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

  • Kathleen B. Springer U.S. Geological Survey
  • Jeffrey S. Pigati U.S. Geological Survey
  • Eric Scott Dr. John D. Cooper Archaeological and Paleontological Center
Keywords: Tule Springs, Panthera atrox, Smilodon fatalis, Mammuthus columbi, Las Vegas Wash, Quaternary

Abstract

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.

Buff-colored deposits sit against the backdrop of the Las Vegas Range just outside the city limits of Las Vegas. Once thought to be remnants of a large pluvial lake called Lake Las Vegas, these deposits actually record the presence of extensive desert wetlands that acted as watering holes to an array of Pleistocene megafauna, including mammoth, sloth, camel, horse, bison, American lion, dire wolf, and sabre-toothed cat.
Published
2017-03-07
How to Cite
Springer , K., Pigati , J., and Scott , E., 2017, Vertebrate paleontology, stratigraphy, and paleohydrology of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Nevada (USA): Geology of the Intermountain West, v. 4, p. 55-98., doi: 10.31711/giw.v4.pp55-98.