Mescal Cave
Basic information
Sample name: Mescal Cave
Sample aka: SBC1.10.12; UCMP V3864
Reference: M. A. Stegner. 2015. The Mescal Cave Fauna (San Bernardino County, California) and testing assumptions of habitat fidelity in the Quaternary fossil record. Quaternary Research 83:582-587 [ER 3213]
Geography
Country: United States
State: California
County: San Bernardino
Coordinate: 35° 27' 1" N, 116° 33' 0" W
Latlng basis: stated in text
Time interval: Pleistocene - Holocene
Max Ma: 0.02682
Min Ma: 5e-05
Age basis: radiocarbon (uncalibrated)
Geography comments: "in the Mescal Range"
there is an error in the published coordinate, which reads N 35°27′0.45", W 115°32′60"
22 uncalibrated AMS 14C dates on bone range from 50 +/- 30 to 26, 820 +/- 1040 and eight are Holocene
there is an error in the published coordinate, which reads N 35°27′0.45", W 115°32′60"
22 uncalibrated AMS 14C dates on bone range from 50 +/- 30 to 26, 820 +/- 1040 and eight are Holocene
Environment
Lithology: not described
Taphonomic context: cave, midden
Habitat comments: "a limestone cave... it contains material that was evidently accumulated by woodrats (Neotoma)... Many of the bones recovered from Mescal Cave are acid etched, characteristic of bones that have been partially digested by raptors or mammalian carnivores"
Methods
Life forms: carnivores, rodents, ungulates, other small mammals
Sampling methods: quarry, screenwash
Sample size: 1441 specimens
Sampled by: R. A. Stirton
Years: 1938
Net or trap nights: 0
Basal area status: not applicable
Sampling comments: fossils were "sifted" after being excavated, but "Mescal Cave sediments were not screened with a sufficiently fine mesh"
Metadata
Sample no: 3527
Contributor no: John Alroy
Enterer: John Alroy
Created: 2019-09-11 21:01:36
Modified: 2019-09-11 11:01:36
Abundance distribution
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts. Values are logged.
Statistics
20 species
3 singletons
total count 1441
geometric series index: 26.7
Fisher's α: 3.286
geometric series k: 0.712
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.719
Shannon's H: 1.6577
Good's u: 0.9979
Register
| Ammospermophilus sp. | 1 | |
| Marmota flaviventris | 41 | |
| Otospermophilus sp. | 2 | |
| Sciurus sp. | 1 | |
| Thomomys sp. | 26 | |
| Chaetodipus sp. | 28 | |
| Dipodomys sp. | 18 | |
| Baiomys sp. | 10 | |
| Lemmiscus curtatus | 18 | 30.5 g |
| Microtus sp. | 3 | |
| Neotoma cinerea | 289 | 240.0 g |
| Ochotona sp. | 24 | |
| Leporidae indet. A | 636 | |
| small | ||
| Leporidae indet. B | 300 | |
| large | ||
| Bassariscus astutus (ringtail) | 5 | 949.0 g |
| Canis sp. | 10 | |
| Urocyon cinereoargenteus (gray fox) | 3 | 4.1 kg |
| Lynx rufus (bobcat) | 1 | |
| Spilogale cf. gracilis (western spotted skunk) | 8 | |
| Ovis canadensis (bighorn sheep) | 17 | 55.0 kg |