Zesch Cave
Basic information
Sample name: Zesch Cave
Sample aka: TMM 40685
Reference: J. C. Sagebiel. 2010. Late Pleistocene fauna from Zesch Cave, Mason County, Texas. Quaternary International 217:159-174 [ER 3070]
Geography
Country: United States
State: Texas
County: Mason
Coordinate: 31° 45' N, 99° 15' W
Latlng basis: stated in text
Time interval: Late Pleistocene
Geography comments: "4 km west of Mason"
"Rancholabrean" (no further age information is given)
"Rancholabrean" (no further age information is given)
Environment
Substrate: ground surface
Lithology: breccia
Taphonomic context: bird accumulation, pitfall trap
Habitat comments: "a karst collapse breccia with grain sizes ranging from mud (less than 10%) to small boulders (76 cm diameter)... the Zesch Cave local fauna probably is the result of raptor accumulation. However, there is good evidence that Zesch Cave was also a carnivore trap"
Methods
Life forms: bats, carnivores, rodents, ungulates, other large mammals, other small mammals, birds, lizards, snakes, turtles, other reptiles, frogs, salamanders, fishes
Sample size: 1346 specimens
Years: 1982
Net or trap nights: 0
Basal area status: not applicable
Sampling comments: "Boyce Cabaniss collected most of the fossils that are the basis of the present study in the summer of 1982"
Metadata
Sample no: 3343
Contributor no: John Alroy
Enterer: John Alroy
Created: 2019-08-25 16:02:33
Modified: 2019-08-29 22:17:12
Abundance distribution
Each square represents a species. Square sizes are proportional to counts. Values are logged.
Statistics
67 species
18 singletons
total count 1346
geometric series index: 109.4
Fisher's α: 14.824
geometric series k: 0.9191
Hurlbert's PIE: 0.9094
Shannon's H: 3.0519
Good's u: 0.9866
Register
| Perciformes indet. | 2 | |
| Ambystoma tigrinum | 7 | |
| Scaphiopus ? couchii | 2 | |
| Anaxyrus sp. | 13 | |
| Lithobates sp. | 6 | |
| Terrapene sp. | 1 | |
| Phrynosoma cornutum | 3 | |
| Crotaphytus cf. collaris | 6 | |
| Rhinocheilus sp. | 1 | |
| questionably referred | ||
| Crotalus sp. | 1 | |
| Alligator mississippiensis | 1 | |
| Anas platyrhynchos | 1 | 35.3 g |
| Meleagris gallopavo | 1 | 7.8 kg |
| Coragyps sp. | 2 | |
| Zenaida sp. | 2 | |
| Colaptes cf. auratus | 3 | 11.3 g |
| Dryocopus ? pileatus | 1 | 17.5 g |
| Pica hudsonia | 31 | |
| "Pica pica" (restricted to Eurasia) | ||
| Corvus corax | 7 | |
| †Megalonyx jeffersonii (Jefferson's ground sloth) | 1 | |
| "Megalonyx jeffersoni" | ||
| Lepus californicus (black-tailed jackrabbit) | 11 | 2.1 kg |
| Sylvilagus floridanus (eastern cottontail) | 262 | 1.1 kg |
| Marmotini indet. | 14 | |
| "Spermophilus sp." | ||
| Cynomys ludovicianus | 11 | |
| Thomomys bottae | 5 | 128.0 g |
| Geomys sp. | 31 | |
| Chaetodipus hispidus | 13 | 30.4 g |
| Dipodomys sp. | 13 | |
| Reithrodontomys cf. fulvescens (fulvous harvest mouse) | 33 | 11.5 g |
| Peromyscus cf. difficilis (Zacatecan deer mouse) | 3 | 28.6 g |
| Peromyscus cf. leucopus (white-footed mouse) | 11 | 21.0 g |
| Peromyscus cf. maniculatus (eastern deer mouse) | 1 | 19.1 g |
| Baiomys taylori | 19 | 8.5 g |
| Onychomys leucogaster | 22 | 34.7 g |
| Neotoma sp. | 39 | |
| Microtus cf. ochrogaster | 15 | 33.9 g |
| Microtus cf. pinetorum | 4 | |
| Microtus sp. | 3 | |
| "five closed triangles"; likely M. longicaudus, montanus or mexicanus | ||
| †Synaptomys australis (lemming) | 8 | |
| Zapus hudsonius (northern meadow jumping mouse) | 1 | 15.6 g |
| Sorex hoyi (eastern pygmy shrew) | 1 | |
| Blarina carolinensis (southern short-tailed shrew) | 31 | 9.3 g |
| Cryptotis parva (North American least shrew) | 1 | 4.3 g |
| Notiosorex crawfordi | 1 | |
| Scalopus aquaticus | 7 | 94.9 g |
| Eptesicus fuscus (big brown bat) | 15 | |
| Myotis sp. | 60 | |
| "medium size" | ||
| Myotis velifer | 135 | 8.6 g |
| Canis latrans (coyote) | 46 | 12.0 kg |
| †Aenocyon cf. dirus (dire wolf) | 1 | |
| "Canis cf. dirus" | ||
| Canis sp. | 4 | |
| lupus or rufus | ||
| Urocyon cinereoargenteus (gray fox) | 60 | 4.1 kg |
| Vulpes sp. | 31 | |
| macrotis or velox | ||
| Vulpes vulpes (red fox) | 14 | |
| Ursus americanus (American black bear) | 238 | 115.0 kg |
| Mephitis sp. | 30 | |
| mepthitis or macroura | ||
| Neogale frenata (long-tailed weasel) | 1 | |
| "Mustela frenata" | ||
| Taxidea taxus (American badger) | 1 | |
| Felidae indet. | 2 | |
| Leopardus or Herpailurus | ||
| Lynx rufus (bobcat) | 22 | |
| Equus sp. | 15 | |
| †Platygonus cf. compressus (peccary) | 1 | |
| †Camelops hesternus (camel) | 3 | |
| †Hemiauchenia macrocephala (camel) | 9 | |
| Odocoileus sp. | 2 | |
| Capromeryx sp. | 3 | |
| Bison sp. | 1 | |