Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Stratigraphy, morphology, and paleoecology of a fossil peccary herd from western Kentucky

1972; United States Government Publishing Office; Linguagem: Inglês

10.3133/pp790

2330-7102

Warren Irvin Finch, Frank C. Whitmore, John D. Sims,

Evolution and Paleontology Studies

Fossils of a herd of five adult peccaries, Platygonus com-1n•essus Le Conte, were discovered in May 1967 beneath about 65 feet (20 m) of silt.Their position was 4-5.5 feet (1.2-1.6 m) above the base of the Roxana Silt of Wisconsinan age, which rests unconformably on continental gravel deposits of Pliocene ( ?) and Pleistocene age.The peccaries were confined to• an area 3 feet wide and 11 feet long (1 by 3.3 m) and lay with their heads pointed southeastward on an indistinct upward-sloping surface.This surface marks a gradational change from mixed alluvial and eolian silt below to entirely eolian silt above.X-ray mineralogic and size analyses and thin-section examinations of samples from the full 11 feet (3.3 m) of Roxana and the basal 7 feet (2.1 m) of the overlying Peoria Loess confirm the field stratigraphic relations of the two units and indicate several probable paleosols.Silt fabric, based on orientation of quartz grains, shows maximums that fit the dominant southwest and northwest presentday wind directions.Morphology and position of each skeleton are described in detail.The poses of the skeletons indicate that the herd died quietly and was buried quickly, probably overwhelmed in a duststorm as they walked southeastward up a path from the river with their backs to the world.Probably the animals either died of cold or were smothered while comatose because of cold, and they were buried almost immediately.Size distribution of other Platygonus comp1•essus herds is compared with that of the Hickman herd.Mollusca associated with the skeletons have a radiocarbon age of >34,000 years B.P.