BioOne.org will be down briefly for maintenance on 17 December 2024 between 18:00-22:00 Pacific Time US. We apologize for any inconvenience.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 August 2006 A Mid-Holocene Fauna from Bear Den Cave, Sequoia National Park, California
Jim I. Mead, Thomas W. McGinnis, Jon E. Keeley
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Test excavation of floor fill deposits in the first room in Bear Den Cave, Sequoia National Park, produced fossiliferous sediments down to at least 40 cm depth. Radiocarbon analysis of charcoal from this layer indicates an early-middle Holocene age of 7220 CAL BP. The fossil accumulation represents prey recovered from generations of ringtail (Bassariscus astutus) dung. Microvertebrate remains include salamanders, lizards, snakes, and mammals. The recovery of Aneides ferreus/vagrans from early-middle Holocene deposits in Bear Den Cave is a first for this species group. Equally interesting is the recovery of Plethodon sp. Neither taxa live in the Sierra Nevada today. The fossil-rich deposits of Bear Den Cave indicate that future paleoecological studies will be productive in Sequoia National Park.

Jim I. Mead, Thomas W. McGinnis, and Jon E. Keeley "A Mid-Holocene Fauna from Bear Den Cave, Sequoia National Park, California," Bulletin, Southern California Academy of Sciences 105(2), 43-58, (1 August 2006). https://doi.org/10.3160/0038-3872(2006)105[43:AMFFBD]2.0.CO;2
Accepted: 1 September 2005; Published: 1 August 2006
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top