Pleistocene Pocket Gophers From San Josecito Cave, Nuevo Leon, Mexico

Excerpt........Cueva de San Josecito in the province of Aramberri, near the town on Aramberri, Nuevo León, México, is at an elevation of approximately 7400 feet above sea level on the east-facing slope of the Sierra Madre Occidental in a limestone ... Read more

Excerpt........Cueva de San Josecito in the province of Aramberri, near the town on Aramberri, Nuevo León, México, is at an elevation of approximately 7400 feet above sea level on the east-facing slope of the Sierra Madre Occidental in a limestone scarp. The dominant vegetation about the cave is the decidedly boreal forest association of pine and live oak. Additional information concerning the cave is provided by Miller (1943:143-144). Animal remains recovered from San Josecito Cave are among the most important Pleistocene finds in México, and include the most extensive collection of Pleistocene geomyids. The vertebrate remains are probably late Pleistocene in age; certainly they are post-Blancan, since the genera Equus, Preptoceras, Smilodon, and Aenocyon (all Pleistocene genera) are present. According to Miller's (loc. cit.:145) extensive report on the avifauna, the bird remains from the cave are a remarkable assemblage and beautifully preserved. Most of the mammalian remains have been studied in detail, and the results of these studies have been published in a number of papers each treating specific groups. These reports provide valuable information concerning the distribution of mammals in northeastern México in the late Pleistocene, a knowledge of which is most important to an understanding of present patterns of distribution and evolution of Mexican mammals. Less