocene ◽

North Pacific ◽

Late Glacial

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XIX.—The Bone-Cave in the Valley of Allt nan Uamh (Burn of the Caves), near Inchnadamff, Assynt, Sutherlandshire

Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh ◽

10.1017/s0370164600023646 ◽

1918 ◽

Vol 37 ◽

pp. 327-349 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

B. N. Peach ◽

J. Horne ◽

E. T. Newton

Keyword(s):

Characteristic Feature ◽

Late Glacial ◽

Early History ◽

The Arctic ◽

Geological History ◽

Collateral Evidence ◽

History Of ◽

Glacial Time

A characteristic feature of the plateau of Cambrian Limestone in the neighbourhood of Inchnadamff is the occurrence in it of swallow-holes, caves, and subterranean channels which are intimately associated with the geological history of the region. The valley of Allt nan Uamh (Burn of the Caves), locally known as the Coldstream Burn, furnishes striking examples of these phenomena. One of the caves in this valley yielded an interesting succession of deposits, from which were collected abundant remains of mammals and birds. The discovery of bones of the Northern Lynx, the Arctic Lemming, and the Northern Vole among these relics, and the collateral evidence of the materials forming some of these layers, seem to link the early history of this bone-cave with late glacial time, or at least with a period before the final disappearance of local glaciers in that region.

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