New Spruce (Picea spp.) Macrofossils from Yukon Territory: Implications for Late Pleistocene Refugia in Eastern Beringia

ARCTIC ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
G.D. Zazula ◽  
A.M. Telka ◽  
C.R. Harington ◽  
C.E. Schweger ◽  
R.W. Mathewes
Keyword(s):  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Yukon Territory ◽  
Pleistocene Refugia

Paleoecological implications of Late Pleistocene and Holocene microtine rodents from the Bluefish Caves, northern Yukon Territory

1989 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard E. Morlan
Keyword(s):  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Microtus Pennsylvanicus ◽  
Yukon Territory ◽  
Meadow Vole ◽  
Tooth Size ◽  
Microtine Rodents ◽  
Clethrionomys Rutilus ◽  
Tundra Vole ◽  
Dicrostonyx Torquatus

Bluefish Caves 1, 2, and 3 have produced tens of thousands of vertebrate remains among which at least nine species of microtine rodents are represented: red-backed vole, Clethrionomys rutilus; collared lemming, Dicrostonyx torquatus; brown lemming, Lemmus sibiricus; singing vole, Microtus miurus; tundra vole, Microtus oeconomus; meadow vole, Microtus pennsylvanicus; yellow-cheeked or taiga vole, Microtus xanthognathus; muskrat, Ondatra zibethicus; and northern bog lemming, Synaptomys borealis. Late Pleistocene and Holocene components are clearly distinguishable from one another in each of the three caves, and each component can be subdivided within cave 1. This paper discusses (i) variations in taxonomic abundance through time and between site areas, (ii) contrasts in microhabitat between north-facing cave 1 and south-facing cave 2, and (iii) decreases in tooth size that may reflect a reduction in the length of the growing season. A general decrease in diversity is shown to involve increased dominance and decreased species richness and evenness. These changes are attributed to postglacial zonation of habitat.

Pleistocene peccary, Platygonus compressus Le Conte, from Yukon Territory, Canada

1980 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. 1204-1209 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. F. Beebe
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Cold Tolerance ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Yukon Territory ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Northeastern United States ◽  
Northern Limit ◽  
Arctic Circle

A fragmented radius of a late Pleistocene peccary, Platygonus compressus Le Conte, has been recovered near Old Crow, Yukon Territory, Canada. The known northern limit of the species is thus extended approximately 3000 km, from the northeastern United States to north of the Arctic Circle in Pleistocene Beringia, and confirms the cold tolerance of the species. The small size of the specimen supports a theory that small size in P. compressus is correlated with periglacial environment. Although the age of the specimen is uncertain, a mid-Wisconsin age is inferred on the basis of availability of a route of dispersal to Beringia and palaeoecological evidence which suggest a largely treeless tundra dominated by sedges and grasses, but with a rich herb component.

scholarly journals Dental Characteristics of Late Pleistocene Equus Lambei from the Bluefish Caves, Yukon Territory, and their Comparison with Eurasian Horses

2007 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ariane Burke ◽  
Jacques Cinq-Mars
Keyword(s):  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Yukon Territory ◽  
Size Reduction ◽  
Human Occupation ◽  
Large Sample

ABSTRACT Bluefish Caves I, II and III of northern Yukon, have yielded the earliest in situ evidence of human occupation of Eastern Beringia, associated with one of the largest and most diverse Late Pleistocene faunas recovered in the region. This paper presents data derived from the study of a large sample of horse teeth recovered from the three caves. This research contributes to our knowledge of the Late Pleistocene Beringian equid, Equus lambei. A comparison of the dentition of E. lambei with that of some contemporary European horses, indicates they have similar size cheekteeth. The hypothesis of a Late Pleistocene trend of size reduction in equids is considered in the light of this comparison.

Pleistocene grebes from the Old Crow Basin, Yukon Territory

1978 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. 1887-1892 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald R. Fitzgerald
Keyword(s):  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Yukon Territory ◽  
Minimum Age ◽  
Podiceps Grisegena

Four grebe fossils of presumed late Pleistocene age are reported from the Old Crow Basin. They include one Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisegena), two Horned Grebes (Podiceps auritus) and an unidentified grebe (Podiceps sp.). Three of the specimens have a minimum age of approximately 10 700 years BP.

The brown lemming, Lemmus sibiricus (Rodentia, Arvicolidae), in the late Pleistocene of Alberta and its postglacial dispersal

1980 ◽  
Vol 58 (8) ◽  
pp. 1507-1511 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A. Burns
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
Rocky Mountains ◽  
Yukon Territory ◽  
Rock Shelter ◽  
Fossil Remains ◽  
Relict Population

The first fossil remains of Lemmus sibiricus south of Beringia are reported from a rock shelter called January Cave in the Front Ranges of the Rocky Mountains, southwestern Alberta, Canada. The 45 specimens were excavated along with several thousands of isolated small mammal teeth and fragmentary bones. Dated by both radiocarbon and thermoluminescence methods to span the last 22 000 – 23 000 years, a late Pleistocene-through-present sequence is provided. Argument is made for the existence of a southern relict population of this lemming prior to a northward, postglacial dispersal into British Columbia and the Yukon Territory.

Rock Glaciers of the Dalton Range, Kluane Ranges, South-West Yukon Territory, Canada

1988 ◽  
Vol 34 (118) ◽  
pp. 327-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter G. Johnson ◽  
Diane Lacasse
Keyword(s):  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Lower Cretaceous ◽  
Drainage System ◽  
Upper Jurassic ◽  
Yukon Territory ◽  
High Susceptibility ◽  
Frost Action ◽  
South West ◽  
Glacier Ice ◽  
Rock Glaciers

Abstract Glaciated valleys of the Dalton Range in the south-west Yukon Territory are dominated by rock glaciers identified as glacier ice-cored debris systems. The two rock glaciers studied have different amounts of deformation at present, resulting from post-formation mechanics. The primary formation of lobes of the rock glaciers resulted from periods of glacier activity in the Neoglacial, although older lobes, probably late Pleistocene in age, occur below the Neoglacial lobes. The hydrological systems of the rock glaciers have played a major role in the post-formation deformation of the land forms and the present drainage system is entirely sub-surface. The explanation for the extensive occurrence of rock glaciers in the Dalton Range is lithological as a result of the high susceptibility of the Upper Jurassic/Lower Cretaceous sediments to frost action and glacier erosion.

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