Mocun Cave
Basic information
Sample name: Mocun Cave

Reference: Y. Fan, Q. Shao, A.-M. Bacon, W. Liao, and W. Wang. 2022. Late Pleistocene large-bodied mammalian fauna from Mocun cave in south China: Palaeontological, chronological and biogeographical implications. Quaternary Science Reviews 294(107741):1-18 [ER 3782]
Geography
Country: China

State: Guangxi


Coordinate: 23° 0' 15" N, 109° 53' 11" E
Coordinate basis: stated in text

Time interval: Late Pleistocene

Max Ma: 0.101066

Min Ma: 0.02707

Age basis: U/Th

Geography comments: "about 500 m southwest of the Mocun Village, Pubei, Qinzhou"
there are three U-series dates on L7 and ten on L8 ranging from 27,070 ka (L7) to 101,066 ka (lower L8)

Environment
Lithology: claystone

Taphonomic context: cave,fluvial deposit,pitfall trap,rodent accumulation

Habitat comments: "more likely a fissure deposit"
the material is from layers L7 ("Light brown loose sandy clay") and L8 ("Brown sandy clay")
there are "mostly isolated teeth" and "few bone fragments without any complete long bones" and there are "either gnawed or rounded marks" on the specimens
there are no "human fossils or artefacts"
"rodents were the last accumulator agents before burial" but the material is mostly water-transported, and some specimens "most likely dropped and trapped"

Methods
Life forms: carnivores,primates,rodents,ungulates

Sampling methods: quarry

Sample size: 527 specimens

Years: 2000

Sampling comments: the excavation was "in an area of about 5 m2, and excavated by intervals of 10 cm"
"50 kg of sediments were water-screened to collect micromammals using 35 mm mesh sieves" but only the teeth of the "medium-large mammals" are reported here

Metadata
Sample number: 4097

Contributor: John Alroy

Enterer: John Alroy

Created: 2023-02-23 19:33:04

Modified: 2023-02-25 11:44:20

Abundance distribution
26 species
4 singletons
total count 527
geometric series index: 39.0
Fisher's α: 5.738
geometric series k: 0.8249
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.8678
Shannon's H: 2.3759
Good's u: 0.9925
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts.
Register
Macaca sp.97
Trachypithecus sp.2
Hylobates sp.2
Pongo sp.1
Hystrix refossa32
"Hystrix magna"
Hystrix brachyura69
"Hystrix cf. subcristata"
Stegodon orientalis6
Elephas maximus73711 kg grazer-browser
Arctonyx collaris3 invertivore
compared to subspecies rostratus
Cuon sp.4
Crocuta ultima2
Viverra sp.4
Paradoxurus cf. hermaphroditus12.4 kg frugivore-insectivore
Neofelis nebulosa213 kg carnivore
Ursus thibetanus1863 kg browser-frugivore
Ailuropoda sp.2
Rhinoceros sp.31
Tapirus cf. sinensis1
Tapirus augustus8
"Megatapirus augustus"
Sus scrofa12354 kg herbivore
Sus cf. xiaozhu1
Muntiacus cf. reevesi1111 kg browser
Muntiacus vaginalis64
"Muntiacus muntjak"
Cervus unicolor21100 kg grazer-browser
"Rusa unicolor"
Bos (Bibos) sp.13
Caprinae indet.2