JOURNAL ARTICLE

First Shasta ground sloth (Nothrotheriops; Xenarthra) from the eastern Great Basin, Nevada.

  • Published In: Western North American Naturalist, 2023, v. 83, n. 2. P. 269 1 of 3

  • Database: Academic Search Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: MEAD, JIM I.; SWIFT, SANDRA L.; MCDONALD, H. GREGORY; Emslie, Steven D 3 of 3

Abstract

We present the first record of the Shasta ground sloth (Nothrotheriops shastensis) for the eastern Great Basin. The single right upper second molariform was recovered from the back dirt pile of archaeological test pits excavated during the 1960s and 1970s in Smith Creek Cave, northern Snake Range, White Pine County, Nevada. The precise age of the specimen is indeterminate, although all sediment layers in the area produced radiocarbon dates older than 11,000 cal BP; thus, the specimen is considered of the Rancholabrean Land Mammal Age. All previous accounts of this sloth in the Great Basin are from its southernmost margin, making the Smith Creek Cave record both the northernmost (39.2°N) and highest (1963 m) documentation for the Great Basin; this record is also among the greatest of both parameters for the species in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additional Information

  • Source:Western North American Naturalist. 2023/08, Vol. 83, Issue 2, p269
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:Anthropology
  • Publication Date:2023
  • ISSN:1527-0904
  • DOI:10.3398/064.083.0212
  • Accession Number:172028987
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