MAMMALIAN ICHNOFAUNA FROM THE UPPER-PLEISTOCENE DEPOSITS OF WHITE SANDS NATIONAL MONUMENT, OTERO COUNTY, NEW MEXICO

The fossilized tracks and trackways located within the late Pleistocene deposits in and around White Sands National Monument were formed primarily by mammalian megafauna and are preserved in the marginal playa deposits of a pair of ancient lakes (Lake Lucero and Lake Otero). Radiocarbon dates obtained from these deposits have indicated ages between approximately19,000 14C yrs. B.P. and 18,000 14C yrs. B.P., making them roughly 10,000 yrs. younger than the track bearing areas previously documented in the Tularosa Basin.

The shoreline deposits from both lakes contain proboscidean and carnivore tracks including a few trackways accompanied by evidence of preserved tree-falls. The proboscidean trackways at one location also seem to indicate the presence of mammoth family groups, as indicated by the great variance in stride length and print size. The prints documented during this survey represent an important contribution to a relatively poor record of late Pleistocene vertebrate ichnofossils.