Cave and Karst Management in Australasia XVIIIV5

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Cave and Karst Management in Australasia XVIIIV5 CaCaCaveCa ve and Karst Management in Australasia XVIXVIIIIIII Proceedings of the 18th Australasian Conference on Cave & Karst Management Margaret River, Western Australia, 2009 Australasian Cave and Karst Management Association 2009 Proceedings of the Eighteenth Australasian Conference on Cave and Karst Management 2009 Conference Margaret River, Western Australia , Australia Cave and Karst Management in Australasia XVIII Australasian Cave and Karst Management Association 2009 Cave and Karst Management in Australasia XVIII Editor: Rauleigh and Samantha Webb ACKMA Western Australia Publisher: Australasian Cave and Karst Management Association PO Box 36, Carlton South Victoria, Australia 3053 www.ackma.org Date: July 2010 ISSN No: 0159-5415 Copyright property of the contributing authors: Copyright on any paper contained in these Proceedings remains the property of the author(s) of that paper. Apart from use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1994 (New Zealand) no part may be reproduced without prior permission from the author(s). It may be possible to contact contributing authors through the Australasian Cave and Karst Management Association Proceedings available: Publications Officer Australasian Cave and Karst Management Assn Cover illustration: View from the Lake Cave Doline, Margaret River WA. Photo Rauleigh Webb Conference: 3 May – 9 May 2009 Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia Organiser: Australasian Cave and Karst Management Association Supported by: Department of Environment and Conservation Conveners: Anne Wood, supported by Jay Anderson, Ross Anderson, Jayme Hatcher, Renee Mouritz, Tracey Robins, Neil Taylor, Rauleigh Webb, Candace Williams and Peter Wood. Contents Papers Cave Management In The Leeuwin–Naturaliste, An Accident Of History .......... 1 Anne Wood Thematic Interpretation – adding value to your tours and variety to your day ..... 4 Sasa Kennedy Palaeontology of Mammoth Cave........................................................................... 8 Lindsay Hatcher Track marking – the Yarrangobilly experience.....................................................13 John Brush Close to the bone: Revamping the Victoria Fossil Cave visitor experience.... Error! Bookmark not defined. Steve Bourne White knuckles in the underworld: the 'wild' days of the Tasmanian Caverneering Club ................................................................................................ 36 Nic Haygarth and Arthur Clarke Climate and Glowworm Monitoring at the Waitomo Glowworm Cave, New Zealand.................................................................................................................. 53 Travis Cross Adventure Activities as a Management Tool........................................................ 63 Sasa Kennedy Draft Caves And Karst Policy ............................................................................... 67 John Watson Waitomo Glowworm Caves Facilities Redevelopment ........................................ 70 Greg Martin Cape Range And Ningaloo Reef: A Semi-Arid Karst And Coastal Area Unlike Any Other.............................................................................................................. 78 Dennis Williamson 1 and Professor Elery Hamilton-Smith 2 Cango Caves - A Progress Report......................................................................... 94 Hein Gerstner The Next Stage in the Evolution of Management Models at Jenolan Caves, NSW, Australia...................................................................................................... 96 Peter Austen and Alan Griffin Winds of Change – A Karst Management Database .......................................... 102 Rauleigh Webb Interim Management Guidelines For The Nullarbor Caves And Selected Karst Features ............................................................................................................... 109 Dennis Williamson Visitor Monitoring Needs Within The Australian Fossil Mammal Sites World Heritage Area: Potential Applications For Other Protected Areas .................... 120 Lisa M. King 1 & Steven Bourne 2 The Cave Divers Association of Australia (CDAA) - Linking Landowners to End- Users.................................................................................................................... 126 Peter Buzzacott and Warrick McDonald The Need For International Collaboration To Achieve Sustainable Development In Show Caves ..................................................................................................... 147 David Summers International Guidelines on Cave and Karst Protection & Urbanisation Issues 150 John Watson Abstracts only Ringing in the changes in Cave Tourism ........................................................... 153 Dr. Julia James. Setting the Scene – Syngenetic Karsts in the Southwest of Western Australia... 153 Ken Grimes Synergy driving innovation in Cave Lighting. .................................................... 154 Dan Cove, David Head and David Rowling Jewel Cave Redevelopment................................................................................. 154 Lindsay Hatcher Filling the Gap – the role of a non-government karst conservation organisation in Australia............................................................................................................... 155 Jay Anderson and Alan Briggs Woodvale Swimming Pool Collapse ................................................................... 156 Ross Anderson Urbanisation and Karst Systems – living with karst in Western Australia ......... 157 Ross and Jay Anderson A Snapshot and History of the Leeuwin Ridge .................................................. 158 Brian Combley When to Turn the Tap Off...................................................................................158 Brenton Knott Climate Change and Karst...................................................................................158 Andy Spate Bioluminescence in cave glow-worms: signs of altered circadian rhythmicity ..159 David Merritt & Arthur Clarke Conference acknowledgements and introduction...............................................160 List of delegates ...................................................................................................164 Cave Management In The Leeuwin–Naturaliste, An Accident Of History Anne Wood Caves Manager Dept Environment and Conservation, Blackwood District Abstract Naturaliste in the north to Cape Leeuwin in the south. The main purpose of this brief paper is to provide an outline of the various bodies In 1901 the Caves Board, a committee to involved with management of caves and karst protect and administer the South West Caves in the Leeuwin-Naturaliste area. was formed. Dr John Winthrop Hackett, a man of great influence and one of the founders From 1901 to 1910 the Caves Board was of the University of Western Australia was the responsible for overseeing the management of main driving force behind the formation of the show caves in the SW of Western Australia. In Caves Board. Col. Ernest Albert Le Souef, 1911 State Hotels, a body having an who was responsible for the establishment of association with tourism, was given this the Perth Zoo at the request of the WA Govt, responsibility, heralding an era of management was another notable member of the Caves and infrastructure decline. In 1958 Board. From 1901 to 1910 the Caves Board management of Yallingup Cave (now Ngilgi) was responsible for overseeing the passed to the Busselton Tourist Bureau, and management of show caves in the SW of management of Lake, Mammoth and Western Australia. Steps & gates were installed Moondyne passed to the Augusta Margaret in many caves, including Yallingup Cave (now River Tourist Bureau. Most of the limestone Ngilgi), Northcote Grotto, Milligans Cave, and karst features in this region are within the Blackboy Hollow Cave, Wallcliffe Cave, Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park (LNNP), Witchcliffe Cave, Calgardup Cave, Mammoth which is made up of 36 separate reserves Cave, Lake Cave, Bride Cave, Giants Cave, originally gazetted between 1902 and 2004. Golgotha Cave, Deepdene Cave, and In the present day the Department of Moondyne Cave. The earliest reserves in the Environment and Conservation manages the Leeuwin-Naturaliste area were set aside in 1902 Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park. Two of the for the purpose of “protection and caves within the park, Calgardup and Giants, preservation of caves and flora and for health are open to the public and entry to all others in and pleasure resort”. In 1911 the Caves Board the LNNP is controlled via the Cave and was dissolved. Abseil Permit System. Under the permit Responsibility for the management of the system, about ten sites are classified as caves reserves eventually passed to the State ‘Adventure Caves’ and the rest as ‘Restricted Hotels Department, a body having an Access’. association with tourism. However State The two tourism associations continue to Hotels had no interest in the management of manage the better known show caves. the reserves, only in the management of hotels, Geographe Bay Tourism Association manages including Caves House at Yallingup. The Ngilgi Cave. The Augusta Margaret River period of State Hotels management was Tourism Association manages Lake, marked by neglect and infrastructure decline. Mammoth, Jewel and Moondyne Caves. Introduction The main purpose of this brief paper is to provide an outline of the various bodies involved with the management of caves and karst in the South West
Recommended publications
  • Fossils Cave Trip Report 15-16Th August
    FOSSIL CAVE MEGAFAUNAL DISCOVERY AND RETRIEVAL, 2009 – Neville Skinner For me the discovery of important megafaunal 500mm across, between rocks that led into a bones had started with a dive in Fossil Cave small room. (5L81) back in August 2008, at a time when Matt Skinner was preparing for his CDAA Penetration Matt shot into the entrance of the small room like (Advanced Cave) course and keen to dive as many a rat up a drainpipe, with me close behind, until I sites as possible. Megafauna relates to large realised there may not be enough room for the animals (mammals & flightless birds), usually two of us. At that point Matt had hardly gone 2m heavier than 30kg, that have become extinct since in to check out the room and was now on the the last ice-age, i.e. from 1.6m to 10,000 years other side of it. Perhaps I had over inflated my ago approx. expectations a smidgen I was thinking, as I waited for Matt to find a space to turn around before The ‘5L81’ refers to the official cave reference heading out again. While Matt stopped to number recognised by the Cave Exploration investigate a window in the floor I noticed a Group (of) South Australia (CEGSA) Inc., tunnel heading off to my right, which had a few replacing its original south-east reference number bones sitting on a ledge adjacent to its entrance ‘S123’ in the mid-1970s with its Lower south-east (see Figure 1) that Matt had not yet noticed. number of ‘5L81’ (‘5’ referring to the state of SA, ‘L’ for the Lower South East, and ‘81’ because it As Matt was swimming toward me ready to leave was the eighty-first cave registered in the then the room, I flashed my torch at the tunnel newly-defined LSE area).
    [Show full text]
  • An Annotated Type Catalogue of the Dragon Lizards (Reptilia: Squamata: Agamidae) in the Collection of the Western Australian Museum Ryan J
    RECORDS OF THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM 34 115–132 (2019) DOI: 10.18195/issn.0312-3162.34(2).2019.115-132 An annotated type catalogue of the dragon lizards (Reptilia: Squamata: Agamidae) in the collection of the Western Australian Museum Ryan J. Ellis Department of Terrestrial Zoology, Western Australian Museum, Locked Bag 49, Welshpool DC, Western Australia 6986, Australia. Biologic Environmental Survey, 24–26 Wickham St, East Perth, Western Australia 6004, Australia. Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT – The Western Australian Museum holds a vast collection of specimens representing a large portion of the 106 currently recognised taxa of dragon lizards (family Agamidae) known to occur across Australia. While the museum’s collection is dominated by Western Australian species, it also contains a selection of specimens from localities in other Australian states and a small selection from outside of Australia. Currently the museum’s collection contains 18,914 agamid specimens representing 89 of the 106 currently recognised taxa from across Australia and 27 from outside of Australia. This includes 824 type specimens representing 45 currently recognised taxa and three synonymised taxa, comprising 43 holotypes, three syntypes and 779 paratypes. Of the paratypes, a total of 43 specimens have been gifted to other collections, disposed or could not be located and are considered lost. An annotated catalogue is provided for all agamid type material currently and previously maintained in the herpetological collection of the Western Australian Museum. KEYWORDS: type specimens, holotype, syntype, paratype, dragon lizard, nomenclature. INTRODUCTION Australia was named by John Edward Gray in 1825, The Agamidae, commonly referred to as dragon Clamydosaurus kingii Gray, 1825 [now Chlamydosaurus lizards, comprises over 480 taxa worldwide, occurring kingii (Gray, 1825)].
    [Show full text]
  • In This Edition
    AUTUMN 2013 Issue 55 FROM GROUND A land management publication for the South East Welcome to the new look FTGU! We felt that now From IN THIS EDITION the Ground Up is into its 50’s it was starting to look a little Feral Pigs squidgy around the edges and so it was probably time for After years of rumour, the presence of feral pigs a facelift. in the South East has now been confirmed FTGU was initially a collaborative promotion of land management projects that were being PAGE 3 implemented in the region as a result of funding provided by the State and Australian Governments. It still continues in this vein and is currently supported by the Australian Governments Caring for SE Field Days Our Country program and Natural Resources South East. Natural Resources South East is your one stop While things may look a little different now, we are intent that the content remain true to its shop for all natural resources information original aim of presenting “information about land management issues, programs and funding opportunities in the south east”. From the Ground Up has been published quarterly since 1999 PAGE 7 and since its inception, has focused on providing relevant, local information for landholders. Our regular contributors have always been local project staff implementing a combination of Native Veg Funding sustainable agriculture and environmental projects. The most noted being Wayne Hawthorne - Native vegetation management funding for rural our regular “Raising Your Pulse” author - who has never missed an edition from 1999! I’d like to landholders take this opportunity to thank Wayne and all our regular contributors, the original editorial team PAGE 8 of Donna Bartsch, Melissa Hunter, Ben Bruce and Bryan Haywood and you the reader for creating, supporting and helping this small local tradition continue.
    [Show full text]
  • Large Mammals Except Cave-Bears from the Loutra Almopias Cave, Late Pleistocene, Macedonia, Greece 123-147 Berichte Der Geologischen Bundesanstalt 132
    ZOBODAT - www.zobodat.at Zoologisch-Botanische Datenbank/Zoological-Botanical Database Digitale Literatur/Digital Literature Zeitschrift/Journal: Berichte der Geologischen Bundesanstalt Jahr/Year: 2019 Band/Volume: 132 Autor(en)/Author(s): Nagel Doris, Pacher Martina, Tsoukala Evangelia Artikel/Article: Large mammals except cave-bears from the Loutra Almopias Cave, Late Pleistocene, Macedonia, Greece 123-147 Berichte der Geologischen Bundesanstalt 132 Large mammals except cave-bears from the Loutra Almopias Cave, Late Pleistocene, Macedonia, Greece Doris Nagel 1, Martina Pacher 1 & Evangelia Tsoukala 2 Abstract Excavations in the Loutra Almopias cave yielded a large amount of different vertebrate taxa assigned to two different time horizons. Here we describe the carnivores, with the exception of the cave bear, and herbivores found in the cave. Special focus lies on the mustelids, not evaluated previously, and the comparison of leopard, hyena and chamois. The composition of the mustelids in the isolated chamber Ia confirms its chronological assignment into the Late Glacial, while most of the larger mammals, such as Crocuta, Panthera and Rupicapra, fit into the time before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Zusammenfassung Die Grabungen in der Loutra Almopias Höhle ergaben eine große Anzahl an unterschiedlichen Ver- tebraten, die zwei verschiedenen Zeithorizonten zugeordnet werden. Wir beschreiben hier die Car- nivora, mit Ausnahme des Höhlenbären, und die Herbivoren aus der Höhle. Der Schwerpunkt liegt auf den bis jetzt unbearbeiteten Musteliden, sowie auf dem morphologischen Vergleich der Hyäne, des Leoparden und der Gämse. Die Zusammensetzung der Musteliden aus der isolierten Kammer Ia bestätigt die zeitliche Einstufung in das Spätglazial, während die meisten Großsäuger, wie Crocuta, Panthera und Rupicapra, in die Zeit vor dem letzten Vereisungshöhepunkt im Glazcial (LGM) zu stellen sind.
    [Show full text]
  • Palaeontology of Mammoth Cave
    Palaeontology of Mammoth Cave Researched by Lindsay Hatcher © February 2009 Mammoth Cave is the earliest Palaeontological cave site to be found within W.A. Reports of the discovery of Mammoth Cave date back to as early as 1895. Mammoth Cave was located by Surveyor Mr Marmaduke Terry in September 1900, and explored by Tim Connelly and Ned Dawson, with Ned being the first to go through the cave and discover the “back door”. Tim conducted unofficial tours through the cave until 1904 when it was officially opened as a tourist cave. He also named the cave “The Dawn of Creation” perhaps due to the expanse of light reflecting off the stream in winter or maybe because of the abundance of fossils found in the cave. In 1904 Edgar Robinson; superintendent of the caves and cave guide Tim Connelly were constructing a walkway roughly below the largest solution pipe some 50 metres into the cave (i.e. near the top platform). One of these gentlemen unearthed some rather odd bones. In the same year Connelly notified his good friend Colonel Le Souef of the find. At the time Le Souef had considerable standing within the scientific community as he had been responsible for establishing the Perth Zoological gardens in the 1890’s. Le Souef in turn notified Mr Bernard Woodward – Director of the W.A. Museum. At this time no one was actively working in Palaeontology Zygomaturus trilobus and very little work was being done in Archaeology. Bernard Woodward contacted his cousin Mr H.P. Woodward who was working in the Mines Dept., with the fledgling Geological Survey of W.A.
    [Show full text]
  • GEOSCIENTISTS-IN-THE-PARKS Internship Program
    GEOSCIENTISTS-IN-THE-PARKS Internship Program Program Report Fiscal Year 2018 Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................................ 3 Statement of Purpose ........................................................................................................................................... 4 Program Objectives ......................................................................................................................................... 5 Types of Positions ............................................................................................................................................. 5 Support of the DOI Strategic Plan ..................................................................................................................... 5 Program Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 6 Program Costs ....................................................................................................................................................... 6 Intern and Supervisor Webinars ........................................................................................................................ 7 Demographic Information ...................................................................................................................................... 7 Gender and Ethnicity
    [Show full text]
  • Fossil Cave / Green Waterhole Cave (5L81) Bone Retrieval Dives for Dr Trevor Worthy (University of Adelaide), 27/28 May 2006
    FOSSIL CAVE / GREEN WATERHOLE CAVE (5L81) BONE RETRIEVAL DIVES FOR DR TREVOR WORTHY (UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE), 27/28 MAY 2006. PARTY Peter Horne (Team Coordinator), Neville Skinner (underwater photographer/ support & safety Diver), David Albano (support/safety diver) and Mark Nielsen (safety diver); Ian Lewis (surface support). OBJECTIVES To attempt to relocate 1979 Flinders University survey star-dropper posts along the “N” line, especially N3 dropper, and an adjacent labelled tag known as “Aslin Site 12” (“Site 07” during the 1979 project); to attempt to photograph the area before, during and after any bone-digging work; and to collect samples of bones and sediment around Tag 12. Carrying gear down to the cave’s lake which is situated in the dark alcove behind the two scuba cylinders at the far end of the collapse (Peter Horne). The research party (left to right): Neville Skinner, Ian Lewis (surface support), Mark Nielsen, David Albano and the author (Dave Albano/Peter Horne). OUTCOMES Dive One: Saturday 27 May 2006 (duration approx. 45 minutes). Peter and Neville descended first through the “Letterbox” with a large open reel of thick white synthetic rope with the intention of locating and securing the old N3 star-dropper. The water was noticeably dark and murky, suggesting that crushed grass observed around the carpark area was most likely caused by a group of other divers earlier that morning, which was unfortunate from the point of view of photography. The water level was also lower that Peter had ever seen, and there was a substantial air section extending into the normally-flooded ceiling area of the cave.
    [Show full text]
  • The Scaddan Implement, a Re
    Rec. WesL AlisL Mli•. 1983,10 (4): 319-334 'fhe Scaddan Implement, A Re-analysis of a Probable Acheulian Handaxe Found in Western Australia C.E. Dortch* and J.E. Gloved Introduction In 1949 N.B. Tindale described a bifacially flaked flint implement found in a rural district of Western Australia and interpreted it as an Aboriginal artefact (Tindale 1949). The specimen (Figures 1 and 2), known as the Scaddan implement, had been the subject of debate among several Australian scholars for a decade prior to Tindale's publication. The late B.V.V. Noone was apparently somewhat puzzled by the Scaddan implement, and in his only published reference to the specimen wrote: In the neighbourhood of Scaddon [sic], near Esperance, has been found a remark­ able biface implement in flint, with unfortunately the point broken. This shows dark stained patination, and is in form and appearance strikingly similar to the Lower Paleolithic implements found in England (Noone 1943: 278). F.D. McCarthy was not hesitant in questioning the origin of the Scaddan implement. Be states: There is some doubt as to whether the Scaddan specimen is an Australian imple­ ment. It resembles more closely the flint coup de poing from Europe, examples of which, brought here by various people or in ships' ballast, have found their way into strange places in Australia. (McCarthy 1958: 178) Our own doubts about the Scaddan implement being an Aboriginal artefact have led to the following re-analysis. Provenance In 1930 Mr Burney Randell donated the bifacially naked stone implement shown in Figures 1 and 2 to the Western Australian Museum, Perth.
    [Show full text]
  • Biothems: Biologically Influenced Speleothems in the Caves of the Guadalupe Mountains, New Mexico, USA J
    New Mexico Geological Society Downloaded from: http://nmgs.nmt.edu/publications/guidebooks/57 Biothems: Biologically influenced speleothems in the caves of the Guadalupe Mountains, New Mexico, USA J. Michael Queen and Leslie A. Melim, 2006, pp. 167-173 in: Caves and Karst of Southeastern New Mexico, Land, Lewis; Lueth, Virgil W.; Raatz, William; Boston, Penny; Love, David L.; [eds.], New Mexico Geological Society 57th Annual Fall Field Conference Guidebook, 344 p. This is one of many related papers that were included in the 2006 NMGS Fall Field Conference Guidebook. Annual NMGS Fall Field Conference Guidebooks Every fall since 1950, the New Mexico Geological Society (NMGS) has held an annual Fall Field Conference that explores some region of New Mexico (or surrounding states). Always well attended, these conferences provide a guidebook to participants. Besides detailed road logs, the guidebooks contain many well written, edited, and peer-reviewed geoscience papers. These books have set the national standard for geologic guidebooks and are an essential geologic reference for anyone working in or around New Mexico. Free Downloads NMGS has decided to make peer-reviewed papers from our Fall Field Conference guidebooks available for free download. Non-members will have access to guidebook papers two years after publication. Members have access to all papers. This is in keeping with our mission of promoting interest, research, and cooperation regarding geology in New Mexico. However, guidebook sales represent a significant proportion of our operating budget. Therefore, only research papers are available for download. Road logs, mini-papers, maps, stratigraphic charts, and other selected content are available only in the printed guidebooks.
    [Show full text]
  • Deep Sea Eng
    GUIDELINES FOR INVENTORYING AND MONITORING OF DARK HABITATS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA Financial support Copyright: All property rights of texts and content of different types of this publication belong to SPA/RAC. Reproduction of these texts and contents, in whole or in part, and in any form, is prohibited without prior written permission from SPA/RAC, except for educational and other non-commercial purposes, provided that the source is fully acknowledged. © 2018 - United Nations Environment Programme Mediterranean Action Plan Specially Protected Areas Regional Activity Centre (SPA/RAC) Boulevard du Leader Yasser Arafat B.P. 337 1080 Tunis Cedex - Tunisia. E-mail : [email protected] For bibliographic purposes, this document may be cited as: SPA/RAC–UN Environment/MAP, OCEANA, 2017. Guidelines for inventorying and monitoring of dark habitats in the Mediterranean Sea. By Vasilis GEROVASILEIOU, Ricardo AGUILAR, Pilar MARÍN. Ed. SPA/RAC -Deep Sea Lebanon Project, Tunis: 40 pp + Annexes The original version of this document was prepared for the Specially Protected Areas Regional Activity Centre (SPA/RAC) by Ricardo AGUILAR & Pilar MARÍN, OCEANA and Vasilis GEROVASILEIOU, SPA/ RAC Consultant with contribution from Tatjana BAkRAN PETRICIOLI, Enric BALLESTEROS, Hocein BAzAIRI, Carlo NIkE BIANCHI, Simona BUSSOTTI, Simonepietro CANESE, Pierre CHEVALDONNé, Douglas EVANS, Maïa FOURT, Jordi GRINYó, Jean Georges HARMELIN, Alain JEUDY DE GRISSAC, Vesna Mačić, Covadonga OREJAS, Maria DEL MAR OTERO, Gérard PERGENT, Donat PETRICIOLI, Alfonso A. RAMOS ESPLá, Antonietta ROSSO, Rossana SANFILIPPO, Marco TAVIANI, Leonardo TUNESI, Maurizio WüRTz. Layout: Amen Allah OUAkAJJA Cover photo credit: © Amen Allah OUAkAJJA This document has been edited within the framework of the Deep-Sea Lebanon Project with the fnancial support of MAVA Foundation.
    [Show full text]
  • Practice and Prospects in Underwater Palaeontology
    Palaeontologia Electronica palaeo-electronica.org Practice and prospects in underwater palaeontology Julien Louys ABSTRACT Underwater deposits, especially those in phreatic caves, often contain exquisitely preserved fossils, and many represent Quaternary Konservat-Lagerstätten. Neverthe- less, they are unrecognised as such by most practicing palaeontologists. This review highlights the unique contributions to palaeontology made by underwater deposits as well as the technical and practical challenges facing underwater palaeontologists. Recovery of fossils from such deposits requires specialist training, equipment, and pro- cedures unique to these environments. Taphonomic studies of underwater assem- blages are rare and hampered by difficulties in fossil recovery. Neotaphonomic experiments and observations of modern accumulations in underwater settings should be a priority for future research. Regions where such techniques might provide import- ant new insights into Quaternary faunas and environments, not accessible through tra- ditional palaeontological approaches, include low-lying flooded continental shelves and soil-poor karstic landscapes. Underwater palaeontology represents a largely unex- plored yet significant source of fossils, further study of which will expand and enrich tra- ditional approaches in the study of ancient organisms. Julien Louys. Australian Research Center for Human Evolution, Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. [email protected] Keywords: diving; cave; sinkhole; taphonomy; vertebrate palaeontology; Lagerstätten Submission: 14 December 2017 Acceptance: INTRODUCTION and organisms. To date, fossils have been recov- ered from the phreatic zone (drowned or flooded) The discoveries of spectacularly well-pre- of caves and sinkholes, lakes, and continental served fossils from underwater settings across dif- shelves and margins that have undergone marine ferent continents hint at a vastly underexplored transgression.
    [Show full text]
  • Fossil Cave Hyena of Goyet, Walsin and Hastière (Belgium): Osteometry and Taphonomy
    FACULTY OF SCIENCES Palaeontology Department Biology Department Academic year 2009-2010 The fossil cave hyena of Goyet, Walsin and Hastière (Belgium): osteometry and taphonomy Debora Beke Thesis submitted to obtain the degree of Master in Biology Supervisor: Prof. Dr. J. Verniers Supervisor and tutor: Dr. M. Germonpré (RBINS) © May 2010 Faculty of Sciences – Biology Department All rights reserved. No part of the publication may be reproduced in any form by print, photo print, microfilm, electronic or any other means without written permission from the publisher. Table of contents 1. INTRODUCTION 1 1.1. General introduction 1 1.2. The spotted hyena - Crocuta crocuta 1 1.2.1. Recent spotted hyena 1 1.2.2. Fossil spotted hyena or cave hyena 2 2. AIMS 2 3. MATERIAL AND METHODS 3 3.1 Description of the sites 3 3.2 Description and organisation of the material 6 3.3 Methods and measurements 6 3.3.1 Cranial measurements 6 3.3.2 Postcranial measurements 8 3.3.3 Age determination 8 3.3.4 Weathering and gnawing traces 9 3.3.5 Database 9 3.3.6 Comparing fossil and recent spotted hyena 10 4. RESULTS 11 4.1. Inventory of the fossil material 11 4.2. Description of the fossil material 27 4.2.1. Cranial 27 4.2.2. Postcranial 38 4.3. Age determination 43 4.4. Trace fossils 45 4.4.1. Coprolites 45 4.4.2. Other traces 45 4.5. Weathering 47 4.6. Inventory of the recent material 48 4.7. Description of the recent material 50 4.7.1.
    [Show full text]