Homotherium serum and Cervalces from the Great Lakes Region, USA: geochronology, morphology and ancient DNA

A scimitar‐toothed cat (Homotherium serum) and stag moose (Cervalces sp.) are described from Tyson Spring Cave, Fillmore County, Minnesota. These specimens represent the first records of both species in the state, and the first record for H. serum in the Great Lakes region. Although the Cervalces sp...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Boreas 2012-10, Vol.41 (4), p.546-556
Main Authors: Widga, Chris, Fulton, Tara L., Martin, Larry D., Shapiro, Beth
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Deoxyribonucleic acid
Divergence
DNA
Genetic analysis
Geochronology
Geochronometry
Lakes
Machairodontinae
Morphology
New records
Plains
Serum
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Description
Summary:A scimitar‐toothed cat (Homotherium serum) and stag moose (Cervalces sp.) are described from Tyson Spring Cave, Fillmore County, Minnesota. These specimens represent the first records of both species in the state, and the first record for H. serum in the Great Lakes region. Although the Cervalces specimen remains undated, it shares features with pre‐Wisconsin specimens from the eastern Great Plains. The H. serum individual dates to c. 26.9 ka, when the Wisconsin ice margin was less than 60 km away. Genetic analyses support the identity of the Homotherium specimen as conspecific with Homotherium serum found in older Beringian deposits, as well as both the early divergence of tribes Homotherini and Smilodontini within Machairodontinae and the early divergence of this Machairodontinae from the lineage that produced extant cats.
ISSN:0300-9483
1502-3885
DOI:10.1111/j.1502-3885.2012.00267.x