Where: Alberta, Canada (50.2° N, 114.5° W: paleocoordinates 50.2° N, 114.5° W)
• coordinate stated in text
• small collection-level geographic resolution
When: Late/Upper Pleistocene (0.1 - 0.0 Ma)
• "Bedrock lies 1.00 to 1.95 m below the surface... Excavation proceeded by arbitrary 10-cm levels"
•"four thermoluminescene (TL) dates were obtained from single dental elements" but are rejected as "stratigraphically inconsistent or too variable, but, more importantly... not collected specifically for TL dating"; instead, there are "conventional 14C dates" of "23,100 +/- 860 yr B.P." for "the lowest levels (13-16 combined)" and "31,900 +/- 1400" for "levels 14-15" and "33,500 +/- 1100" for "level 7," all on bone collagen, so the entire deposit is considered to be from "the latter part of the mid-Wisconsinan interstade"
• group of beds-level stratigraphic resolution
Environment/lithology: cave; lithology not reported
Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils, microfossils
Preservation: coprolite
Collected by T. Habgood, M. McEachern, J. A. Burns in 1969, 1970, 1974 - 1977
Collection methods: bulk, quarrying, sieve,
• Provincial Museum of Alberta collection
•initial collection was by Habgood and McEachern ("pit A-1"), later collection was by Burns ("pits NE, NE-Ext, SE")
•"Initial wet-sieving [was] in screened boxes having a 1/16th inch (1.6 mm) mesh... Subsequent washing [was] through a kitchen sieve"
Primary reference: J. A. Burns. 1991. Mid-Wisconsinan vertebrates and their environment from January Cave, Alberta, Canada. Quaternary Research 35(1):130-143 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy]more details
Purpose of describing collection: paleoecologic analysis
PaleoDB collection 93528: authorized by John Alroy, entered by John Alroy on 20.01.2010
Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)
Taxonomic list
•"479 avian bones" were recovered but not identified
•Bos taurus is also listed but apparently thought to be an intrusive
Silene | |
Silene acaulis campion | |
Angiospermae | |
Salix sp. Linnaeus 1753 willow | |
Betula sp. Linnaeus 1753 birch | |
Dicotyledoneae | |
Polemonium sp. Linnaeus 1753 Jacob's ladder | |
Pinopsida | |
Phlox | |
Phlox sp. Linnaeus 1753 | |
Claytonia | |
Claytonia sp. Linnaeus 1753 spring beauty | |
Actinopteri | |
Mammalia | |
Lepus cf. americanus Erxleben 1777 snowshoe hare | |
Ochotona princeps Richardson 1828 American pika | |
Microtus cf. longicaudus, Microtus richardsoni, Phenacomys intermedius, Dicrostonyx torquatus, Lemmus sibiricus, Clethrionomys gapperi, Peromyscus maniculatus, "Synaptomys borealis" = Synaptomys (Mictomys) borealis, Neotoma cinerea, "cf. Lagurus curtatus" = Lemmiscus curtatus
Microtus cf. longicaudus Merriam 1888 long-tailed vole
Microtus richardsoni De Kay 1842 water vole
Phenacomys intermedius Merriam 1889 western heather vole
Dicrostonyx torquatus Pallas 1778 Arctic lemming
Lemmus sibiricus Ognev 1947 Siberian brown lemming
Clethrionomys gapperi Vigors 1830 southern red-backed vole
Peromyscus maniculatus Wagner 1843 deer mouse
"Synaptomys borealis" = Synaptomys (Mictomys) borealis Richardson 1828 northern bog lemming
Neotoma cinerea Ord 1815 bushy-tailed woodrat
"cf. Lagurus curtatus" = Lemmiscus curtatus Cope 1868 sagebrush vole | |
Thomomys talpoides Richardson 1828 northern pocket gopher | |
Tamiasciurus hudsonicus, Marmota caligata, Eutamias sp., Spermophilus columbianus, "Cynomys cf. churcherii" = Cynomys niobrarius, "Spermophilus lateralis" = Callospermophilus lateralis
Tamiasciurus hudsonicus Erxleben 1777 American red squirrel
Marmota caligata Eschscholtz 1829 hoary marmot
Eutamias sp. Trouessart 1880 chipmunk
Spermophilus columbianus Ord 1815 Columbian ground squirrel
"Cynomys cf. churcherii" = Cynomys niobrarius Hay 1921 prairie dog
"Spermophilus lateralis" = Callospermophilus lateralis Say 1823 golden-mantled ground squirrel | |
Sorex "arcticus-group" Linnaeus 1758 long-tailed shrew
Sorex monticolus Merriam 1890 montane shrew
Sorex cinereus Kerr 1792 cinereus shrew | |
Ovis canadensis Shaw 1804 bighorn sheep | |
Odocoileus cf. hemionus Rafinesque 1817 mule deer | |
Lynx sp. Kerr 1792 lynx | |
Mustela nivalis, Mustela erminea, Mustela nigripes, "Mustela frenata" = Neogale frenata, Martes americana
Mustela nivalis Linnaeus 1766 least weasel
Mustela erminea Linnaeus 1758 stoat
"Mustela frenata" = Neogale frenata Lichtenstein 1831 long-tailed weasel
Martes americana Kerr 1792 American marten | |
Canis latrans Say 1823 coyote
Vulpes vulpes Linnaeus 1758 red fox |