Burnet Cave (Pleistocene of the United States)

Where: Eddy County, New Mexico (32.3° N, 104.8° W: paleocoordinates 32.4° N, 104.8° W)

• coordinate stated in text

• small collection-level geographic resolution

When: Late/Upper Pleistocene (0.1 - 0.0 Ma)

• "the depth of dirt and debris" ranges from between "two or three feet" and "approximately nine feet" deep; "the surface of the cave showed disturbance" by "local collectors" who "had discovered several burials... in the upper two or three feet... Below the burial level many hearths or lens-shaped deposits of charcoal and ashes were found at various levels down to a depth of eight feet six inches. Also in these lower levels were found the bones... in a number of cases, associated directly with the hearths"

• group of beds-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: cave; rubbly siltstone

• a "long continued accumulation of wind-blown dust together with rock fragments, which had fallen from the roof and walls"

Size class: macrofossils

• "A large number of the bones were broken" and "some of the bones... had been burned... a grooved [Folsom-like] spear-point" that was "found about four feet below the nearest burial" was "associated with the bones of an extinct bison... and an extinct muskox"

Collected by C. B. Schultz, E. B. Howard, B. Brown in 1930-1933, 1937, 1938; reposited in the UNSM

Collection methods: quarrying,

• Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia collection (through 1935) and UNSM collection (1937, 1938, and possibly other years)

•Brown was a visitor for one week in 1931 only

Primary reference: C. B. Schultz and E. B. Howard. 1935. The fauna of Burnet Cave, Guadalupe Mountains, New Mexico. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 87:273-298 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy]more details

Purpose of describing collection: general faunal/floral analysis

PaleoDB collection 93281: authorized by John Alroy, entered by John Alroy on 12.01.2010

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Aves
 Cathartiformes - Cathartidae
Coragyps atratus Bechstein 1793 black vulture
Cathartes aura Linnaeus 1758 turkey vulture
Gymnogyps californianus Shaw 1797 California condor
 Podicipediformes - Podicipedidae
Aechmophorus occidentalis Lawrence 1858 western grebe
 Strigiformes - Strigidae
Asio flammeus Pontoppidan 1763 short-eared owl
Bubo virginianus Gmelin 1788 great horned owl
 Piciformes - Picidae
Colaptes sp. Vigors 1825 woodpecker
 Gruiformes - Gruidae
"Grus canadensis" = Antigone canadensis
"Grus canadensis" = Antigone canadensis Linnaeus 1758 Sandhill crane
 Passeriformes - Icteridae
Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus Bonaparte 1826 yellow-headed blackbird
 Passeriformes - Fringillidae
Loxia curvirostra Linnaeus 1758 red crossbill
 Accipitriformes - Accipitridae
"Accipiter cooperi" = Accipiter cooperii, Buteo swainsoni
"Accipiter cooperi" = Accipiter cooperii Bonaparte 1828 Cooper's hawk
Buteo swainsoni Bonaparte 1838 Swainson's hawk
 Falconiformes - Falconidae
Falco sparverius Linnaeus 1758 American kestrel
Falco mexicanus Schlegel 1850 Prairie falcon
 Galliformes - Phasianidae
Meleagris gallopavo Linnaeus 1758 wild turkey
Tympanuchus pallidicinctus Ridgway 1873 lesser prairie chicken
 Galliformes - Odontophoridae
"Oreortyx picta" = Oreortyx pictus
"Oreortyx picta" = Oreortyx pictus Douglas 1829 mountain quail
Reptilia
 Testudines -
Testudines indet. Batsch 1788 turtle
"turtle" carapace
 Serpentes -
Serpentes indet. snake
"snake" vertebrae
Mammalia
 Carnivora - Felidae
Lynx rufus, "Felis concolor" = Puma concolor
Lynx rufus Schreber 1777 bobcat
"Felis concolor" = Puma concolor Linnaeus 1771 puma
"F. concolor hippolestes"
 Carnivora - Mustelidae
Mustela nigripes Audubon and Bachman 1851 black-footed ferret
Taxidea taxus Schreber 1778 American badger
"T. taxus taxus"
 Carnivora - Mephitidae
"Conepatus mesoleucus" = Conepatus leuconotus
"Conepatus mesoleucus" = Conepatus leuconotus Lichtenstein 1832 eastern hog-nosed skunk
"C. mesoleucus mearnsi"
 Carnivora - Procyonidae
Bassariscus astutus Lichtenstein 1830 ringtail
"B. astutus flavus"
 Carnivora - Ursidae
Arctodus sp. Leidy 1854 bear
 Carnivora - Canidae
"Canis latrans" = Canis latrans, "Canis microdon" = Canis latrans, "Canis nubilus" = Canis lupus, "Vulpes macroura" = Vulpes vulpes macroura, Vulpes velox
"Canis latrans" = Canis latrans Say 1823 coyote
"C. latrans lestes"
"Canis microdon" = Canis latrans Say 1823 coyote
"Canis nubilus" = Canis lupus Linnaeus 1758 gray wolf
"Vulpes macroura" = Vulpes vulpes macroura Baird 1852 red fox
Vulpes velox Say 1823 swift fox
 Perissodactyla - Equidae
Equus excelsus Leidy 1858 horse
"Equus tau" = Plesippus simplicidens Cope 1892 horse
 Artiodactyla - Camelidae
Camelops sp. Leidy 1854 camel
 Artiodactyla - Cervidae
Odocoileus hemionus Rafinesque 1817 mule deer
"? Rangifer fricki n. sp." = Navahoceros fricki Schultz and Howard 1935 New World deer
Odocoileus virginianus Zimmermann 1780 white-tailed deer
? Sangamona sp. Hay 1920 deer
 Artiodactyla - Antilocapridae
"Tetrameryx onusrosagris" = Stockoceros onusrosagris, Antilocapra americana
"Tetrameryx onusrosagris" = Stockoceros onusrosagris Roosevelt and Burden 1934 pronghorn
Antilocapra americana Ord 1815 pronghorn
 Artiodactyla - Bovidae
"Euceratherium collinum" = Euceratherium collinum, "Preptoceras sinclairi" = Euceratherium collinum, "Ovis auduboni" = Ovis canadensis auduboni, Bison antiquus
"Euceratherium collinum" = Euceratherium collinum Furlong and Sinclair 1904 shrub ox
"E. collinum morrisi, new variety"
"Preptoceras sinclairi" = Euceratherium collinum Furlong and Sinclair 1904 shrub ox
"P. sinclairi neomexicana, new variety"
"Ovis auduboni" = Ovis canadensis auduboni Merriam 1901 bighorn sheep
Bison antiquus Leidy 1852 bison
"B. antiquus taylori"
 Rodentia - Sciuridae
Marmota flaviventris Audubon and Bachman 1841 yellow-bellied marmot
Cynomys ludovicianus Ord 1815 black-tailed prairie dog
"Otospermophilus grammurus" = Otospermophilus variegatus grammurus Helgen et al. 2009 rock squirrel
 Rodentia - Heteromyidae
"Perodipus montanus" = Dipodomys ordii montanus
"Perodipus montanus" = Dipodomys ordii montanus Barid 1855 plains harvest mouse
"P. montanus richarsoni"
 Rodentia - Geomyidae
Cratogeomys castanops Baird 1852 yellow-faced pocket gopher
? Pappogeomys sp. Merriam 1895 pocket gopher
"Thomomys fulvus" = Thomomys bottae fulvus Woodhouse 1852 Botta's pocket gopher
"T. fulvus pervagus" and "T. fulvus intermedius"
 Rodentia - Cricetidae
Microtus mexicanus Saussure 1861 Mexican vole
"M. mexicanus guadulupensis"
"Microtus mordax" = Microtus longicaudus Merriam 1888 long-tailed vole
Neotoma mexicana Baird 1855 Mexican woodrat
Neotoma cinerea Ord 1815 bushy-tailed woodrat
"N. cinerea orolestes"
Neotoma lepida Thomas 1893 desert woodrat
Peromyscus maniculatus Wagner 1843 deer mouse
 Lagomorpha - Leporidae
Lepus townsendii Bachman 1839 white-tailed jackrabbit
Lepus alleni Mearns 1890 antelope jackrabbit
Sylvilagus floridanus Allen 1890 eastern cottontail
"Sylvilagus auduboni" = Sylvilagus audubonii Baird 1858 desert cottontail