A PLEISTOCENE PUZZLE: A NEW OCCURRENCE OF MAMMUTHUS COLUMBI FROM THE LILY MCARTHUR GREGORY SITE OF DICKENS COUNTY TEXAS

The second Mammuthus columbi specimen discovered at the Lily McArthur Gregory Site is a juvenile of indeterminate gender. The specimen was found with its skull inverted to face its remains. The Bones are disarticulated, poorly preserved, and found in a dense layer of gravel. The gravel is only found at the bone horizon around this specimen and the other specimens recovered from the site are generally better preserved and in fine grained sediments. The shell layer found at the site, indicating a lacustrine environment is also missing despite it being found above the bone beds of the other specimens from the site. The configuration of the bones and the gravel deposit indicate that the depositional environment has been altered since the animal died likely by a short lived river, which uncovered and disturbed the specimen before it was buried again.