Late Pleistocene mollusks from the southern Black Hills, South Dakota

Authors

Christopher N. Jass, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff
Jim I. Mead, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff
Amy D. Morrison, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff
Larry D. Agenbroad, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff

Abstract

Pleistocene-age mollusks recovered from the Nelson-Wittenberg Site and Mammoth Site provide information on paleoenvironments of the southern Black Hills, South Dakota. New mollusk records for the Mammoth Site include Vertigo modesta, Catinella sp., and Gyraulus parvus. The presence of V. modesta, Columella columella alticola, and Pupilla muscorum at the Nelson-Wittenberg Site suggests cooler than modern conditions in the Black Hills during the Pleistocene. Although the majority of identified taxa are consistent with previous interpretations of an arid, shrubsteppe environment for the Black Hills during the Wisconsin Glaciation, V. modesta and C. c. alticola suggest the presence of at least some isolated, local mesic areas.

Recommended Citation

Jass, Christopher N.; Mead, Jim I.; Morrison, Amy D.; and Agenbroad, Larry D. (2002) "Late Pleistocene mollusks from the southern Black Hills, South Dakota," Western North American Naturalist: Vol. 62: No. 2, Article 1.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/wnan/vol62/iss2/1