Age. Rancholabrean.
General Description. A limestone crevice about 350 feet below the surface. Material found while developing a deposit of cinnabar (Cockerell 1930). Ray and Wilson (1979) corrected some details (noting the depth was about 320 feet rather than 250 feet), relying on correspondence between the identifier of the fossils and the Colorado (now Denver) Museum of Natural History.
Discussion. Cockerell (1930) listed mammalian remains in a footnote to his report on an apparently extinct snail. The fauna is assumed to be of Rancholabrean age based on the presence of Bison. Among the new details reported by Ray and Wilson (1979) was that the source is the Little Thirty-Eight Mine located about 2.5 miles west of Terlingua. The fossils apparently came from clay partially filling a 3-foot diameter gallery.
Current requirements of the California Leaf-nosed Bat and the modern species of Desmodus indicate warm climatic conditions, and thus likely interpluvial or interglacial conditions are represented.
Fauna.
Desmodus stocki—Stock's Vampire Bat (Cockerell 1930)
Macrotus californicus—California Leaf-nosed Bat (Ray and Wilson
1979)
Equus sp.—Horse (Cockerell 1930)
Bison sp.—Bison (Cockerell 1930)
Ovis sp.—Sheep (Cockerell 1930)
Literature. Cockerell 1930; Ray and Wilson 1979.
Last Update: 22 Jul 2014