Late Quaternary voles from Persistence Cave, Black Hills, South Dakota

Authors

Christopher N. Jass, Royal Alberta Museum, 9810-103A Ave., Edmonton, AB T5J 0G2; Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, SD, Box 692, 1800 Hwy. 18 ByPass, Hot Springs, SD 57747Follow
Jim I. Mead, Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, SD, Box 692, 1800 Hwy. 18 ByPass, Hot Springs, SD 57747; Desert Laboratory on Tumamoc Hill, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85745
Sandra L. Swift, Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, SD, Box 692, 1800 Hwy. 18 ByPass, Hot Springs, SD 57747

Abstract

Excavations at Persistence Cave (Black Hills, SD), produced a large sample of Quaternary microfauna including a diverse assemblage of arvicoline rodents. Identifiable lower first molars (n = 367) include specimens referred to heather vole (Phenacomys sp.), muskrat (Ondatra sp.), southern bog lemming (Synaptomys cooperi), red-backed vole (Myodes sp.), sagebrush vole (Lemmiscus curtatus), prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster), and a form of meadow vole (Microtus sp.). Direct radiocarbon dating of specimens of Lemmiscus curtatus is consistent with previous records from the Nelson–Wittenberg Site and indicates that sagebrush voles inhabited the southern Black Hills roughly 40,000 yr BP. Direct ages for Myodes sp. and Microtus ochrogaster taxa are consistent with previously published data from Don’s Gooseberry Pit, supporting previous interpretations of faunal turnover in the late Pleistocene/early Holocene. Collectively, the radiocarbon record suggests that deposition of fossils of arvicoline rodents at Persistence Cave occurred over a restricted period of time beginning approximately 40,000 yr BP. This period of deposition was followed by a depositional hiatus that included the Last Glacial Maximum, and deposition was reinitiated near the terminal Pleistocene.


Las excavaciones realizadas en Persistence Cave produjeron una muestra considerable de microfauna del Cuaternario, incluyendo un conjunto diverso de roedores arvicolinos. Entre los primeros molares inferiores que se pudieron identificar (n = 367) se encuentran ejemplares referidos a Phenacomys sp., Ondatra sp., Synaptomys cooperi, Myodes sp., Lemmiscus curtatus, Microtus ochrogaster y Microtus sp. Las fechas de radiocarbono obtenidas para los ejemplares de Lemmiscus curtatus son consistentes con los datos previamente reportados para la localidad Nelson–Wittenberg Site e indican que ésta especie habitó la región sur de Black Hills aproximadamente 40,000 años AP. Las fechas de radiocarbon para los taxones Myodes sp. y Microtus ochrogaster son consistentes con los datos publicados para la localidad Don’s Gooseberry Pit, y apoyan las interpretaciones previamente propuestas que sugieren un remplazo faunístico durante el Pleistoceno tardío/Holoceno temprano. Colectivamente, los datos de radiocarbono sugieren que los roedores arvicolinos de Persistence Cave fueron depositados durante un periodo de tiempo restringido comenzando aproximadamente 40,000 años AP, seguido por un hiato que incluye el Último Máximo Glacial, y reiniciándose cerca del Pleistoceno terminal.

Recommended Citation

Jass, Christopher N.; Mead, Jim I.; and Swift, Sandra L. (2020) "Late Quaternary voles from Persistence Cave, Black Hills, South Dakota," Western North American Naturalist: Vol. 80: No. 4, Article 9.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/wnan/vol80/iss4/9