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Beyond Bison Chamber, Dry Cave

NM: Eddy Co.: 1280 m.

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Location of Beyond Bison Chamber site, Dry Cave.Age. Late Wisconsin/Holocene.

General Description. Corridors and small rooms farther within Dry Cave than Boulder Room and Bison Chamber (Harris 1970). Fill seldom surpasses a depth of 2 cm, and seemingly is primarily autochthonous. The fossil material occurred on the surface and immediately beneath. With no real stratigraphic depth, there likely is Holocene as well as Pleistocene material on the surface.

Discussion. Unlike many of the Dry Cave sites, there is no apparent influx of material from the surface. The fossil material is thus presumed to have resulted from animals lost or inhabiting the cave along with material dragged in by predators and scavengers.

Several taxa recorded in the literature (Harris 1993c) do not inspire confidence in terms of identification; these are rejected, at least until further study. Re-examination of the antilocaprid material has allowed it to be tentatively assigned to Stockoceros rather than Antilocapra.

Fauna.

Reptilia

Phrynosoma hernandesi—Mountain Short-horned Lizard (Harris 1993c)
Crotalus sp.—Rattlesnakes (Harris 1993c)

Mammalia

Dipodomys spectabilis—Banner-tailed Kangaroo Rat (Harris 1993c)
Chaetodipus hispidus—Hispid Pocket Mouse (Harris 1993c)
Perognathus sp.—Silky Pocket Mouse (Harris 1993c)
Geomyidae—Pocket Gophers (UTEP)
Microtus mogollonensis—Mogollon Vole (Harris 1993c)
Neotoma leucodon—White-tooth Woodrat (Harris 1993c)
Peromyscus sp.—White-footed Mice (UTEP) Identification Withdrawn
Sigmodon sp.—Cotton Rat UTEP)
Lepus sp.—Jackrabbits (Harris 1993c)
Sylvilagus—Cottontails (Harris 1993c)
Notiosorex harrisi—Harris' Shrew (Carraway 2010)
Myotis rectidentis—Straight-toothed Myotis (Harris 1993c: cf.)
Myotis velifer—Cave Myotis (Harris 1993c)
Equus scotti (Harris 1993c: cf.; UTEP)

Harris 1993c as E. niobrarensis

Stockoceros—Stock's Pronghorn (UTEP: cf.)

Rejected.

Peromyscus leucopus—White-footed Mouse (Harris 1993c)
Peromyscus maniculatus—Deer Mouse (Harris 1993c: cf.)
Peromyscus pectoralis—White-ankled Mouse (Harris 1993c: ?)
Antilocapra americana—Pronghorn (Harris 1993c)

Literature. Carraway 2010; Harris 1970, 1993c; Holman 1970.

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Last Update: 30 Jan 2013