Faunal Analysis of Late Quaternary Vertebrates from Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Southwestern Arizona

1991 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 94
Author(s):  
Thomas R. Van Devender ◽  
Amadeo M. Rea ◽  
W. Eugene Hall
Keyword(s):  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Faunal Analysis ◽  
National Monument ◽  
Organ Pipe

Vertebrate paleontology, stratigraphy, and paleohydrology of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Nevada (USA)

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 55-98
Author(s):  
Kathleen Springer ◽  
Jeffrey Pigati ◽  
Eric Scott
Keyword(s):  
Las Vegas ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Plant Macrofossils ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
American Southwest ◽  
Local Fauna ◽  
Climatic Oscillations ◽  
Las Vegas Valley ◽  
National Monument ◽  
Desert Wetlands

Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument (TUSK) preserves 22,650 acres of the upper Las Vegas Wash in the northern Las Vegas Valley (Nevada, USA). TUSK is home to extensive and stratigraphically complex groundwater discharge (GWD) deposits, called the Las Vegas Formation, which represent springs and desert wetlands that covered much of the valley during the late Quaternary. The GWD deposits record hydrologic changes that occurred here in a dynamic and temporally congruent response to abrupt climatic oscillations over the last ~300 ka (thousands of years). The deposits also entomb the Tule Springs Local Fauna (TSLF), one of the most significant late Pleistocene (Rancholabrean) vertebrate assemblages in the American Southwest. The TSLF is both prolific and diverse, and includes a large mammal assemblage dominated by Mammuthus columbi and Camelops hesternus. Two (and possibly three) distinct species of Equus, two species of Bison, Panthera atrox, Smilodon fatalis, Canis dirus, Megalonyx jeffersonii, and Nothrotheriops shastensis are also present, and newly recognized faunal components include micromammals, amphibians, snakes, and birds. Invertebrates, plant macrofossils, and pollen also occur in the deposits and provide important and complementary paleoenvironmental information. This field compendium highlights the faunal assemblage in the classic stratigraphic sequences of the Las Vegas Formation within TUSK, emphasizes the significant hydrologic changes that occurred in the area during the recent geologic past, and examines the subsequent and repeated effect of rapid climate change on the local desert wetland ecosystem.

scholarly journals Vertebrate paleontology, stratigraphy, and paleohydrology of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Nevada (USA)

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 55-98
Author(s):  
Kathleen B. Springer ◽  
Jeffrey S. Pigati ◽  
Eric Scott
Keyword(s):  
Las Vegas ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Plant Macrofossils ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
American Southwest ◽  
Local Fauna ◽  
Climatic Oscillations ◽  
Las Vegas Valley ◽  
National Monument ◽  
Desert Wetlands

Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument (TUSK) preserves 22,650 acres of the upper Las Vegas Wash in the northern Las Vegas Valley (Nevada, USA). TUSK is home to extensive and stratigraphically complex groundwater discharge (GWD) deposits, called the Las Vegas Formation, which represent springs and desert wetlands that covered much of the valley during the late Quaternary. The GWD deposits record hydrologic changes that occurred here in a dynamic and temporally congruent response to abrupt climatic oscillations over the last ~300 ka (thousands of years). The deposits also entomb the Tule Springs Local Fauna (TSLF), one of the most significant late Pleistocene (Rancholabrean) vertebrate assemblages in the American Southwest. The TSLF is both prolific and diverse, and includes a large mammal assemblage dominated by Mammuthus columbi and Camelops hesternus. Two (and possibly three) distinct species of Equus, two species of Bison, Panthera atrox, Smilodon fatalis, Canis dirus, Megalonyx jeffersonii, and Nothrotheriops shastensis are also present, and newly recognized faunal components include micromammals, amphibians, snakes, and birds. Invertebrates, plant macrofossils, and pollen also occur in the deposits and provide important and complementary paleoenvironmental information. This field compendium highlights the faunal assemblage in the classic stratigraphic sequences of the Las Vegas Formation within TUSK, emphasizes the significant hydrologic changes that occurred in the area during the recent geologic past, and examines the subsequent and repeated effect of rapid climate change on the local desert wetland ecosystem.

scholarly journals Accumulation of Silicon in Cacti Native to the United States: Characterization of Silica Bodies and Cyclic Oligosiloxanes in Stenocereus thurberi, Opuntia littoralis, Opuntia ficus-indica, and Opuntia stricta

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1934578X1400900 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia R. Wright ◽  
Emanuel A. Waddell ◽  
William N. Setzer
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Essential Oils ◽  
The United States ◽  
Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Opuntia Ficus Indica ◽  
National Monument ◽  
Stenocereus Thurberi ◽  
Organ Pipe ◽  
Santa Catalina Island

Four different cactus species growing in the United States, Stenocereus thurberi growing in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona, Opuntia littoralis and Opuntia ficus-indica, growing on Santa Catalina Island, California, and Opuntia stricta, growing in northern Alabama, were examined for the presence of silica bodies (opaline phytoliths). Silica bodies were found in all four of these cactus species, parallelepiped-shaped crystals in S. thurberi, and starburst-shaped crystalline structures in the three Opuntia species. In addition, the essential oils of the four cactus species were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography – mass spectrometry. To our surprise, S. thurberi, O. littoralis, and O. ficus-indica (but not O. stricta) essential oils contained cyclic oligosiloxanes. To our knowledge, cyclic oligosiloxanes have not been previously found as essential oil components.

Arthropod History of the Puerto Blanco Mountains, Organ Pipe National Monument, Southwestern Arizona

2021 ◽  
pp. 363-379
Author(s):  
W. Eugene Hall ◽  
Thomas R. Van Devender ◽  
Carl A. Olson
Keyword(s):  
National Monument ◽  
History Of ◽  
Organ Pipe
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