Where: San Salvador, Bahamas (23.9° N, 74.6° W: paleocoordinates 23.9° N, 74.6° W)
• coordinate estimated from map
When: Late/Upper Pleistocene to Late/Upper Pleistocene (0.1 - 0.0 Ma)
• The depth from ground level to the sediment floor is 9.7 m (32 feet), the floor being roughly circular, with a diameter of about 7 m, the opening at the surface being smaller. The bottom of the pit is considerably overhung by what appears to be the remains of a higher floor, suggesting that an earlier sink formed that later collapsed into one beneath it
Environment/lithology: sinkhole; lime mudstone
Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils
Preservation: bone collector
Reposited in the USNM
Collection methods: surface (in situ), sieve,
• The floor underneath an overhang on the north wall was the site of a recent Barn Owl (Tyto alba) roost, with prey remains from regurgitated pellets scattered about the surface and into the loose, organic surface sediment. We collected these remains and dug three trenches and two additional test pits in the sediments of the floor. Sediment was passed through one quarter inch mesh and window screen.
Primary reference: S. L. Olson, G. K. Pregill, and W. B. Hilgartner. 1990. Studies on Fossil and Extant Vertebrates from San Salvador (Watling's) Island, Bahamas. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 508:1-24 [E. Vlachos/E. Vlachos]more details
Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis
PaleoDB collection 190743: authorized by Evangelos Vlachos, entered by Evangelos Vlachos on 16.12.2017
Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)
Taxonomic list
Reptilia | |
Emydidae indet. Rafinesque 1815 turtle | |
Testudinidae indet. Batsch 1788 turtle | |
Aves | |
Cathartes aura Linnaeus 1758 turkey vulture | |
"Ardeola virescens" = Butorides virescens Linnaeus 1758 green heron
Nycticorax nycticorax Linnaeus 1758 black-crowned night heron
Ixobrychus exilis Gmelin 1789 least bittern | |
Puffinus lherminieri Lesson 1839 Audubon's shearwater | |
Parulidae spp., "Dendroica sp." = Setophaga, "Dendroica petechia" = Setophaga petechia, "Seiurus aurocapillus" = Seiurus aurocapilla
Parulidae spp. Wetmore et al. 1947 perching bird
"Dendroica sp." = Setophaga Swainson 1827 perching bird
"Dendroica petechia" = Setophaga petechia Linnaeus 1766 yellow warbler
"Seiurus aurocapillus" = Seiurus aurocapilla Linnaeus 1766 ovenbird | |
Passerina caerulea Linnaeus 1758 blue grosbeak | |
Tiaris bicolor Linnaeus 1766 black-faced grassquit
Coereba flaveola Linnaeus 1758 bananaquit | |
Tyrannus dominicensis Gmelin 1788 gray kingbird | |
Margarops fuscatus Vieillot 1808 pearly-eyed thrasher
Mimus gundlachii Cabanis 1855 Bahama mockingbird
Mimus polyglottos Linnaeus 1758 northern mockingbird
Dumetella carolinensis Linnaeus 1766 gray catbird | |
Vireo sp. Vieillot 1808 vireo
Vireo crassirostris Bryant 1859 thick-billed vireo | |
Rallus longirostris Boddaert 1783 mangrove rail
Porzana carolina Linnaeus 1758 sora | |
Zenaida cf. aurita Temminck 1809 zenaida dove
Zenaida macroura Linnaeus 1758 mourning dove
Columbina passerina Linnaeus 1758 common ground-dove | |
Coccyzus cf. minor Gmelin 1788 mangrove cuckoo | |
Tyto alba Scopoli 1769 barn owl | |
Arenaria interpres Linnaeus 1758 ruddy turnstone | |
Anous stolidus, "Sterna cf. fuscata" = Onychoprion fuscatus
Anous stolidus Linnaeus 1758 brown noddy
"Sterna cf. fuscata" = Onychoprion fuscatus Linnaeus 1766 sooty tern | |
Reptilia | |
cf. Gallus gallus Linnaeus 1758 chicken | |
Anolis distichus anole
Anolis sagrei Dumeril and Bibron 1837 Brown anole | |
Leiocephalus loxogrammus curly-tailed lizard
Cyclura rileyi rock iguana | |
Mammalia | |
Macrotus waterhousii Gray 1843 leaf-nosed bat
Erophylla sezekorni Gundlach 1861 leaf-nosed bat | |
Eptesicus fuscus Beauvois 1796 big brown bat | |
Natalus tumidifrons funnel-eared bat | |
Rattus sp. Fischer 1803 rat
Mus musculus Linnaeus 1758 house mouse | |
Amphibia | |
Osteopilus septentrionalis Dumétil and Bibron 1841 tree frog |