Grant Hall (Layer 3)
Basic information
Sample name: Grant Hall (Layer 3)

Sample aka: Victoria Fossil Cave

Reference: R. A. Fraser and R. T. Wells. 2006. Palaeontological excavation and taphonomic investigation of the late Pleistocene fossil deposit in Grant Hall, Victoria Fossil Cave, Naracoorte, South Australia. Alcheringa 30(S1):147-161 [ER 3083]
Geography
Country: Australia

State: South Australia

Coordinate: 37° 2' S, 141° 48' E
Latlng basis: based on nearby landmark

Time interval: Late Pleistocene

Section: 3083

Unit number: 3

Unit order: above to below

Max Ma: 0.093

Min Ma: 0.076

Age basis: OSL

Geography comments: "within the Victoria Fossil Cave, approximately 50m from the main Fossil Chamber... The age of the Grant Hall fossil deposit has been constrained between 206 ka and 76 ka by uranium-series dating of associated speleothems"
OSL dates on sediments associated with the faunal assemblage range from 93 ± 8 ka to 76 ± 6 ka (Macken et al. 2011).
coordinate based on Naracoorte Caves National Park

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Environment
Lithology: sandstone

Taphonomic context: cave, pitfall trap

Habitat comments: "The fossil-bearing sediments were sandwiched between separate flowstones that covered the limestone base of the cave and overlaid the sediment's surface... The sediments were largely homogeneous, consisting of a mixture of red/brown and pale yellow medium to fine sub-rounded quartz grains, mixed with darker red-brown clay particles... The natural trapping of unwary animals via a pit-fall was therefore proposed as the predominant method by which the large mammal bones came to be in the cave"

Methods
Life forms: rodents, other large mammals, other small mammals, birds, lizards, snakes, turtles

Sampling methods: quarry

Sample size: 853 specimens

Years: 2000

Net or trap nights: 0

Basal area status: not applicable

Metadata
Sample no: 3359

Contributor no: John Alroy

Enterer: John Alroy

Created: 2019-08-26 18:38:15

Modified: 2023-04-29 00:41:20

Abundance distribution
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts. Values are logged.
Statistics
39 species
2 singletons
total count 853
geometric series index: 49.5
Fisher's α: 8.429
geometric series k: 0.8756
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.927
Shannon's H: 3.0204
Good's u: 0.9977
Register
Notamacropus rufogriseus (red-necked wallaby)20
"Macropus rufogriseus"
Wallabia bicolor (swamp wallaby)13
†Procoptodon gilli (short-faced kangaroo)14
"Simosthenurus gilli"
†Simosthenurus maddocki (short-faced kangaroo)2
†Thylacinus cynocephalus (thylacine)9
†Thylacoleo carnifex 7
Vombatus ursinus (common wombat)229.0 kg
†Zygomaturus trilobus 11
Tachyglossus aculeatus (short-beaked echidna)22.9 kg
Cercartetus nanus (eastern pygmy possum)2118.9 g
Antechinus flavipes (yellow-footed antechinus)33
Dasyurus viverrinus (eastern quoll)2
Phascogale tapoatafa (brush-tailed phascogale)4
Sminthopsis crassicaudata (fat-tailed dunnart)45
Sminthopsis murina (slender-tailed dunnart)15
Perameles gunnii (eastern barred bandicoot)31
Perameles bougainville (western barred bandicoot)42
Petaurus breviceps (sugar glider)3
†Potorous platyops (broad-faced potoroo)5
Potorous tridactylus (long-nosed potoroo)25731.0 g
Pseudocheirus peregrinus (common ringtail possum)6
Mastacomys fuscus 2
Notomys mitchellii 11
Pseudomys apodemoides 93
Pseudomys australis 13
Pseudomys auritus 4
"Pseudomys basalticus"
Pseudomys shortridgei 57
Pseudomys cf. fumeus 34
Rattus fuscipes (bush rat)67
Rattus lutreolus (Australian swamp rat)2
Rattus tunneyi (pale field rat)18
Hydromys chrysogaster 1
Elapidae indet.156
Wonambi naracoortensis 3
Testudines indet.1
"Chelonia indet."
Varanus sp. 40
Tiliqua nigrolutea 21
Scincidae indet.2
Aves indet.16