Melrose Caverns (Pleistocene of the United States)
Where: Rockingham County, Virginia (38.5° N, 78.9° W: paleocoordinates 38.5° N, 78.9° W)
When: Late/Upper Pleistocene (0.1 - 0.0 Ma)
• "Because of the absence of the extinct microtines that distinguish Irvingtonian sites, the Melrose bone site is suspected to date as early Wisconsinan."
Environment/lithology: cave; limestone
• "The location of the site and its faunal assemblage lead us to conclude it represents the den of at least one carnivore. The combination of fish, tree frogs, and small rodents presents an interesting assemblage, especially if the site represents a single carnivore. The sucker, catfish, hellbender, muskrat, and river otter imply a sizeable flowing stream in contrast to the dry streambed that presently exists near the site."
Size class: macrofossils
Primary reference: D. A. Hubbard and F. Grady. 2001. Melrose Caverns: A Late Pleistocene Vertebrate Locality in Virginia, U.S.A. 13th International Congress of Speleology 301-304 [M. Uhen/M. Shalap/M. Uhen]more details
Purpose of describing collection: general faunal/floral analysis
PaleoDB collection 124089: authorized by Mark Uhen, entered by Margaret Shalap on 06.02.2012
Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)
Taxonomic list
Show authors, comments, and common names
| unclassified | |
| Amphibia | |
|
Hylidae indet. Rafinesque 1815 tree frog | |
|
Caudata indet. Scopoli 1777 salamander | |
|
Cryptobranchus alleganiensis Daudin 1803 hellbender | |
| Aves | |
|
Anatidae indet. Vigors 1825 waterfowl | |
| Reptilia | |
|
Colubridae indet. Oppel 1811 colubrid snake | |
| Mammalia | |
|
Corynorhinus sp. Allen 1865 vesper bat
Eptesicus fuscus Beauvois 1796 big brown bat
Pipistrellus subflavus Cuvier 1832 eastern pipistrelle bat
Myotis sp. Kaup 1829 vesper bat | |
Mustelidae indet., "Lutra canadensis" = Lontra canadensis
Mustelidae indet. Fischer 1817 mustelid carnivore
"Lutra canadensis" = Lontra canadensis Schreber 1776 North American river otter | |
|
Procyon lotor Linnaeus 1758 raccoon | |
|
? Spilogale putorius Linnaeus 1758 eastern spotted skunk | |
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Felidae indet. Gray 1821 cat | |
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Mylohyus fossilis Leidy 1860 peccary | |
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Odocoileus virginianus Zimmermann 1780 white-tailed deer | |
|
Parascalops breweri Bachman 1842 hairly-tailed vole
Condylura crystata star-nosed mole | |
|
"Sorex (Microsorex) hoyi" = Microsorex hoyi Baird 1858 American pygmy shrew
Sorex cinereus Kerr 1792 cinereus shrew
Blarina brevicauda Say 1823 northern short-tailed shrew | |
|
Leporidae indet. Fischer de Waldheim 1817 rabbit
Lepus americanus Erxleben 1777 snowshoe hare | |
|
Napaeozapus insignis Miller 1891 woodland jumping mouse
Zapus hudsonius Zimmermann 1780 meadow jumping mouse | |
Synaptomys cooperi, Peromyscus sp., "Neotoma magister" = Neotoma floridana, "Synaptomys borealis" = Synaptomys (Mictomys) borealis, Clethrionomys gapperi, Phenacomys intermedius, Ondatra zibethicus, Microtus chrotorrhinus, Microtus pennsylvanicus, Microtus ochrogaster, Microtus pinetorum, Microtus ? pinetorum
Synaptomys cooperi Baird 1858 southern bog lemming
Peromyscus sp. Gloger 1841 deer mouse
"Neotoma magister" = Neotoma floridana Ord 1818 eastern woodrat
"Synaptomys borealis" = Synaptomys (Mictomys) borealis Richardson 1828 northern bog lemming
Clethrionomys gapperi Vigors 1830 southern red-backed vole
Phenacomys intermedius Merriam 1889 western heather vole
Ondatra zibethicus Linnaeus 1766 muskrat
Microtus chrotorrhinus Miller 1894 rock vole
Microtus pennsylvanicus Ord 1815 meadow vole
Microtus ochrogaster Wagner 1842 prairie vole
Microtus pinetorum Le Conte 1830 woodland vole
Microtus ? pinetorum Le Conte 1830 woodland vole | |
|
Spermophilus tridecemlineatus Mitchell 1821 thirteen-lined ground squirrel
Tamias striatus Linnaeus 1758 eastern chipmunk
Glaucomys volans Linnaeus 1758 southern flying squirrel | |
|
Geomys sp. Rafinesque 1817 pocket gopher | |
| Actinopteri | |
|
Cyprinidae indet. Rafinesque 1815 carp-like fish | |
|
Catostomidae indet. carp-like fish | |
|
Ictaluridae indet. Gill 1861 catfish | |