Cloggs Cave (Layer VIII)
Basic information
Sample name: Cloggs Cave (Layer VIII)
Reference: J. Flood. 1974. Pleistocene man at Cloggs Cave: his tool kit and environment. Mankind 9:175-188 [ER 3706]
Geography
Country: Australia
State: Victoria
Coordinate: 37° 24' 36" S, 148° 12' 36" E
Time interval: Late Pleistocene
Max Ma: 0.05183
Min Ma: 0.04693
Age basis: OSL
Geography comments: Cloggs Cave is a small limestone cave located at Buchan, in the East Gippsland region of Victoria, 72.3 m above sea level and 37 km inland from the southern Australian coast.
New OSL dates obtained for the lowermost "megafaunal layer" (VIII) of the deposit range from 51,830 ± 5510 BP to 46,930 ± 4150 BP, the latter being from the base of the overlying unit (David et al. 2021).
New OSL dates obtained for the lowermost "megafaunal layer" (VIII) of the deposit range from 51,830 ± 5510 BP to 46,930 ± 4150 BP, the latter being from the base of the overlying unit (David et al. 2021).
Environment
Lithology: sandstone
Taphonomic context: carnivore accumulation,cave
Habitat comments: "The lowest level of the deposit consists of a smooth dark sand matrix containing Pleistocene fauna, with no traces of any human presence".
"The inclined strata characterising this layer slope steeply west to south, before being truncated by a disjunction".
"Tooth marks on bone from this layer suggest the cave may have been a carnivore's den. Large mammals might have fallen into the cave, or parts of carcasses been dragged in by carnivores. The small mammals could have been prey of carnivores or owls".
"The inclined strata characterising this layer slope steeply west to south, before being truncated by a disjunction".
"Tooth marks on bone from this layer suggest the cave may have been a carnivore's den. Large mammals might have fallen into the cave, or parts of carcasses been dragged in by carnivores. The small mammals could have been prey of carnivores or owls".
Methods
Life forms: other large mammals
Sampling methods: quarry
Sample size: 29 specimens
Years: 1971 - 1972
Sampling comments: "Initial excavations were carried out in December 1971 and April to May 1972".
"Inside the cave, a 4 square metre pit was excavated against the southern wall of the lower main chamber".
"The 2 x 2 square metre pit was extended downwards to a depth of 1.5 metres. In pits S and T, excavation continued for a further 90 cm, terminating at 2.4 metres".
The register below corresponds to selected fauna uncovered from Layer VIII of Pit S, specifically the specimens registered at the Melbourne Museum. Remains of several other species (mostly rodents and small mammals) have also been reported from this layer, but these were not identified in the museum collections. The counts were obtained during a museum visit on 15 March 2022.
There were also 22 Rodentia indet. - likely P. higginsi, P. novaehollandiae, M. fuscus, and Rattus sp. - all mandibles.
"Inside the cave, a 4 square metre pit was excavated against the southern wall of the lower main chamber".
"The 2 x 2 square metre pit was extended downwards to a depth of 1.5 metres. In pits S and T, excavation continued for a further 90 cm, terminating at 2.4 metres".
The register below corresponds to selected fauna uncovered from Layer VIII of Pit S, specifically the specimens registered at the Melbourne Museum. Remains of several other species (mostly rodents and small mammals) have also been reported from this layer, but these were not identified in the museum collections. The counts were obtained during a museum visit on 15 March 2022.
There were also 22 Rodentia indet. - likely P. higginsi, P. novaehollandiae, M. fuscus, and Rattus sp. - all mandibles.
Metadata
Sample number: 3920
Contributor: Benjamin Carter
Enterer: Benjamin Carter
Created: 2022-03-18 13:00:15
Modified: 2022-03-22 00:12:22
Abundance distribution
5 species
2 singletons
total count 29
geometric series index: 9.9
Fisher's α: 1.742
geometric series k: 0.4925
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.5776
Shannon's H: 1.1445
Good's u: 0.9310
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
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Register
| Sthenurus sp. | 1 | |
| humerus | ||
| †Simosthenurus occidentalis | 1 | |
| "Sthenurus orientalis" - mandible | ||
| Macropus sp. | 17 | |
| mostly teeth - some may be of M. titan and/or Sthenurus | ||
| †Thylacinus cynocephalus | 4 | |
| teeth | ||
| Sarcophilus sp. | 6 | |
| teeth - also 10 Dasyuridae indet. and 14 Thylacinus/Sarcophilus sp. | ||