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Lake Otero

NM: Sierra Co. (?)

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Location of the Lake Otero site.Age—Late Wisconsin.

General Description. Lake sediments from Pleistocene Lake Otero. Deposits are on the west and northwest side of White Sands. The lake bed is the source of the gypsum making up the white sands.

Discussion. A few fossils were recovered during a UTEP paleontology class field trip in 1994. The site likely is equivalent to the Alkali Spring site of Morgan and Lucas (2005). The Sierra-Doña Ana County line is nearby and it's uncertain which of the two counties the site is in.

Morgan and Lucas (2002) employed the name to include sites that in their 2005 paper were divided into two sets: Alkali Spring and Alkali Flat.

Fauna

Ambystoma mavortium—Barred Tiger Salamander (UTEP)
Equus sp.—Horse (UTEP).

Literature. Morgan and Lucas 2002, 2005.

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Last Update: 20 Oct 2008