''Shelter Cave'' is an archaeological and paleontological site located in

Doña Ana County Don (; ; pt, Dom, links=no ; all from Latin ', roughly 'Lord'), abbreviated as D., is an honorific prefix primarily used in Spain and Hispanic America, and with different connotations also in Italy, Portugal and its former colonies, and Croatia ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

Description

The site is a rock shelter well up on the western side of Bishop's Cap, an outlier of the

Organ Mountains The Organ Mountains (also known as La Sierra de los Órganos) are a rugged mountain range in southern New Mexico in the Southwestern United States. Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument was declared a national monument on May 21, 2 ...

. It lies about 450 ft below the summit according to Brattstrom (1964); this would make its elevation about 1500 m. It was originally excavated by the Los Angeles County Museum (LACM) c. 1929 (LACMVP site number 1010). Specimens collected from talus, fill, or other areas are labeled 1010 Dump or 1010D. Specimens collected by Conkling are labeled C 1010. The shelter was excavated in 5-foot sections. Brattstrom (1964) had access to the original field notes. Two profiles were given. One in Sec. S-5-7, from bottom to top: rock bottom of the shelter, 5" angular fragments, 8" smooth concretionary

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

fragments mixed with brown dust, 6" of ash mixed with angular fragments, 10" of layered gray (volcanic?) ash grading into a layer of brown, 4" of hard burned guano, 4" of unconsolidated

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

guano, top. Most bones were found in brown and gray ash. Another section 53" thick, from bottom up: floor of the shelter, 17" of broken concretionary limestone fragments, 16" of brown

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

, 12" of gray layered ash grading into the brown below it, 8" of bat guano, top. Brattstrom (1964:95) gives several quotes from the original field notes: ''

Sloth Sloths are a group of Neotropical xenarthran mammals constituting the suborder Folivora, including the extant arboreal tree sloths and extinct terrestrial ground sloths. Noted for their slowness of movement, tree sloths spend most of their l ...

in place, S-5-4 in upper guano layer and in direct association with bits of knots of vegetative material. S-6-5, sloth bone in upper yellow layer.

Mummified A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furt ...

rat and snake on top of rocks in bat guano. S-5-6, S-5-5, horse jaws in brown ash. S-5-6, sloth skull fragment in gray ash below overhanging rock. In same section above rock was an Indian grindstone. S-4-7, beads and

sandal Sandals are an open type of footwear, consisting of a sole held to the wearer's foot by straps going over the instep and around the ankle. Sandals can also have a heel. While the distinction between sandals and other types of footwear can ...

found beneath guano layer and also below overhanging rock. S-4-9,

badger Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by ...

and

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

skulls in gray ash.''

Age

Rancholabrean The Rancholabrean North American Land Mammal Age on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology (NALMA), typically set from less than 240,000 years to 11,000 years BP, a pe ...

(late

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...

) and

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...

. One date on sloth dung (Van Devender and Spaulding 1979) of 11,330 ± 370 BP (Before Present). Material has continued to accumulate up to the present. Thompson et al. (1980) list three dates for sloth dung, including that above; the others are 12,330 ± 190 and 12,430 ± 250. They also list dates on

desert tortoise The desert tortoise (''Gopherus agassizii''), is a species of tortoise in the Family (biology), family Testudinidae. The species is native to the Mojave Desert, Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexic ...

(''Gopherus agassizii'')

scute A scute or scutum (Latin: ''scutum''; plural: ''scuta'' "shield") is a bony external plate or scale overlaid with horn, as on the shell of a turtle, the skin of crocodilians, and the feet of birds. The term is also used to describe the anterior po ...

s and bone (11,280 to 12,520) and dates for middens of packrats in the shelter (11,850 to 31,250).

Comments

Fosberg (1936) lists plants identified from Shelter Cave deposits, but without provenance data; they likely are Holocene. He also mentions that there are

coprolite A coprolite (also known as a coprolith) is fossilized feces. Coprolites are classified as trace fossils as opposed to body fossils, as they give evidence for the animal's behaviour (in this case, diet) rather than morphology. The name is de ...

s of either sloth or horse. Thompson et al. (1980) point out that vegetation from pre-full-glacial middens from the shelter are more mesic than the terminal Pleistocene ones that lack oak, and

pinyon pine The pinyon or piñon pine group grows in southwestern North America, especially in New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. The trees yield edible nuts, which are a staple food of Native Americans, and widely eaten as a snack and as an ingredient in Ne ...

is rare. This is the type locality of '' Stockoceros conklingi'' (Conkling's

pronghorn The pronghorn (, ) (''Antilocapra americana'') is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed, hoofed) mammal indigenous to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is known colloquially in North America as the American a ...

). The

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''Biota (ecology ...

l list includes one or more citations for each

taxon In biology, a taxon ( back-formation from '' taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular n ...

UTEP The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stu ...

indicates specimens are deposited in the Resource Collections of the Laboratory for Environmental Biology,

Centennial Museum and Chihuahuan Desert Gardens The Centennial Museum and Chihuahuan Desert Gardens is a cultural history and natural history museum on the campus of the University of Texas at El Paso in El Paso, Texas, United States.The museum was built in 1963 to commemorate the centenary o ...

University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stud ...

. The Los Angeles County Museum has a large collection from Shelter Cave, including the type of ''Stockoceros conklingi''. Most of the material has yet to be studied.

Fauna

AMPHIBIA * '' Scaphiopus'' cf. ''couchii'' Brattstrom 1964 * '' Rana'' cf. ''pipiens'' Brattstrom 1964 REPTILIA * ''

Gopherus agassizii The desert tortoise (''Gopherus agassizii''), is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is native to the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, and to the Sinaloan thornscr ...

'' Brattstrom 1961, 1964; Van Devender et al. 1976; UTEP * '' Eumeces obsoletus'' Brattstrom 1964 * ''

Phrynosoma cornutum The Texas horned lizard (''Phrynosoma cornutum'') is one of about 14 North American species of spikey-bodied reptiles called horned lizards, all belonging the genus ''Phrynosoma''. It occurs in south-central regions of the US and northeastern Me ...

'' Brattstrom 1964 * '' Crotaphytus collaris'' Brattstrom 1964 * '' Coluber constrictor'' Brattstrom 1964 * '' Masticophis flagellum'' Brattstrom 1964 * ''

Lampropeltis getula ''Lampropeltis getula'', commonly known as the eastern kingsnake, Conant R (1975). ''A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition''. (First published in 1958). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. 42 ...

'' Brattstrom 1964 * ''

Pituophis melanoleucus ''Pituophis melanoleucus'', commonly known as the pine snake, is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to the southeastern United States. Three subspecies are currently recognized as being valid. Taxon ...

'' Brattstrom 1964 * '' Elaphe subocularis'' Brattstrom 1964 * '' Trimorphodon biscutatus'' UTEP * ''

Crotalus atrox The western diamondback rattlesnake or Texas diamond-backWright AH, Wright AA. (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes''. Comstock Publishing Associates. (7th printing, 1985). . (''Crotalus atrox'') is a rattlesnake species and member of the viper family, ...

'' Brattstrom 1964 AVES * '' Anser'' ? ''albifrons'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Anas acuta'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Anas crecca'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Cathartes aura'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Breagyps clarki'' Howard 1971 (Specimen reported as '' Gymnogyps californianus'' by Howard and Miller 1933) * '' Accipiter striatus'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Buteo jamaicensis'' Howard and Miller 1933 * ''

Buteo swainsoni Swainson's hawk (''Buteo swainsoni'') is a large bird species in the Accipitriformes order. This species was named after William Swainson, a British naturalist. It is colloquially known as the grasshopper hawk or locust hawk, as it is very fond ...

'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Buteo'' ? ''albonotatus'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Buteogallus fragilis'' Howard and Miller 1933 * ''

Aquila chrysaetos The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of ...

'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Polyborus plancus prelutosus'' Howard and Miller 1933 * ''

Falco peregrinus The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a cosmopolitan bird of prey (raptor) in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-grey back, ...

'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Falco sparverius'' Howard and Miller 1933 * ''

Centrocercus urophasianus The greater sage-grouse (''Centrocercus urophasianus''), also known as the sagehen, is the largest grouse (a type of bird) in North America. Its range is sagebrush country in the western United States and southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canad ...

'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Meleagris crassipes'' Rea 1980 * '' Callipepla squamata'' Howard and Miller 1933 * ''

Lophortyx ''Callipepla'' is a genus of birds in the New World quail The New World quail are small birds only distantly related to the Old World quail, but named for their similar appearance and habits. The American species are in their own family, th ...

'' sp. Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Oreortyx pictus'' Harris 1985; Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Porzana carolina'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Fulica americana'' Howard and Miller 1933 * ''

Larus ''Larus'' is a large genus of gulls with worldwide distribution (by far the greatest species diversity is in the Northern Hemisphere). Many of its species are abundant and well-known birds in their ranges. Until about 2005–2007, most gulls ...

'' sp. Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Zenaida macroura'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Geococcyx californianus conklingi'' Harris and Crews 1983; Howard and Miller 1933 * ''Geococcyx californianus californianus'' Harris 1985; Howard and Miller 1933 * ''

Tyto alba The barn owl (''Tyto alba'') is the most widely distributed species of owl in the world and one of the most widespread of all species of birds, being found almost everywhere except for the polar and desert regions, Asia north of the Himalay ...

'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Otus asio'' Howard and Miller 1933 * ''

Bubo virginianus The great horned owl (''Bubo virginianus''), also known as the tiger owl (originally derived from early naturalists' description as the "winged tiger" or "tiger of the air"), or the hoot owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an extrem ...

'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Athene cunicularia'' Howard and Miller 1933 * ''

Aegolius funereus The boreal owl or Tengmalm's owl (''Aegolius funereus'') is a small owl in the "true owl" family Strigidae. It is known as the boreal owl in North America and as Tengmalm's owl in Europe after Swedish naturalist Peter Gustaf Tengmalm or, more ...

'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Aegolius acadicus'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Aeronautes saxatalis'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Colaptes auratus'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Melanerpes formicivorus'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Sayornis saya'' Howard and Miller 1933 * ''

Eremophila alpestris The horned lark or shore lark (''Eremophila alpestris'') is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae found across the northern hemisphere. It is known as "horned lark" in North America and "shore lark" in Europe. Taxonomy, evolution and system ...

'' Howard and Miller 1933 * ''

Pica pica The Eurasian magpie or common magpie (''Pica pica'') is a resident breeding bird throughout the northern part of the Eurasian continent. It is one of several birds in the crow family (corvids) designated magpies, and belongs to the Holarctic r ...

'' Howard and Miller 1933 * ''

Corvus corax The common raven (''Corvus corax'') is a large all-black passerine bird. It is the most widely distributed of all corvids, found across the Northern Hemisphere. It is a raven known by many names at the subspecies level; there are at least e ...

'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Catherpes mexicanus'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Salpinctes obsoletus'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Turdus migratorius'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Sialia'' sp. Howard and Miller 1933 * ''

Toxostoma ''Toxostoma'' is a genus of bird in the family Mimidae. This genus contains most of the birds called thrashers, and accordingly members of this genus are sometimes referred to as the "typical thrashers". Description They measure 22 to 32 cm long ...

'' sp. Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Oreoscoptes montanus'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Lanius ludovicianus'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Molothrus ater'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Pyelorhamphus molothroides'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Carpodacus mexicanus'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Pipilo erythrophthalmus'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Pipilo fuscus'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Calamospiza melanocorys'' Howard and Miller 1933 * '' Amphispiza bilineata'' — very recently entombed according to Howard and Miller 1933. MAMMALIA * '' Notiosorex crawfordi'' Harris 1985 * ''

Nothrotheriops shastensis ''Nothrotheriops'' is a genus of Pleistocene ground sloth found in North America, from what is now central Mexico to the southern United States. This genus of bear-sized xenarthran was related to the much larger, and far more famous ''Megatherium ...

'' Harris 1985 * ''

Lepus californicus The black-tailed jackrabbit (''Lepus californicus''), also known as the American desert hare, is a common hare of the western United States and Mexico, where it is found at elevations from sea level up to . Reaching a length around , and a ...

'' UTEP * ? Geomyidae Harris 1985 * '' Neotoma cinerea'' Harris 1985; UTEP * '' Microtus'' cf. ''montanus'' Smartt 1977; UTEP * ''

Canis latrans The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological ni ...

'' Harris 1985 * ''

Urocyon ''Urocyon'' (Greek: "tailed dog") is a genus of Canidae which includes the gray fox (''Urocyon cinereoargenteus'') and the island fox (''Urocyon littoralis''). These two fox species are found in the Western Hemisphere. Whole genome sequencing i ...

Vulpes '' Vulpes '' is a genus of the sub-family Caninae. The members of this genus are colloquially referred to as true foxes, meaning they form a proper clade. The word " fox" occurs in the common names of all species of the genus, but also appea ...

'' Harris 1985 * '' Taxidea taxus'' Harris 1985 * ''

Spilogale The genus ''Spilogale'' includes all skunks commonly known as spotted skunks. Currently, there are four accepted extant species: ''S. gracilis'', ''S. putorius'', ''S. pygmaea'', and ''S. angustifrons''. New research, however, proposes that ther ...

'' sp. Harris 1985 as ''

Spilogale putorius The eastern spotted skunk (''Spilogale putorius'') is a small, relatively slender skunk found in North America, throughout the eastern United States and in small areas of Canada and Mexico. This small skunk is more weasel-like in body shape tha ...

'' * '' Mephitis mephitis'' Harris 1985 * ''

Lynx rufus The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the red lynx, is a medium-sized cat native to North America. It ranges from southern Canada through most of the contiguous United States to Oaxaca in Mexico. It is listed as Least Concern on the I ...

'' Harris 1985 * '' Equus'' sp. (large) Harris 1985 * ''Equus'' sp. (small) Harris 1985; UTEP * ''

Camelops ''Camelops''Being occasionally called ''Western Camel'' or ''Yesterday's Camel''. is an extinct genus of camels that lived in North and Central America, ranging from Alaska to Guatemala, from the middle Pliocene to the end of the Pleistocene. It ...

'' sp. Stock 1932a * ''

Odocoileus ''Odocoileus'' is a genus of medium-sized deer (family Cervidae) containing three species native to the Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, Nor ...

'' sp. Harris 1985 * '' Stockoceros conklingi'' Stock 1930 * ''

Capromeryx ''Capromeryx'' (dwarf pronghorn) was a genus of dwarf pronghorns ( Antilocapridae) that originated in North America during the Pliocene about 5 million years ago (the exact range of their presence on the landscape is still not known, but the most r ...

'' sp. Harris 1985 * '' Ovis canadensis'' Harris 1985

References

*Brattstrom, B. H. 1964. Amphibians and reptiles from cave deposits in south-central New Mexico. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences 63:93-103. *Fosberg, F. R. 1936. Plant remains in Shelter Cave, New Mexico. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences 35:154-155. *Harris, A. H. 1977. Wisconsin age environments in the northern Chihuahuan Desert: Evidence from the higher vertebrates. pp. 23–52, ''in'' Transactions of the symposium on the biological resources of the Chihuahuan Desert region, United States and Mexico (R. H. Wauer and D. H. Riskind, eds.), Natl. Park Serv. Trans. Proceedings Series 3:1-658. *Harris, A. H. 1985. Late Pleistocene vertebrate paleoecology of the West. University of Texas Press, Austin, 293 pp. *Harris, A. H., and C. R. Crews. 1983. Conkling's roadrunner—a subspecies of the California roadrunner? Southwestern Naturalist 28:407-412. *Howard, H. 1971. Quaternary avian remains from Dark Canyon Cave, New Mexico. Condor, 73:237-240. *Howard, H., and A. H. Miller. 1933. Bird remains from cave deposits in New Mexico. Condor 35:15-18. *Rea, A. M. 1980. Late Pleistocene and Holocene turkeys in the Southwest. Contributions in Science, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County 330:209-224. *Smartt, R. A. 1977. The ecology of Late Pleistocene and Recent ''Microtus'' from south-central and southwestern New Mexico. Southwestern Naturalist 22:1-19. *Stock, C. 1930. Quaternary antelope remains from a second cave deposit in the Organ Mountains, New Mexico. Los Angeles Museum, Science series, Paleontology 2:1-18. *Stock, C. 1932. A further study of the Quaternary antelopes of Shelter Cave, New Mexico. Los Angeles Museum, Science series, Paleontology 3:1-45, 3 pls. *Thompson, R. S., T. R. Van Devender, P. S. Martin, T. Foppe, and A. Long. 1980. Shasta ground sloth (Nothrotheriops shastense Hoffstetter) at Shelter Cave, New Mexico: Environment, diet, and extinction. Quaternary Research 14:360-376. {{Pre-Columbian North America Archaeological sites in New Mexico Caves of New Mexico Landforms of Doña Ana County, New Mexico Rock shelters in the United States Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument