Michael Sketel, Jenny L. McGuire, Julia A. Schap, Rachel A. Short
Microfauna communities resulting from packrat accumulation provide crucial information about how natural communities respond to environmental changes. However, fossil accumulation mechanisms can be complex, making it difficult to interpret these community responses. Natural Trap Cave (NTC) is an open-mouth cave with an 85-foot drop that often lies unseen by passing animals, making it a major location for fossil accumulation. NTC, located in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming, has accumulated a paleontological record of the local community’s biota dating back to the Late Pleistocene, 25,000 years ago. The rim of the cave’s mouth is home to packrat middens located directly above the major deposits of microvertebrate (<5 kg) fossils. It is hypothesized that middens along the rim have accumulated seeds, bones, teeth, and bird pellets from the local communities over time and have periodically washed into the cave below. We seek to assess the bias in microvertebrate community composition introduced by packrat accumulation. We identified bones and teeth collected from a 9-section grid of a modern midden located adjacent to the cave, which allow us to see which species dominate the NTC environment. We calculate species evenness, richness, and relative abundances using MNI. To assess local bias resulting from packrat accumulation, we compare the modern midden with live-and camera-trap data of small mammal communities. To assess which NTC fossils result from packrat accumulation, we compare the modern midden with fossil material from within the cave, ranging in age from 2 to 20 ka. Once we understand these biases present in the fossil accumulation, we can associate species’ relative abundances with changes in climate, such as drought, increasing temperatures, and flooding. By knowing how climate has affected NTC species’ abundances through time, we will be prepared to aid in conservation efforts by predicting how species numbers will be affected by future climate change.
{"title":"Describing a Newly Excavated Packrat Midden Near Natural Trap Cave, Wyoming to Help Assess Biases in Fossil Microfaunal Accumulation","authors":"Michael Sketel, Jenny L. McGuire, Julia A. Schap, Rachel A. Short","doi":"10.58782/flmnh.dsqo9692","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.58782/flmnh.dsqo9692","url":null,"abstract":"Microfauna communities resulting from packrat accumulation provide crucial information about how natural communities respond to environmental changes. However, fossil accumulation mechanisms can be complex, making it difficult to interpret these community responses. Natural Trap Cave (NTC) is an open-mouth cave with an 85-foot drop that often lies unseen by passing animals, making it a major location for fossil accumulation. NTC, located in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming, has accumulated a paleontological record of the local community’s biota dating back to the Late Pleistocene, 25,000 years ago. The rim of the cave’s mouth is home to packrat middens located directly above the major deposits of microvertebrate (<5 kg) fossils. It is hypothesized that middens along the rim have accumulated seeds, bones, teeth, and bird pellets from the local communities over time and have periodically washed into the cave below. We seek to assess the bias in microvertebrate community composition introduced by packrat accumulation. We identified bones and teeth collected from a 9-section grid of a modern midden located adjacent to the cave, which allow us to see which species dominate the NTC environment. We calculate species evenness, richness, and relative abundances using MNI. To assess local bias resulting from packrat accumulation, we compare the modern midden with live-and camera-trap data of small mammal communities. To assess which NTC fossils result from packrat accumulation, we compare the modern midden with fossil material from within the cave, ranging in age from 2 to 20 ka. Once we understand these biases present in the fossil accumulation, we can associate species’ relative abundances with changes in climate, such as drought, increasing temperatures, and flooding. By knowing how climate has affected NTC species’ abundances through time, we will be prepared to aid in conservation efforts by predicting how species numbers will be affected by future climate change.","PeriodicalId":106523,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History","volume":"499 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-02-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133178383","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The non-marine mollusc fauna of the northern part of t1he Narinda karst of north-western Madagascar, mostly from the Anjajavy Peninsula and Analalava District is enumerated based on collections made in the past 20 years. 102 species are recorded (73 terrestrial, 12 freshwater and 17 littoral). Twenty four are described as new species: Omphalotropis lavanensis n. sp., Boucardicus crassus n. sp., Boucardicus malama n. sp., Boucardicus minoratus n. sp., Cyclotopsis pectinata n. sp., Tropidophora narindana n. sp., Tropidophora tenona n. sp., Tropidophora jugia n. sp., Tropidophora neoliratoides n. sp., Tropidophora rovidrovitra n. sp., Gulella foucaultia n. sp., Gulella martiniana n. sp., Gulella anjajavyensis n. sp., Gulella volontany n. sp., Gulella antonibe n. sp., Parvedentulina lavana n. sp., Microcystis zorony n. sp., Microcystis embertoni n. sp., Sitala dickensi n. sp., Ctenophila tangolika n. sp., Kalidos unistriata n. sp., Kalidos quadrangulata n. sp., Kalidos narindana n. sp., and Kalidos mahafatifaty n. sp. A further six are new records for Madagascar. We propose two changes of genera and one new synonym. Madagascar’s dry forest continues to decline in area and much of the forest in the region is fragmentary. Three species were only recorded from old shells and may be locally extinct.
{"title":"Non-marine mollusks of the northern Narinda karst, north-western Madagascar","authors":"J. Gerlach, O. Griffiths, John Slapcinsky","doi":"10.58782/flmnh.kykr5005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.58782/flmnh.kykr5005","url":null,"abstract":"The non-marine mollusc fauna of the northern part of t1he Narinda karst of north-western Madagascar, mostly from the Anjajavy Peninsula and Analalava District is enumerated based on collections made in the past 20 years. 102 species are recorded (73 terrestrial, 12 freshwater and 17 littoral). Twenty four are described as new species: Omphalotropis lavanensis n. sp., Boucardicus crassus n. sp., Boucardicus malama n. sp., Boucardicus minoratus n. sp., Cyclotopsis pectinata n. sp., Tropidophora narindana n. sp., Tropidophora tenona n. sp., Tropidophora jugia n. sp., Tropidophora neoliratoides n. sp., Tropidophora rovidrovitra n. sp., Gulella foucaultia n. sp., Gulella martiniana n. sp., Gulella anjajavyensis n. sp., Gulella volontany n. sp., Gulella antonibe n. sp., Parvedentulina lavana n. sp., Microcystis zorony n. sp., Microcystis embertoni n. sp., Sitala dickensi n. sp., Ctenophila tangolika n. sp., Kalidos unistriata n. sp., Kalidos quadrangulata n. sp., Kalidos narindana n. sp., and Kalidos mahafatifaty n. sp. A further six are new records for Madagascar. We propose two changes of genera and one new synonym. Madagascar’s dry forest continues to decline in area and much of the forest in the region is fragmentary. Three species were only recorded from old shells and may be locally extinct.","PeriodicalId":106523,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History","volume":"4 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116833443","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Forachelys woodi gen. et sp. nov. is described from lower Miocene (Arikareean NALMA) exposures of the upper Las Cascadas Formation (~21 Ma) in the Panama Canal Basin. It represents the latest occurrence of ptychogastrine geoemydids in North America, a group known primarily from the early Eocene to late Miocene of Europe. Forachelys woodi shares features with taxa such as Geiselemys ptychogastroides (middle Eocene, Germany) and some species of the Ptychogaster/Temnoclemmys group (late Eocene to late Miocene, Europe). The epiplastral morphology is furthermore comparable to Bridgeremys pusilla (middle Eocene of Wyoming and Utah), a taxon previously interpreted as a rhinoclemmydine ancestor. Within the Las Cascadas Formation, F. woodi co-occurred with an undescribed species of rhinoclemmydine geoemydid that represents the oldest record of Rhinoclemmys (sensu lato). The Miocene fossil record of testudinoids in Central America is reviewed and reexamined. Testudinids are diverse in the Miocene of Panama and Honduras, represented by aff. Stylemys, Caudochelys (2–3 large to giant species), and an undescribed genus and species that resembles ‘Testudo’ costarricensis. Rhinoclemmydines persisted in Panama almost continuously from the early to late Miocene, with records from the Las Cascadas (~21 Ma), upper Culebra (~20–19 Ma), Cucaracha (~19 Ma), and lower Gatun (~12–11 Ma) formations. At least two concurrent rhinoclemmydines are present in the Cucaracha Formation of Panama, and two possibly concurrent taxa in the Gracias Formation (9–6.6 Ma) of Honduras.
{"title":"A Ptychogastrine (Testudines, Geoemydidae) From the Early Miocene of Panama and a Review of Miocene Testudinoids From Central America","authors":"Jason R. Bourque","doi":"10.58782/flmnh.qvhz1455","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.58782/flmnh.qvhz1455","url":null,"abstract":"Forachelys woodi gen. et sp. nov. is described from lower Miocene (Arikareean NALMA) exposures of the upper Las Cascadas Formation (~21 Ma) in the Panama Canal Basin. It represents the latest occurrence of ptychogastrine geoemydids in North America, a group known primarily from the early Eocene to late Miocene of Europe. Forachelys woodi shares features with taxa such as Geiselemys ptychogastroides (middle Eocene, Germany) and some species of the Ptychogaster/Temnoclemmys group (late Eocene to late Miocene, Europe). The epiplastral morphology is furthermore comparable to Bridgeremys pusilla (middle Eocene of Wyoming and Utah), a taxon previously interpreted as a rhinoclemmydine ancestor. Within the Las Cascadas Formation, F. woodi co-occurred with an undescribed species of rhinoclemmydine geoemydid that represents the oldest record of Rhinoclemmys (sensu lato). The Miocene fossil record of testudinoids in Central America is reviewed and reexamined. Testudinids are diverse in the Miocene of Panama and Honduras, represented by aff. Stylemys, Caudochelys (2–3 large to giant species), and an undescribed genus and species that resembles ‘Testudo’ costarricensis. Rhinoclemmydines persisted in Panama almost continuously from the early to late Miocene, with records from the Las Cascadas (~21 Ma), upper Culebra (~20–19 Ma), Cucaracha (~19 Ma), and lower Gatun (~12–11 Ma) formations. At least two concurrent rhinoclemmydines are present in the Cucaracha Formation of Panama, and two possibly concurrent taxa in the Gracias Formation (9–6.6 Ma) of Honduras.","PeriodicalId":106523,"journal":{"name":"Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History","volume":"11 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128529550","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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