Mid-Wisconsinan Vertebrates and their Environment from January Cave, Alberta, Canada

• Published in: Quaternary Research
• Main Author: Burns, James A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1991
• Subjects: Canada; Dicrostonyx torquatus; Lemmus sibiricus; Tundra
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0033-5894(91)90100-j; http://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:003358949190100J?httpAccept=text/xml; http://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:003358949190100J?httpAccept=text/plain; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033589400021268

Abstract January Cave, in the Rocky Mountains of southwestern Alberta, has yielded vertebrate remains from a coprocenosis of mid-Wisconsinan-age. Taphonomic analysis indicates accumulation by raptors, mostly owls, and mammalian carnivores. The vertebrate record, together with pollen analysis, indicates that cool, dry conditions prevailed in an extensive tundra-like environment, with prairie elements in the valleys below. Thirty-four mammalian taxa have been recovered from January Cave. Today, some of these species (e.g., Lemmus sibiricus and Dicrostonyx torquatus ) do not coexist with others (e.g., Cynomys sp., Mustela nigripes, Vulpes velox , and Lagurus curtatus ). Therefore, the January Cave local fauna represents a “nonanalog” mammalian community characteristic of the late Pleistocene. It suggests that the region enjoyed an equable climate, with reduced climatic extremes but still cool, further supporting a mid-Wisconsinan age estimate for the fauna. It is the first major, small vertebrate fauna of its age to be reported from Alberta.