Late Quaternary Arthropod Remains from Sonoran Desert Packrat Middens, Southwestern Arizona and Northwestern Sonora
Hall WE, Van Devender TR, Olson CA. 1988. Late Quaternary Arthropod Remains from Sonoran Desert Packrat Middens, Southwestern Arizona and Northwestern Sonora. Quarternary Research. (29)
A total of 50 arthropod taxa were identified from 41 fossil packrate (Neotoma sp.) middens from 160 to 62.5 m elevation in three study areas in the Lower Colorado River Valley subdivision of the Sonoran Desert. Radiocarbon dates associated with the middens range from >43,200 TO 610 yr B.P. The fauna in the Tinajas Altas Mountains, southwestern Arizona, was relatively modern by ca. 10,000 yr B.P. in the early Holocene although a California juniper woodland persisted in the area until 8970 yr B.P. In contrast the fauna of the Hornaday Mountains northwestern Sonora, increased dramatically in species richness after 4000 yr B.P. Although we are limited by poor taxonomic resolution and by insufficient knowledge of current distributions, the arthropod fauna may have been much more conservative than the regional flora during the last glacial/interglacial climatic cycle. Decreasing differences between modern and glacial climates (both temperature and precipitation) at lower latitudes and elevations may have resulted in minimal charges in the arthropod fauna of the Sonoran Desert lowlands..
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Hall, W.; Van Devender, T.; Olson, C.
- Units
- ORPI
- Keywords
- paleozoology, Pinacate Region