Tight Entrance Cave (Unit J)
Basic information
Sample name: Tight Entrance Cave (Unit J)
Reference: G. J. Prideaux, G. A. Gully, A. M. C. Couzens, L. K. Ayliffe, N. R. Jankowski, Z. Jacobs, R. G. Roberts, J. C. Hellstrom, M. K. Gagan, and L. M. Hatcher. 2010. Timing and dynamics of Late Pleistocene mammal extinctions in southwestern Australia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 107(51):22157-22162 [ER 3720]
Geography
Country: Australia
State: Western Australia
Coordinate: 34° 4' S, 115° 1' E
Coordinate basis: stated in text
Time interval: Late Pleistocene
Section: 3720
Unit number: 5
Unit order: below to above
Max Ma: 0.032
Min Ma: 0.0291
Age basis: OSL
Geography comments: "Tight Entrance Cave (TEC) lies in the Leeuwin–Naturaliste Region, in southwestern Western Australia".
"The chronology of the TEC faunal succession was established via uranium-series, optically stimulated luminescence, and radiocarbon dating of samples excavated from a 21 square metre by 1.8 metre deep pit".
Unit J dates from 32 ± 3 ka to 29.1 ± 0.3 ka.
"The chronology of the TEC faunal succession was established via uranium-series, optically stimulated luminescence, and radiocarbon dating of samples excavated from a 21 square metre by 1.8 metre deep pit".
Unit J dates from 32 ± 3 ka to 29.1 ± 0.3 ka.
Environment
Lithology: sandstone
Taphonomic context: pitfall trap
Habitat comments: Tight Entrance Cave occurs within the Tamala Limestone, a coarse to medium-grained aeolian calcarenite".
"The ten superposed strata are composed predominantly of ‘clean’ quartz sands. Most units are separated by marker layers composed of moonmilk and limestone clasts, which accumulated as a slow ‘rain’ from the ceiling during hiatuses in sediment infilling".
"Most animals in the deposit were evidently pitfall victims, falling in alongside sediments and charcoal that were washed in via now-blocked solution pipes, although tooth marks on some bones suggest that carnivores played a minor accumulating role".
"The ten superposed strata are composed predominantly of ‘clean’ quartz sands. Most units are separated by marker layers composed of moonmilk and limestone clasts, which accumulated as a slow ‘rain’ from the ceiling during hiatuses in sediment infilling".
"Most animals in the deposit were evidently pitfall victims, falling in alongside sediments and charcoal that were washed in via now-blocked solution pipes, although tooth marks on some bones suggest that carnivores played a minor accumulating role".
Methods
Life forms: rodents,other large mammals,other small mammals
Sampling methods: quarry,screenwash
Sample size: 518 specimens
Years: 1996-2008
Sampling comments: "The Prideaux-Flinders University excavation commenced in January–February 1996. The excavation area was divided into a series of variably sized grids, with excavation proceeding according to unit using standard paleontological methods. Excavated sediment was sieved and resultant residues of small vertebrate remains then dried and sorted (picked) for taxonomically identifiable remains. Larger bones were cleaned, dried and stabilized with polyvinyl butyrate dissolved in acetone".
Prideaux et al. (2010) did not report the number of identified specimens. The counts below were obtained by the sample enterer during a July 2022 visit to the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Western Australian Museum, where the specimens were reposited.
Prideaux et al. (2010) did not report the number of identified specimens. The counts below were obtained by the sample enterer during a July 2022 visit to the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Western Australian Museum, where the specimens were reposited.
Metadata
Sample number: 3947
Contributor: Benjamin Carter
Enterer: Benjamin Carter
Created: 2022-07-21 15:36:18
Modified: 2023-05-30 01:01:30
Abundance distribution
17 species
2 singletons
total count 518
geometric series index: 21.8
Fisher's α: 3.372
geometric series k: 0.7305
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.8511
Shannon's H: 2.2098
Good's u: 0.9961
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
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Register
| †Thylacinus cynocephalus | 1 | |
| Sarcophilus harrisii | 5 | 7.5 kg |
| Perameles bougainville | 21 | |
| also 6 Perameles sp. | ||
| Isoodon obesulus | 4 | 1.0 kg |
| also 1 Isoodon sp. | ||
| Dasyurus geoffroii | 39 | |
| also 7 Dasyurus sp. and 1 Dasyuridae indet. | ||
| Pseudocheirus occidentalis | 26 | |
| Rattus fuscipes | 3 | |
| Pseudomys albocinereus | 1 | |
| Notomys sp. | 2 | |
| Macropus fuliginosus | 58 | 40 kg grazer-browser |
| also 18 Macropodidae indet. | ||
| Potorous gilbertii | 11 | |
| also 2 Potorous sp. and 1 Potoroidae indet. | ||
| Notamacropus irma | 46 | |
| Petrogale lateralis | 54 | |
| Setonix brachyurus | 73 | 2.7 kg |
| Bettongia penicillata | 11 | |
| Bettongia lesueur | 11 | |
| also 8 Bettongia sp. | ||
| Trichosurus vulpecula | 152 | 2.1 kg folivore |