Degree Name

MS (Master of Science)

Program

Geosciences

Date of Award

5-2016

Committee Chair or Co-Chairs

Blaine Schubert

Committee Members

Blaine Schubert, Jim Mead, Steven Wallace

Abstract

The late Pleistocene faunal assemblage from Bat Cave, central Ozarks, Missouri provides an opportunity to assess specific aspects of behavior, ecology, and ontogeny of the extinct peccary Platygonus compressus. All identifiable elements referable to this taxon were catalogued and examined, and a minimum number of individuals of 70 was determined for the sample. The presence of distinct, non-overlapping age groups suggests that P. compressus utilized Bat Cave on a seasonal basis. A predator-prey relationship with Canis dirus, the second most abundant vertebrate from the Bat Cave site, is also described in this study. Damage patterns suggest that the feeding patterns of C. dirus at Bat Cave were consistent with its extant relative, and that these predators would periodically enter the cave to hunt and/or scavenge peccaries. Overall, the fossil material from Bat Cave is virtually unweathered and represents one of the most extensive and well-preserved late Pleistocene faunas from the Ozarks.

Document Type

Thesis - unrestricted

Copyright

Copyright by the authors.

Included in

Paleontology Commons

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