Shelter Cave UTEP 30

NM: Doña Ana Co.: W side of Bishop's Cap.

General Description.—Shelter well up on side of Bishop's Cap (about 450 ft below the summit according to Brattstrom 1964; this would make it about 1500 m). Originally excavated by LACM in ca. 1929 (LACMVP 1010) Brattstrom 1964: Specimens collected from talus, fill, or other areas are labeled 1010 Dump or 1010D. Specimens collected by Conkling are labeled C 1010. Cave was excavated in 5-foot sections.

Brattstrom 1964: Two profiles in original field notes. One in Sec. S-5-7, from bottom to top: rock bottom of cave, 5" angular frags., 8" smooth concretionary limestone fragments mixed with brown dust, 6" ash mixed with angular fragments, 10" of layered gray (volcanic?) ash grading into a layer of brown, 4" of hard burned guano, 4" of unconsolidated bat guano, top. Most bones found in brown and gray ash. Another section 53" thick, from bottom up: floor of cave, 17" broken concretionary limestone fragments, 16" of brown ash, 12" of gray layered ash grading into the brown below it, 8" of bat guano, top.

Brattstrom 1964:95: Quoting from from original field notes: " 'Sloth in place, S-5-4 in upper guano layer and in direct association with bits of knots of vegetative material,' 'S-6-5, sloth bone in upper yellow layer,' 'Mummified rat and snake on top of rocks in bat guano,' 'S-5-6, S-5-5, horse jaws in brown ash,' 'S-5-6, sloth skull fragment in gray ash below overhanging rock. In same section above rock was an indian grindstone,' 'S-4-7, beads and sandal found beneath guano layer and also below overhanging rock,' 'S-4-9, badger and deer skulls in gray ash.'"

Age.—Rancholabrean and Holocene. One date on sloth dung (Van Devender and Spaulding 1979) of 11,330 ± 370 BP. Obviously includes later material, also. Thompson et al. list three dates for sloth dung, including that above; others are 12330 ± 190 and 12430 ± 250. Also list dates on Gopherus scutes and bone (11280 to 12520) and dates for packrat middens in the cave (11850 to 31250).

Comments.—Fosberg (1936) lists plants identified from Shelter Cave deposits, but without provenience data (look Holocene). Also mentions that there are coprolites of either sloth or horse. Thompson et al. (1980) point out that pre-full-glacial middens here are more mesic than the terminal Pleistocene ones (that lack oak and, mostly, pinyon).

Type locality of Stockoceros conklingi.

Publications.—Brattstrom 1961; (*Brattstrom 1964); Eames ? year; (Fosberg 1936); Harris 1977b, 1985; (Harris and Crews 1983); Hall 1936; Howard 1971; Howard and Miller 1933; Rea 1980; Smartt 1977; Stock 1930, 1932, 1936; Thompson, Van Devender, Martin, Foppe, and Long 1980; Van Devender, Moodie, and Harris 1976.

Fauna.—

AMPHIBIA

• Scaphiopus cf. couchi Brattstrom 1964
• Rana cf. pipiens Brattstrom 1964

REPTILIA

• Gopherus agassizi Brattstrom 1961, 1964; Van Devender et al. 1976; UTEP
• Eumeces obsoletus Brattstrom 1964
• Phrynosoma cornutum Brattstrom 1964
• Crotaphytus collaris Brattstrom 1964
• Coluber constrictor Brattstrom 1964
• Masticophis flagellum Brattstrom 1964
• Lampropeltis getulus Brattstrom 1964
• Pituophis melanoleucus Brattstrom 1964
• Elaphe subocularis Brattstrom 1964
• Trimorphodon biscutatus UTEP
• Crotalus atrox Brattstrom 1964

AVES

• Anser ? albifrons Howard and Miller 1933
• Anas acuta Howard and Miller 1933
• Anas crecca Howard and Miller 1933
• Cathartes aura Howard and Miller 1933
• Breagyps clarki Howard 1971— of specimen reported as Gymnogyps californianus by Howard and Miller 1933
• Accipiter striatus Howard and Miller 1933
• Buteo jamaicensis Howard and Miller 1933
• Buteo swainsoni Howard and Miller 1933
• Buteo ? albonotatus Howard and Miller 1933
• Buteogallus fragilis Howard and Miller 1933
• Aquila chrysaetos Howard and Miller 1933
• Poyborus plancus prelutosus Howard and Miller 1933
• Falco peregrinus Howard and Miller 1933
• Falco sparverius Howard and Miller 1933
• Centrocercus urophasianus Harris 1985; Howard and Miller 1933
• Meleagris crassipes Rea 1980
• Callipepla squamata Howard and Miller 1933
• "Lophortyx" sp. Howard and Miller 1933
• Oreortyx pictus Harris 1985; Howard and Miller 1933
• Porzana carolina Howard and Miller 1933
• Fulica americana Howard and Miller 1933
• Larus sp. Howard and Miller 1933
• Zenaida macroura Howard and Miller 1933
• Geococcvx californianus conklingi Harris 1985; Harris and Crews 1983; Howard and Miller 1933
• Geococcyx californianus californianus Harris 1985; Howard and Miller 1933— Holocene.
• Tyto alba Howard and Miller 1933
• Otus asio Howard and Miller 1933
• Bubo virginianus Howard and Miller 1933
• Athene cunicularia Howard and Miller 1933
• Aegolius funereus Harris 1985; Howard and Miller 1933
• Aegolius acadicus Howard and Miller 1933
• Aeronautes saxatalis Howard and Miller 1933
• Colaptes auratus Howard and Miller 1933
• Melanerpes formicivorus Howard and Miller 1933
• Sayornis saya Howard and Miller 1933
• Eremophila alpestris Howard and Miller 1933
• Pica pica Howard and Miller 1933
• Corvus corax Howard and Miller 1933
• Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus Howard and Miller 1933
• Catherpes mexicanus Howard and Miller 1933
• Salpinctes obsoletus Howard and Miller 1933
• Turdus migratorius Howard and Miller 1933
• Sialia sp. Howard and Miller 1933
• Toxostoma sp. Howard and Miller 1933
• Oreoscoptes montanus Howard and Miller 1933
• Lanius ludovicianus Howard and Miller 1933
• Molothrus ater Howard and Miller 1933
• Pyelorhamphus molothroides Howard and Miller 1933
• Carpodacus mexicanus Howard and Miller 1933
• Pipilo erythrophthalmus Howard and Miller 1933
• Pipilo fuscus Howard and Miller 1933
• Calamospiza melanocorys Howard and Miller 1933
• Amphispiza bilineata— very recently entombed by Howard and Miller 1933.

MAMMALIA

• Notiosorex crawfordi Harris 1985;
• Nothrotheriops shastensis Harris 1985— sp.;
• Lepus californicus UTEP
• ? Geomyidae Harris 1985;
• Neotoma cinerea Harris 1985; UTEP
• Microtus cf. montanus Harris 1985; *Smartt 1977; UTEP
• Canis latrans Harris 1985;
• Urocyon/Vulpes Harris 1985;
• Taxidea taxus Harris 1985;
• Spilogale sp. Harris 1985— Spilogale putorius Presumably S. gracilis
• Mephitis mephitis Harris 1985;
• Lynx rufus Harris 1985;
• Equus sp. (large) Harris 1985;
• Equus sp. (small) Harris 1985; UTEP
• Camelops sp. Harris 1985; Stock 1932a
• Odocoileus sp. Harris 1985;
• Stockoceros conklingi Harris 1985; Stock 1930
• Capromeryx sp. Harris 1985;
• Ovis canadensis Harris 1985;

Last Update: 10 Mar 2008