Synopses & Reviews
This book gathers the findings of a number of studies on North American cave paleontology. Although not intended to be all-inclusive, Ice Age Cave Faunas of North America contains contributions that range from overviews of the significance of cave fossils to reports about new localities and studies of specific vertebrate groups. These essays describe how cave remains record the evolutionary patterns of organisms and their biogeography, how they can help reconstruct past ecosystems and climatic fluctuations, how they provide an important record of the evolution of modern ecosystems, and even how some of these caves contain traces of human activity. The book's eclectic nature should appeal to students, professional and amateur paleontologists, biologists, geologists, speleologists, and cavers. The contributors are Ticul Alvarez, Joaquin Arroyo-Cabrales, Christopher J. Bell, Larry L. Coats, Jennifer Glennon, Wulf Gose, Frederick Grady, Russell Wm. Graham, Timothy H. Heaton, Carmen J. Jans-Langel, Ernest L. Lundelius, Jr., H. Gregory McDonald, Jim I. Mead, Oscar J. Polaco, Blaine W. Schubert, Holmes A. Semken, Jr., and Alisa J. Winkler.
Review
Caves provide a tomb-like environment in which fossils can be exquisitely preserved. However, interpretation of cave fauna is complicated because organisms may enter caves through a variety of mechanisms and because mixing of faunal elements of different ages is common. This book provides a sampling of Quaternary-aged vertebrate faunas from localities ranging from Alaska to Mexico and California to Florida, and is an edited compilation of 11 peer-reviewed, relatively technical papers. Although other vertebrates are mentioned, the papers focus mainly on Pleistocene mammals. Some papers include discussion of the complete faunule recovered from individual cave localities, whereas other papers discuss a single fossil group, such as ground sloths or tapirs. The papers are relatively technical, and typically include an extensive discussion (and description, in some cases) of the fossils from particular localities. Most of the papers include paleobiological and/or stratigraphic interpretations of the fossil assemblages. Highly recommended for universities and museums conducting vertebrate paleontology research--the technical nature of the papers will not have wide appeal to general audiences. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals.--T. J. Kroeger, Bemidji State University"Choice" (01/01/2004)
Review
"This book provides a sampling of Quaternary-aged vertebrate faunas from localities ranging from Alaska to Mexico and California to Florida. The papers focus mainly on Pleistocene mammals [and discuss] the complete faunule recovered from individual cave localities [or] a single fossil group, such as ground sloths or tapirs... [They] include an extensive discussion (and description, in some cases) of the fossils from particular localities [and] paleobiological and/or stratigraphic interpretations of the fossil assemblages. Highly recommended for universities and museums conducting vertebrate paleontology research." --T. J. Kroeger, Bemidji State University, Choice, July 2004 Indiana University Press Indiana University Press Indiana University Press
About the Author
Blaine W. Schubert is research associate in Geology, Department of Environmental Dynamics at the University of Arkansas.
Jim I. Mead, is Professor of Geology and Paleonotology and Director of the Quaternary Sciences Program at Northern Arizona University.
Russell Wm. Graham is Chief Curator and Head of the Collections and Research Branch, Department of Earth and Space Sciences, Denver Museum of Nature and Science. He has edited three books and published more than 50 professional papers on evolution, biogeography, and extinction of Quaternary mammals.
Table of Contents
Preliminary Table of Contents:
List of Contributors
Preface
1. Sloth Remains from North American Caves and Associated Karst Features
H. Gregory McDonald
2. The Late Wisconsin Vertebrate History of Prince of Wales Island, Southeast Alaska
Timothy H. Heaton and Fredrick Grady
3. Arvicoline Rodents from Screaming Neotoma Cave, Southern Colorado Plateau, Apache County, Arizona, with Comments on the Pleistocene Biogeography of Lemmiscus curtatus
Christopher J. Bell and Jennifer Glennon
4. Late Pleistocene Faunas from Caves in the Eastern Grand Canyon, Arizona
Jim I. Mead, Larry L. Coats, and Blaine W. Schubert
5. Pleistocene Tapir from Hill Top Cave, Trigg County, Kentucky, and a Review of Plio-Pleistocene Tapirs of North America and Their Paleoecology
Russell Wm. Graham
6. Paleoecological Interpretation of Late Holocene and Late Pleistocene Micromammal Faunules from Duhme Cave, Eastern Iowa
Carmen M. Jans-Langel and Holmes A. Semken, Jr.
7. A Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene Mammalian Fauna from Little Beaver Cave, Central Ozarks, Missouri
Blaine W. Schubert
8. A History of Paleontological Investigations of Quaternary Cave Deposits on the Edwards Plateau, Central Texas
Ernest L. Lundelius, Jr.
9. Mammalian Fauna and Paleomagnetics of the Middle Irvingtonian (Early Pleistocene) Fyllan Cave and Kitchen Door Localities, Travis County, Texas
Alisa J. Winkler and Wulf Gose
10. A Preliminary Report of the Late Quaternary Mammal Fauna from Loltún Cave, Yucatán, Mexico
Joaquin Arroyo-Cabrales and Ticul Alvarez (deceased)
11. Caves and the Pleistocene Vertebrate Paleontology of Mexico
Joaquin Arroyo-Cabrales and Oscar J. Polaco
Index
Contributors
Ticul Alvarez (deceased), Laboratorio de Cordados Terrestres, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, I.P.N., Plan de Ayala y Carpio, 11340 México, D.F.
Joaquin Arroyo-Cabrales, Laboratorio de Paleozoología, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, 06060 México, D.F.
Christopher J. Bell, Department of Geological Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712.
Larry L. Coats, Laboratory of Quaternary Paleontology, Quaternary Sciences Program and Department of Geology, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011.
Jennifer Glennon, Department of Anthropology, Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff, AZ 86001.
Wulf Gose, Department of Geological Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78705.
Russell Wm. Graham, Department of Earth and Space Sciences, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver, CO 80205.
Timothy H. Heaton, Department of Earth Sciences, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD 57069.
Frederick Grady, Department of Paleobiology, The Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560.
Carmen J. Jans-Langel, Department of Geosciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242.
Ernest L. Lundelius, Jr., Department of Geological Sciences and Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory, Texas Museum of Science and History, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712.
H. Gregory McDonald, Geological Resources Division, National Park Service, Denver, CO 80225.
Jim I. Mead, Laboratory of Quaternary Paleontology, Quaternary Sciences Program and Department of Geology, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011.
Oscar J. Polaco, Biodiversity Programs Office, National Museum of Natural History, The Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560.
Blaine W. Schubert, Environmental Dynamics, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, and Geology Section, Illinois State Museum, Springfield, IL 62703.
Holmes A. Semken, Jr., Department of Geosciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242.
Alisa J. Winkler, Department of Geological Sciences, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275, and Department of Cell Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390.