Nordcemgrotta Cave (Pleistocene of Norway)

Where: Norway (68.1° N, 16.4° E: paleocoordinates 68.1° N, 16.4° E)

When: Late/Upper Pleistocene (0.1 - 0.0 Ma)

• "In the sedimentation choke two separate, but correlated sections, have been excavated. One section was excavated to the depth of 13 m, the other to 5 m, but neither of the excavations reached bedrock. Based on the 14C dates of the bones and the 230Th/234U dates on the calcareous concretions, two bone bearing horizons were recognized; the Ursus horizon containing bones older than 70 ka and a 22 ka old Ursus maritimus horizon." (Hufthammer, 2001).

Environment/lithology: cave; sandy, calcareous gravel

• "According to Lauritzen et al. (1996) the fauna can be separated into two faunal complexes: an arctic (ice-contact) and a more temperate (forest) fauna. In the former group they include the polar bear, arctic fox, the birds and also harp seal, while the latter complex includes the pine marten, the short tailed vole and, "to some degree", the wolf. They suggest that the faunal elements from two different climatic episodes might have been mixed during sedimentation or that a climatic development took place during the fossil deposition and that the fauna represents and interstadial or an interglacial/interstadial transition, prior to 70±8.5 ka B.P." (Hufthammer, 2001)
• "In northern Norway, Lauritzen (1998) has investigated the stratigraphy of several of the many karst caves in Nordland county and the southern part of Troms county. Fossiliferous sediments are rare in these caves, but from the Nordcemgrotta, Kjøpsvik (Text-fig. 2) a sample of approximately 450 bone fragments has been collected. The cave is is a part of a conduit which leads to a paleospring. It is almost completely filled with sediments that have been transported from deeper inside the cave system towards the spring. The more than 13 m thick deposits consist of sand, gravel and diamictic sediments (Lauritzen et al., 1996)." (Hufthammer, 2001)

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils

Primary reference: S. -E. Lauritzen , H. Nese, R. W. Lie Lauritsen and R. Løvlie. 1996. Interstadial/Interglacial fauna from Norcemgrotta, Kjopsvik, north Norway. Climate Change 2:89-92 [M. Uhen/N. Kahane]more details

Purpose of describing collection: paleoecologic analysis

PaleoDB collection 227461: authorized by Mark Uhen, entered by Nicholas Kahane on 12.10.2022

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

• "From the Ursus horizon Lauritzen et al. (1996) reported bones of the mammals Ursus sp., Ursus maritimus, Canis lupus, Alopex lagopus, Vulpes vulpes, Martes martes, Microtus agrestis, Lemmus sp., the birds Somateria sp., Phalocrocorax carbo, Lagopus mutus, and the fish Gadus morhua." (Hufthammer et al., 2001)
Show authors, comments, and common names
Gastropoda
 Sorbeoconcha - Littorinidae
Littorina sp.
Littorina sp. Ferussac 1821 periwinkle
Bivalvia
 Mytilida - Mytilidae
Mytilus sp.
Mytilus sp. Linnaeus 1758 mussel
Actinopteri
 Gadiformes - Gadidae
Gadus morhua
Aves
 Suliformes - Phalacrocoracidae
Phalacrocorax carbo
Phalacrocorax carbo Linnaeus 1758 great cormorant
 Anseriformes - Anatidae
Somateria sp.
Somateria sp. Leach 1819 eider
 Galliformes - Phasianidae
"Lagopus mutus" = Lagopus muta
"Lagopus mutus" = Lagopus muta Montin 1781 rock ptarmigan
Mammalia
 Rodentia - Cricetidae
Microtus agrestis, Lemmus sp.
Microtus agrestis Linnaeus 1761 field vole
Lemmus sp. Link 1795 vole
 Placentalia -
Carnivora indet.
Carnivora indet. Bowdich 1821 carnivoran
 Carnivora - Canidae
Vulpes lagopus, Vulpes vulpes, Canis lupus
Vulpes lagopus Linnaeus 1758 Arctic fox
Vulpes vulpes Linnaeus 1758 red fox
Canis lupus Linnaeus 1758 gray wolf
 Carnivora - Mustelidae
Martes martes
Martes martes Linnaeus 1758 European pine marten
 Carnivora - Ursidae
Ursus sp., Ursus maritimus
Ursus sp. Linnaeus 1758 bear
Ursus maritimus Phipps 1774 polar bear