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
unclassified | |
Dicotyledoneae | |
Polemonium sp. Linnaeus 1753 Jacob's ladder | |
Angiospermae | |
Salix sp. Linnaeus 1753 willow | |
Betula sp. Linnaeus 1753 birch | |
Pinopsida | |
Demospongiae | |
Claytonia sp. Finks et al. 2011 demosponge | |
Actinopteri | |
Mammalia | |
Thomomys talpoides Richardson 1828 northern pocket gopher | |
Tamiasciurus hudsonicus, "Cynomys cf. churcherii" = Cynomys niobrarius, Eutamias sp., Spermophilus columbianus, Marmota caligata, "Spermophilus lateralis" = Callospermophilus lateralis
Tamiasciurus hudsonicus Erxleben 1777 American red squirrel
"Cynomys cf. churcherii" = Cynomys niobrarius Hay 1921 prairie dog
Eutamias sp. Trouessart 1880 chipmunk
Spermophilus columbianus Ord 1815 Columbian ground squirrel
Marmota caligata Eschscholtz 1829 hoary marmot
"Spermophilus lateralis" = Callospermophilus lateralis Say 1823 golden-mantled ground squirrel | |
Peromyscus maniculatus, "Synaptomys borealis" = Synaptomys (Mictomys) borealis, Neotoma cinerea, Dicrostonyx torquatus, Phenacomys intermedius, Lemmus sibiricus, Microtus richardsoni, Microtus cf. longicaudus, Clethrionomys gapperi, "cf. Lagurus curtatus" = Lemmiscus curtatus
Peromyscus maniculatus Wagner 1843 deer mouse
"Synaptomys borealis" = Synaptomys (Mictomys) borealis Richardson 1828 northern bog lemming
Neotoma cinerea Ord 1815 bushy-tailed woodrat
Dicrostonyx torquatus Pallas 1778 Arctic lemming
Phenacomys intermedius Merriam 1889 western heather vole
Lemmus sibiricus Ognev 1947 Siberian brown lemming
Microtus richardsoni De Kay 1842 water vole
Microtus cf. longicaudus Merriam 1888 long-tailed vole
Clethrionomys gapperi Vigors 1830 southern red-backed vole
"cf. Lagurus curtatus" = Lemmiscus curtatus Cope 1868 sagebrush vole | |
Lepus cf. americanus Erxleben 1777 snowshoe hare | |
Ochotona princeps Richardson 1828 American pika | |
Lynx sp. Kerr 1792 lynx | |
Vulpes vulpes Linnaeus 1758 red fox
Canis latrans Say 1823 coyote | |
Mustela erminea, Mustela nigripes, Mustela nivalis, "Mustela frenata" = Neogale frenata, Martes americana
Mustela erminea Linnaeus 1758 stoat
Mustela nivalis Linnaeus 1766 least weasel
"Mustela frenata" = Neogale frenata Lichtenstein 1831 long-tailed weasel
Martes americana Kerr 1792 American marten | |
Ovis canadensis Shaw 1804 bighorn sheep | |
Odocoileus cf. hemionus Rafinesque 1817 mule deer | |
Sorex "arcticus-group" Linnaeus 1758 long-tailed shrew
Sorex cinereus Kerr 1792 cinereus shrew
Sorex monticolus Merriam 1890 montane shrew |