Sample name: Mammoth Cave

Reference: K. A. Forde, A. Baynes, and J. Dortch. 2016. Taphonomic analysis of the fossil mammals from Mammoth Cave: pitfall, carnivore lair or cultural site? [Unpublished manuscript]. [ER 3722]

Lithology: sandstone

Taphonomic context: pitfall trap

Habitat comments: "Mammoth Cave is a huge tunnel formed by the action of a shallow stream flowing over the Precambrian granitic gneiss basement rocks and dissolving the limestone from below".
Two units were distinguished during the original excavation: a lower unit of fairly coarse reddish sand that contained bones, snail shells, wood fragments and leaf casts in pieces of speleothem, and occasional bands of black loam. A thin layer of flowstone separated it from the overlying upper unit of yellowish sand which contained bones ‘much fresher in appearance’, suggesting these were younger than those in the lower unit".
"The faunal assemblage most likely entered the cave via the now closed solution pipes in the cave roof. This is based on the broad skeletal element representation, high proportion of medium to large ground-dwelling mammals susceptible to pitfall entrapment, and the consistency with the fauna from the nearby Tight Entrance Cave pitfall site".

Life forms: bats,rodents,other large mammals,other small mammals,birds,lizards,frogs

Sampling methods: quarry

Sample size: 2461 specimens

Sampled by: Glauert

Years: 1909 - 1915

Sampling comments: "Two richly fossiliferous deposits were excavated during the years 1909–1915. These were later termed the 'Glauert' and 'Le Souef' deposits, with most specimens deriving from the latter".
"Unfortunately, fossils from the two deposits and the two units within the Glauert excavation were not kept separate, and the sources of bones within Mammoth Cave can no longer be identified".
"More than 3,200 specimens from these excavations were catalogued into the Western Australian Museum vertebrate palaeontological collection, mainly in the 1960s". These were used to calculate the Number of Identified Specimens, which are reported in Forde et al. 2016 (unpublished).

Sample number: 3955

Contributor: Benjamin Carter

Enterer: Benjamin Carter

Created: 2022-07-28 12:17:10

Modified: 2022-07-28 02:19:19