scholarly journals First records ofCanis dirusandSmilodon fatalisfrom the late Pleistocene Tule Springs local fauna, upper Las Vegas Wash, Nevada

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e2151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Scott ◽  
Kathleen B. Springer
Keyword(s):  
Great Basin ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Mojave Desert ◽  
Las Vegas ◽  
Puma Concolor ◽  
Local Fauna ◽  
Fossil Assemblage ◽  
National Monument ◽  
Body Fossil ◽  
Canis Dirus

Late Pleistocene groundwater discharge deposits (paleowetlands) in the upper Las Vegas Wash north of Las Vegas, Nevada, have yielded an abundant and diverse vertebrate fossil assemblage, the Tule Springs local fauna (TSLF). The TSLF is the largest open-site vertebrate fossil assemblage dating to the Rancholabrean North American Land Mammal Age in the southern Great Basin and Mojave Desert. Over 600 discrete body fossil localities have been recorded from the wash, including an area that now encompasses Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument (TUSK). Paleowetland sediments exposed in TUSK named the Las Vegas Formation span the last 250 ka, with fossiliferous sediments spanning ∼100–13 ka. The recovered fauna is dominated by remains ofCamelopsandMammuthus, and also includes relatively common remains of extinctEquusandBisonas well as abundant vertebrate microfaunal fossils. Large carnivorans are rare, with onlyPuma concolorandPanthera atroxdocumented previously. Postcranial remains assigned to the speciesCanis dirus(dire wolf) andSmilodon fatalis(sabre-toothed cat) represent the first confirmed records of these species from the TSLF, as well as the first documentation ofCanis dirusin Nevada and the only known occurrence ofSmilodonin southern Nevada. The size of the recovered canid fossil precludes assignment to other Pleistocene species ofCanis. The morphology of the felid elements differentiates them from other large predators such asPanthera,Homotherium, andXenosmilus, and the size of the fossils prevents assignment to other species ofSmilodon. The confirmed presence ofS. fatalisin the TSLF is of particular interest, indicating that this species inhabited open habitats. In turn, this suggests that the presumed preference ofS. fatalisfor closed-habitat environments hunting requires further elucidation.

Vertebrate paleontology, stratigraphy, and paleohydrology of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Nevada (USA)

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 55-98
Author(s):  
Kathleen Springer ◽  
Jeffrey Pigati ◽  
Eric Scott
Keyword(s):  
Las Vegas ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Plant Macrofossils ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
American Southwest ◽  
Local Fauna ◽  
Climatic Oscillations ◽  
Las Vegas Valley ◽  
National Monument ◽  
Desert Wetlands

Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument (TUSK) preserves 22,650 acres of the upper Las Vegas Wash in the northern Las Vegas Valley (Nevada, USA). TUSK is home to extensive and stratigraphically complex groundwater discharge (GWD) deposits, called the Las Vegas Formation, which represent springs and desert wetlands that covered much of the valley during the late Quaternary. The GWD deposits record hydrologic changes that occurred here in a dynamic and temporally congruent response to abrupt climatic oscillations over the last ~300 ka (thousands of years). The deposits also entomb the Tule Springs Local Fauna (TSLF), one of the most significant late Pleistocene (Rancholabrean) vertebrate assemblages in the American Southwest. The TSLF is both prolific and diverse, and includes a large mammal assemblage dominated by Mammuthus columbi and Camelops hesternus. Two (and possibly three) distinct species of Equus, two species of Bison, Panthera atrox, Smilodon fatalis, Canis dirus, Megalonyx jeffersonii, and Nothrotheriops shastensis are also present, and newly recognized faunal components include micromammals, amphibians, snakes, and birds. Invertebrates, plant macrofossils, and pollen also occur in the deposits and provide important and complementary paleoenvironmental information. This field compendium highlights the faunal assemblage in the classic stratigraphic sequences of the Las Vegas Formation within TUSK, emphasizes the significant hydrologic changes that occurred in the area during the recent geologic past, and examines the subsequent and repeated effect of rapid climate change on the local desert wetland ecosystem.

scholarly journals Vertebrate paleontology, stratigraphy, and paleohydrology of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Nevada (USA)

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 55-98
Author(s):  
Kathleen B. Springer ◽  
Jeffrey S. Pigati ◽  
Eric Scott
Keyword(s):  
Las Vegas ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Plant Macrofossils ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
American Southwest ◽  
Local Fauna ◽  
Climatic Oscillations ◽  
Las Vegas Valley ◽  
National Monument ◽  
Desert Wetlands

Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument (TUSK) preserves 22,650 acres of the upper Las Vegas Wash in the northern Las Vegas Valley (Nevada, USA). TUSK is home to extensive and stratigraphically complex groundwater discharge (GWD) deposits, called the Las Vegas Formation, which represent springs and desert wetlands that covered much of the valley during the late Quaternary. The GWD deposits record hydrologic changes that occurred here in a dynamic and temporally congruent response to abrupt climatic oscillations over the last ~300 ka (thousands of years). The deposits also entomb the Tule Springs Local Fauna (TSLF), one of the most significant late Pleistocene (Rancholabrean) vertebrate assemblages in the American Southwest. The TSLF is both prolific and diverse, and includes a large mammal assemblage dominated by Mammuthus columbi and Camelops hesternus. Two (and possibly three) distinct species of Equus, two species of Bison, Panthera atrox, Smilodon fatalis, Canis dirus, Megalonyx jeffersonii, and Nothrotheriops shastensis are also present, and newly recognized faunal components include micromammals, amphibians, snakes, and birds. Invertebrates, plant macrofossils, and pollen also occur in the deposits and provide important and complementary paleoenvironmental information. This field compendium highlights the faunal assemblage in the classic stratigraphic sequences of the Las Vegas Formation within TUSK, emphasizes the significant hydrologic changes that occurred in the area during the recent geologic past, and examines the subsequent and repeated effect of rapid climate change on the local desert wetland ecosystem.

Paleobiogeographic Changes at the Pleistocene–Holocene Boundary near Pintwater Cave, Southern Nevada

2000 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan Scott Hockett
Keyword(s):  
Great Basin ◽  
Mojave Desert ◽  
Summer Precipitation ◽  
Local Fauna ◽  
Middle Holocene ◽  
Thomomys Talpoides ◽  
Pleistocene Climate ◽  
Southern Nevada ◽  
Dry Conditions ◽  
Sauromalus Obesus

AbstractIn 1996, approximately 70,000 mammal and lizard bones were recovered from Pintwater Cave in the northern Mojave Desert of southern Nevada. These bones date between 32,000 and 7350 14C yr B.P. Between 32,000 and 10,100 14C yr B.P. the local fauna consisted of a mix of xeric- and cool/mesic-adapted species. Ochotona princeps and Thomomys talpoides then occupied the region, although these animals were extirpated by the onset of the middle Holocene. Sauromalus obesus and Dipodomys deserti probably migrated to the region during the latest Pleistocene. Dipsosaurus dorsalis entered the Pintwater Cave record after 8000 14C yr B.P. Consistent with climatic interpretations for the northern Great Basin, these data suggest a cool and moist latest Pleistocene climate for the northern Mojave Desert. In contrast to the northern Great Basin, however, this region experienced predictable summer precipitation coupled with increasingly warmer winters by 10,100 14C yr B.P. In both regions, the warm middle Holocene began ca. 8300 14C yr B.P. However, whereas the northern Great Basin probably experienced warm and dry conditions at that time, the northern Mojave Desert remained warm with relatively predictable summer precipitation. The modern northern Mojave Desert biota probably was not established until after 8300 14C yr B.P.

Impacts on ecosystems, corrective restoration practices, and prospects for recovery: nine case studies in the continental United States

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 431 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. A. Jones
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Chesapeake Bay ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Great Basin ◽  
Mojave Desert ◽  
Flood Control ◽  
Colorado River ◽  
Longleaf Pine ◽  
Elwha River

Ecological restoration in the United States is growing in terms of the number, size, and diversity of projects. Such efforts are intended to ameliorate past environmental damage and to restore functioning ecosystems that deliver desired levels of ecosystem services. In nine current restoration case studies from across the continental United States, this paper details (1) the impacts of the original disturbance and compounding secondary issues that compel restoration, (2) the corrective practices applied to advance restoration goals, and (3) the prospects for recovery of ecosystem services, including those involving associated animal populations. Ecosystem-altering impacts include flood control (Kissimmee River), flood control and navigation (Atchafalaya Basin), damming for irrigation-water storage (Colorado River) and hydroelectric power (Elwha River), logging and fire suppression (longleaf pine forest), plant invasions that decrease fire-return intervals (Great Basin shrublands, Mojave Desert), nutrient and sediment loading of watersheds (Chesapeake Bay, Mississippi River delta), and conversion of natural lands to agriculture (tallgrass prairie). Animal species targeted for recovery include the greater sage-grouse (Great Basin shrublands), the red-cockaded woodpecker (longleaf pine forest), the south-western willow flycatcher (Colorado River and its tributaries), the desert tortoise (Mojave Desert), eight salmonid fish (Elwha River), and the blue crab and eastern oyster (Chesapeake Bay).

The first record of Cancelloceras (Early Pennsylvanian Ammonoidea) from southern Nevada: Implications for timing of regional mid-Carboniferous sea-level fluctuations

1997 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 158-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan L. Titus
Keyword(s):  
Great Basin ◽  
Las Vegas ◽  
First Record ◽  
Field Trip ◽  
Geological Society ◽  
Clark County ◽  
Sea Level Fluctuations ◽  
Southern Nevada ◽  
Carbonate Deposition ◽  
Basin Region

In 1988, the presence of an Early Pennsylvanian ammonoid assemblage within the basal meter of the Callville Formation (Pennsylvanian-Permian), eastern Clark County, Nevada, was brought to the attention of the author by Stephen M. Rowland, University of Nevada-Las Vegas. The ammonoids occur in the Frenchman Mountain section described by Rowland (1987) for the Geological Society of America's Decade of North American Geology (DNAG) field trip compendium. The mid-Carboniferous section at this locality (Figure 1) was discussed in two other field trip guides as well (Langenheim and Webster, 1979; Webster et al., 1984). No ammonoids have been reported previously from this locality. Although this is the first record of Cancelloceras from the Great Basin region, the assemblage also provides a narrowly constrained age for the basal part of the Callville Formation at Frenchman Mountain, which in turn, dates the initiation of carbonate deposition following a major mid-Carboniferous hiatus in the southern Great Basin.

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