Potter Creek Cave: Late/Upper Pleistocene, California
collected by E. L. Furlong et al. 1878; 1902-1903; 1960

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
unclassified
Epiphragmophora mormonum
Margaritana cf. falcata
Mylopharodon conocephalus
Myriapoda - Julida - Julidae
Julus cavicola n. sp. Grinnell 1908
Grinnell 1908 1 specimen
UCMP 10007
Acipenseriformes - Acipenseridae
Acipenser cf. medirostris Ayres 1854
Amphibia - Temnospondyli - Bufonidae
Bufo boreas Baird and Girard 1852
Jefferson 1991
recombined as Anaxyrus boreas
Amphibia - Temnospondyli - Urodela
Dicamptodon ensatus Eschscholtz 1833
Jefferson 1991
Mammalia - Rodentia - Aplodontidae
Aplodontia major Merriam 1886
synonym of Aplodontia rufa
Mammalia - Rodentia - Sciuridae
Arctomys sp. Schreber 1780
synonym of Marmota
Eutamias senex (Allen 1890)
recombined as Neotamias senex
Callospermophilus chrysodeirus (Merriam 1890)
synonym of Callospermophilus lateralis
Sciurus hudsonicus Erxleben 1777
recombined as Tamiasciurus hudsonicus
Mammalia - Rodentia - Geomyidae
Thomomys leucodon
Thomomys microdon n. sp. Sinclair 1905
Sinclair 1905
Thomomys monticola Allen 1893
Mammalia - Rodentia - Cricetidae
Teonoma spelaea n. sp. Sinclair 1905
Sinclair 1905
synonym of Neotoma cinerea
Neotoma fuscipes Baird 1858
Microtus californicus (Peale 1848)
Mammalia - Lagomorpha - Leporidae
Lepus americanus Erxleben 1777
Feranec 2009
Lepus californicus Gray 1837
Sylvilagus auduboni (Baird 1858)
Feranec 2009
recombined as Sylvilagus audubonii
Sylvilagus bachmani (Waterhouse 1839)
Feranec 2009
Mammalia - Primates - Hominidae
Homo sapiens Linnaeus 1758
Feranec 2009
Mammalia - Talpidae
Scapanus californicus (Ayres 1856)
synonym of Scapanus latimanus
Mammalia - Chiroptera - Vespertilionidae
Antrozous pallidus (Le Conte 1856)
Mammalia - Chiroptera - Phyllostomidae
Desmodus stocki Jones 1958
Hutchison 1967
Mammalia - Perissodactyla - Equidae
Equus pacificus Leidy 1868
synonym of Equus (Hesperohippus) mexicanus
Equus occidentalis Leidy 1865
synonym of Equus (Hesperohippus) mexicanus
Mammalia - Tayassuidae
cf. Platygonus sp. Leconte 1848
Mammalia - Camelidae
Camelidae indet. Gray 1821
Mammalia - Cervidae
Odocoileus sp. Rafinesque 1832
Cervus sp. Linnaeus 1758
Feranec 2009
Mammalia - Bovidae
Ovis sp. Linnaeus 1758
Feranec 2009
Haplocerus montanus (Ord 1815)
synonym of Oreamnos americanus
Bison sp. Hamilton-Smith 1827
Euceratherium collinum n. gen., n. sp. Furlong and Sinclair 1904
Sinclair 1905
Mammalia - Carnivora - Felidae
Panthera leo (Linnaeus 1758)
Feranec 2009
subspecies atrox
Puma concolor (Linnaeus 1771)
Feranec 2009
Lynx fasciatus
Mammalia - Carnivora - Mephitidae
Mephitis occidentalis Baird 1858
synonym of Mephitis mephitis
Spilogale gracilis Merriam 1890
Feranec 2009
Mammalia - Carnivora - Procyonidae
Procyon lotor (Linnaeus 1758)
Feranec 2009
Bassariscus raptor
Mammalia - Carnivora - Mustelidae
Martes americana (Kerr 1792)
Feranec 2009
Mustela frenata Lichtenstein 1831
Feranec 2009
recombined as Neogale frenata
Taxidea sp. Waterhouse 1839
Mammalia - Carnivora - Ursidae
Arctotherium simum n. sp. Cope 1879
recombined as Arctodus simus
Ursus sp. Linnaeus 1758
Mammalia - Carnivora - Canidae
Canis indianensis Leidy 1869
synonym of Aenocyon dirus
Urocyon townsendi (Merriam 1899)
original and current combination Urocyon cinereoargenteus townsendi
Canis latrans Say 1823
Feranec 2009
Canis lupus Linnaeus 1758
Feranec 2009
Vulpes cascadensis Merriam 1900
replaced by Vulpes vulpes
Mammalia - Megalonychidae
Megalonyx cf. jeffersonii (Desmarest 1822)
Mammalia - Nothrotheriidae
Nothrotherium shastense n. sp. Sinclair 1905
Sinclair 1905
Mammalia - Proboscidea - Elephantidae
Elephas primigenius Blumenbach 1799
recombined as Mammuthus primigenius
Mammalia - Proboscidea - Mammutidae
Mastodon americanus (Kerr 1792)
    = Mammut pacificus Dooley et al. 2019
Dooley et al. 2019
Reptilia - Testudines - Emydidae
Clemmys sp. Ritgen 1828
Jefferson 1991
Reptilia - Testudines - Testudinidae
Testudinidae indet. Batsch 1788
Reptilia - Crotalidae
Crotalus viridis Rafinesque 1818
Jefferson 1991
Crotalus sp. Linnaeus 1758
    = Crotalus potterensis n. sp. Brattstrom 1953
Brattstrom 1953
Reptilia - Falconidae
Falco sparverius Linnaeus 1758
Miller 1911
1 specimen
Falco peregrinus Tunstall 1771
Miller 1911
4 specimens
Reptilia - Accipitriformes - Accipitridae
Buteo jamaicensis (Gmelin 1788)
Jefferson 1991
Buteo borealis (Gmelin 1788)
Miller 1911
recombined as Buteo jamaicensis borealis
3 specimens
Reptilia - Passeriformes - Corvidae
Corvus brachyrhynchos Brehm 1822
Miller 1911
2 specimens
Reptilia - Piciformes - Picidae
Colaptes cafer (Gmelin 1788)
Miller 1911
recombined as Colaptes auratus cafer
1 specimen
Reptilia - Strigiformes - Strigidae
Bubo sinclairi n. sp. Miller 1911
Miller 1911
2 specimens
Otus asio (Linnaeus 1758)
Miller 1911
recombined as Megascops asio
3 specimens
Reptilia - Anseriformes - Anatidae
Branta canadensis (Linnaeus 1758)
Miller 1911
1 specimen
Reptilia - Cathartiformes - Cathartidae
Catharista shastensis n. sp. Miller 1911
Miller 1911
recombined as Coragyps shastensis
8-15 individuals represented by 26 specimens
Coragyps occidentalis (Miller 1909)
Jefferson 1991
Gymnogyps amplus Miller 1911
Miller 1911
synonym of Gymnogyps californianus
10 specimens
Cathartes aura (Linnaeus 1758)
Miller 1911
9 specimens
Reptilia - Phasianidae
Meleagris sp. Linnaeus 1758
Miller 1911
8 specimens
Bonasa umbellus (Linnaeus 1766)
Miller 1911
2 specimens
Bonasa umbellus (Linnaeus 1766)
Jefferson 1991
Dendragapus obscurus (Say 1823)
Miller 1911
22 specimens
Reptilia - Odontophoridae
Oreortyx picta (Douglas 1829)
Miller 1911
recombined as Oreortyx pictus
2 specimens
Actinopteri - Salmoniformes - Salmonidae
Oncorhynchus tachawytscha
Jefferson 1991
Actinopteri - Cypriniformes - Cyprinidae
Ptychocheilus sp. Agassiz 1855
Jefferson 1991
see common names

Geography
Country:United States State/province:California County:Shasta
Coordinates: 40.8° North, 122.3° West (view map)
Paleocoordinates:40.8° North, 122.3° West
Basis of coordinate:estimated from map
Altitude:1500 feet
Geographic resolution:small collection
Time
Period:Quaternary Epoch:Pleistocene
10 m.y. bin:Cenozoic 6
Key time interval:Late/Upper Pleistocene Mammal zone: Rancholabrean
Age range of interval:0.12600 - 0.01170 m.y. ago
Age estimate:26100 ± 160 to 14300 ± 200 YBP (14C)
Stratigraphy
Stratigraphy comments: radiocarbon dates from R. S. Feranec (2009)
Lithology and environment
Environment:cave
Glacial or sequence phase:glacial
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body,original phosphate
Degree of concentration:concentrated
Size of fossils:macrofossils,mesofossils
Preservation of anatomical detail:good
Fragmentation:frequent
Collection methods and comments
Collection methods:survey of museum collection
Reason for describing collection:general faunal/floral analysis
Museum repositories:UCMP
Collectors:E. L. Furlong et al. Collection dates:1878; 1902-1903; 1960s
Metadata
Database number:155393
Authorizer:J. Bloch, P. Holroyd, M. Uhen, M. Clapham Enterer:R. Hulbert, M. Uhen, P. Holroyd, M. Clapham
Modifier:R. Hulbert Research group:vertebrate
Created:2014-04-10 21:22:49 Last modified:2014-04-10 21:46:23
Access level:the public Released:2014-04-10 21:22:49
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:

50711. W. J. Sinclair. 1904. The exploration of Potter Creek Cave. University of California Publication American Archaeology and Ethnology 2(1):1-27 [J. Bloch/R. Hulbert]

Secondary references:

64990 B. H. Brattstrom. 1953. Records of Pleistocene Reptiles from California. Copeia 1953(3):174-179 [P. Holroyd/P. Holroyd]
35474 A. C. Dooley, E. Scott, J. Green, K. B. Springer, B. S. Booley and G. J. Smith. 2019. Mammut pacificus sp. nov., a newly recognized species of mastodon from the Pleistocene of western North America. PeerJ 7:e6614 [M. Uhen/M. Uhen/M. Uhen]
50713 R. S. Feranec. 2009. Implications of radiocarbon dates from Potter Creek Cave, Shasta County, California, USA. Radiocarbon 51(3):931-936 [J. Bloch/R. Hulbert]
52621 F. Grinnell. 1908. Quaternary myriopods and insects of California. University of California Publications, Bulletin of the Department of Geology 5(12):207-215 [M. Clapham/M. Clapham]
64904 J. H. Hutchison. 1967. A Pleistocene vampire bat (Desmodus stocki) from Potter Creek Cave, Shasta County, California. PaleoBios (3)1-6 [P. Holroyd/P. Holroyd]
76348 G. T. Jefferson. 1991. A catalogue of late Quaternary vertebrates from California: Part One, nonmarine lower vertebrate and avian taxa. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Technical Reports 5:1-60 [P. Holroyd/P. Holroyd/P. Holroyd]
50709 L. H. Miller. 1911. Avifauna of the Pleistocene cave deposits of California. University of California Publications Bulletin of the Department of Geology 6(16):385-400 [J. Bloch/R. Hulbert]
50712 W. J. Sinclair. 1905. New Mammalia from the Quaternary caves of California. University of California Publication Bulletin of the Department of Geology 4(7):145-161 [J. Bloch/R. Hulbert]