Mammoth Cave
Basic information
Sample name: Mammoth Cave
Reference: K. A. Forde, A. Baynes, and J. Dortch. 2016. Taphonomic analysis of the fossil mammals from Mammoth Cave: pitfall, carnivore lair or cultural site? [Unpublished manuscript]. - [ER 3722]
Geography
Country: Australia
State: Western Australia
Coordinate: 34° 3' 29" S, 115° 2' 50" E
Latlng basis: stated in text
Time interval: Late Pleistocene
Max Ma: 0.074
Min Ma: 0.0444
Age basis: OSL
Geography comments: "Mammoth Cave is one of some 300 karst features in dune limestone in the extreme southwest of Western Australia between Capes Leeuwin and Naturaliste".
"The ages of the Mammoth Cave deposits remain uncertain. U/Th series dating of the uppermost overlying flowstone puts the assemblage at greater than 44.4 ± 1.3 ka old (Roberts et al. 2001). Optically stimulated luminescence ages were also determined by Roberts et al., with burial sediments attached to bones giving ages of 63 ± 9 ka and 74 ± 10 ka".
"The ages of the Mammoth Cave deposits remain uncertain. U/Th series dating of the uppermost overlying flowstone puts the assemblage at greater than 44.4 ± 1.3 ka old (Roberts et al. 2001). Optically stimulated luminescence ages were also determined by Roberts et al., with burial sediments attached to bones giving ages of 63 ± 9 ka and 74 ± 10 ka".
Environment
Lithology: sandstone
Taphonomic context: pitfall trap
Habitat comments: "Mammoth Cave is a huge tunnel formed by the action of a shallow stream flowing over the Precambrian granitic gneiss basement rocks and dissolving the limestone from below".
Two units were distinguished during the original excavation: a lower unit of fairly coarse reddish sand that contained bones, snail shells, wood fragments and leaf casts in pieces of speleothem, and occasional bands of black loam. A thin layer of flowstone separated it from the overlying upper unit of yellowish sand which contained bones ‘much fresher in appearance’, suggesting these were younger than those in the lower unit".
"The faunal assemblage most likely entered the cave via the now closed solution pipes in the cave roof. This is based on the broad skeletal element representation, high proportion of medium to large ground-dwelling mammals susceptible to pitfall entrapment, and the consistency with the fauna from the nearby Tight Entrance Cave pitfall site".
Two units were distinguished during the original excavation: a lower unit of fairly coarse reddish sand that contained bones, snail shells, wood fragments and leaf casts in pieces of speleothem, and occasional bands of black loam. A thin layer of flowstone separated it from the overlying upper unit of yellowish sand which contained bones ‘much fresher in appearance’, suggesting these were younger than those in the lower unit".
"The faunal assemblage most likely entered the cave via the now closed solution pipes in the cave roof. This is based on the broad skeletal element representation, high proportion of medium to large ground-dwelling mammals susceptible to pitfall entrapment, and the consistency with the fauna from the nearby Tight Entrance Cave pitfall site".
Methods
Life forms: bats, rodents, other large mammals, other small mammals, birds, lizards, frogs
Excluded forms: snails
Sampling methods: quarry
Sample size: 2461 specimens
Sampled by: Glauert
Years: 1909 - 1915
Net or trap nights: 0
Basal area status: not applicable
Sampling comments: "Two richly fossiliferous deposits were excavated during the years 1909–1915. These were later termed the 'Glauert' and 'Le Souef' deposits, with most specimens deriving from the latter".
"Unfortunately, fossils from the two deposits and the two units within the Glauert excavation were not kept separate, and the sources of bones within Mammoth Cave can no longer be identified".
"More than 3, 200 specimens from these excavations were catalogued into the Western Australian Museum vertebrate palaeontological collection, mainly in the 1960s". These were used to calculate the Number of Identified Specimens, which are reported in Forde et al. 2016 (unpublished).
"Unfortunately, fossils from the two deposits and the two units within the Glauert excavation were not kept separate, and the sources of bones within Mammoth Cave can no longer be identified".
"More than 3, 200 specimens from these excavations were catalogued into the Western Australian Museum vertebrate palaeontological collection, mainly in the 1960s". These were used to calculate the Number of Identified Specimens, which are reported in Forde et al. 2016 (unpublished).
Metadata
Sample no: 3955
Contributor no: Benjamin Carter
Enterer: Benjamin Carter
Created: 2022-07-28 12:17:10
Modified: 2022-07-28 02:19:19
Abundance distribution
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts. Values are logged.
Statistics
37 species
4 singletons
total count 2461
geometric series index: 48.7
Fisher's α: 6.177
geometric series k: 0.8232
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.7414
Shannon's H: 1.9639
Good's u: 0.9984
Register
| †Megalibgwilia ramsayi (echidna) | 15 | |
| Tachyglossus aculeatus (short-beaked echidna) | 6 | 2.9 kg |
| †Murrayglossus hacketti (echidna) | 20 | |
| †Thylacinus cynocephalus (thylacine) | 6 | |
| Dasyurus geoffroii (western quoll) | 6 | |
| Sarcophilus harrisii (Tasmanian devil) | 6 | 7.5 kg |
| Antechinus flavipes (yellow-footed antechinus) | 5 | |
| Phascogale tapoatafa (brush-tailed phascogale) | 4 | |
| Sminthopsis sp. | 1 | |
| Isoodon obesulus (southern brown bandicoot) | 26 | |
| "Isoodon fusciventer" | ||
| Perameles bougainville (western barred bandicoot) | 28 | |
| †Vombatus hacketti (wombat) | 107 | |
| also 1 Vombatidae indet. | ||
| Phascolarctos cinereus (koala) | 22 | 9.1 kg |
| †Zygomaturus trilobus | 527 | |
| †Thylacoleo carnifex | 1 | |
| Cercartetus concinnus (western pygmy possum) | 4 | |
| Pseudocheirus occidentalis (western ringtail possum) | 17 | |
| Trichosurus vulpecula (common brushtail possum) | 15 | 2.1 kg |
| Bettongia penicillata (woylie) | 3 | |
| Potorous gilbertii (Gilbert's potoroo) | 97 | |
| †Congruus kitcheneri | 11 | |
| Macropus fuliginosus (western grey kangaroo) | 51 | 40.0 kg |
| Macropus sp. | 2 | |
| "large" | ||
| Notamacropus eugenii (tammar wallaby) | 23 | |
| Notamacropus irma (western brush wallaby) | 14 | |
| †Protemnodon brehus (giant kangaroo) | 2 | |
| Setonix brachyurus (quokka) | 1100 | 2.7 kg |
| †Procoptodon browneorum (short-faced kangaroo) | 81 | |
| †Simosthenurus occidentalis (short-faced kangaroo) | 207 | |
| also 281 Sthenurinae indet. | ||
| Chiroptera indet. | 4 | |
| Hydromys chrysogaster | 1 | |
| Pseudomys albocinereus | 2 | |
| Pseudomys shortridgei | 2 | |
| Rattus fuscipes (bush rat) | 25 | |
| Aves indet. | 14 | |
| Lacertilia indet. | 5 | |
| Anura indet. | 1 | |