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Class Mammalia
Order Rodentia
Family Cricetidae
Subfamily Neotominae
Genus Neotoma

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Neotoma findleyi Harris 1984— Findley's WoodratPleistocene regional distribution of Neotoma findleyi.

Discussion. Neotoma findleyi was named in honor of James S. Findley, who greatly increased the knowledge of Southwestern mammals and trained a generation of mammalogists while at the University of New Mexico.

The holotype (UTEP 1-1276, Fig. 1) is a right dentary with i1 and m1-2, but lacking coronoid, condyloid, and angular processes. The holotype was recovered from the Lost Valley site (UTEP 1, 17) in Dry Cave. It is known from one other site in Dry Cave, Room of the Vanishing Floor (UTEP 26, 27), and possibly (?) from the Mid-Wisconsin deposits of U-Bar Cave. Ages from the Dry Cave sites are on bone carbonates and are 29,290 ± 1060 (TX-1774) and 33,590 ± 1500 BP, respectively. The actual ages are suspected to be somewhat older on the basis of the faunal makeup from these sites and on known problems with ages based on bone carbonates alone.


Holotype of Neotoma findleyi

Fig. 1. Lateral and medial views of the holotype of Neotoma findleyi. With some difficulty, the dentine tracts can be made out on the upper illustration. Scale is mm.

This taxon was referenced in an earlier paper (Harris 1984b) as "Species A". The diagnosis is (Harris 1984d:563): "M1 lateral dentine tract present, intermediate in height between those of N. goldmani and N. lepida (low) and those of N. cinerea, N. stephensi, N. fuscipes, and N. mexicana (high). General size between that of N. mexicana and N. cinerea, closer to former in most measurement (Tables 1, 2). Accessory cusps absent to very poorly developed."

Harris (1984b) hypothesized that N. findleyi may represent a N. cinerea population isolated in the southeastern mountains during the mid Wisconsin.

Table giving measurements of m1 and toothrow length for Neotoma findleyi, N. mexicana, and N. cinrea.

A larger version of Table 1 is available as a pdf file.

Sites.

Early/Early-Mid Wisconsin: Lost Valley (Harris 1984d); Rm Vanishing Floor (Harris 1984d).

Mid Wisconsin: U-Bar Cave (Harris 1987).

Literature. Harris 1984b, 1984d, 1987.

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Last Update: 8 Mar 2013