Vess Cave
Basic information
Sample name: Vess Cave
Reference: A. R. Cahn. 1939. Pleistocene fossils from a cave in Anderson County, Tennessee. Journal of Mammalogy 20(2):248-250 [ER 3114]
Geography
Country: United States
State: Tennessee
Coordinate: 36° 6' N, 84° 8' W
Coordinate basis: based on nearby landmark
Time interval: Late Pleistocene
Geography comments: "just behind" the "home of Mr. B. A. Vess living on his farm... between the towns of Norris and Clinton" (coordinate based on Clinton)
said to be "Pleistocene" and the fauna is a generic Late Pleistocene assemblage
said to be "Pleistocene" and the fauna is a generic Late Pleistocene assemblage
Environment
Lithology: not described
Taphonomic context: cave
Habitat comments: "the bones have been found in the limestone caves" in the area
Methods
Life forms: bats,carnivores,rodents,ungulates,other small mammals,snakes,turtles,frogs
Sampling methods: quarry
Sample size: 197 specimens
Years: 1937
Sampling comments: "Usually these bones are fragmentary; the most important remains have been teeth"
"skeletons of Indians" and "two exquisite spear points" were also present, but the fauna is from "farther back" in the cave
"skeletons of Indians" and "two exquisite spear points" were also present, but the fauna is from "farther back" in the cave
Metadata
Sample number: 3401
Contributor: John Alroy
Enterer: John Alroy
Created: 2019-08-30 10:09:59
Modified: 2019-08-30 00:09:59
Abundance distribution
21 species
9 singletons
total count 197
geometric series index: 46.3
Fisher's α: 5.950
geometric series k: 0.8223
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.8245
Shannon's H: 2.1017
Good's u: 0.9544
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
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Register
| Anura indet. | 20 | |
| Rana or Bufo | ||
| Crotalus sp. | 41 | |
| Testudines indet. | 2 | |
| "turtle" | ||
| Didelphis virginiana | 3 | 2.2 kg insectivore-carnivore |
| Eptesicus fuscus | 1 | 17.2 g insectivore |
| Ursus americanus | 50 | 115 kg browser-insectivore |
| "Euarctos americanus" misspelled | ||
| Procyon lotor | 3 | 5.5 kg carnivore-granivore |
| minimum estimate, includes "many" teeth and tooth fragments | ||
| Lontra canadensis | 1 | 7.1 kg piscivore |
| "Lutra canadensis" | ||
| Mephitis mephitis | 1 | 1.5 kg carnivore-insectivore |
| Castor canadensis | 9 | 11 kg |
| Neotoma floridana | 1 | 252 g |
| a specimen of Neotoma sp. is also present | ||
| Microtus sp. | 1 | |
| Ondatra zibethicus | 1 | 1.1 kg |
| Zapodinae indet. | 4 | |
| Zapus or Napaeozapus | ||
| Erethizon dorsatum | 1 | 9.9 kg herbivore |
| Sylvilagus floridanus | 3 | 1.1 kg herbivore |
| Odocoileus virginianus | 45 | 75 kg herbivore |
| plus many fragments | ||
| Tapirus copei | 4 | |
| "Tapirus haysii": four specimens of Tapirus sp. are also present | ||
| Equus complicatus | 1 | |
| Mammut americanum | 1 | |
| plus many fragments | ||
| Mylohyus fossilis | 4 | |
| "Mylohyus exortivus": plus other tooth fragments | ||