Herpetofaunas of the Big Springs and Hornet's Nest Quarries (Northeastern Nebraska, Pleistocene: Late Blancan)

Authors

Karel Rogers, Adams State College

Date of this Version

1984

Document Type

Article

Comments

1984. Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences, XII:81-94. Copyright © 1984 Rogers

Abstract

Two herpetofaunas of Late Blancan age from northeastern Nebraska were studied, Big Springs Quarry (AP 103) and Hornet's Nest Quarry (KX 127). Big Springs Quarry contains six amphibian species, three of which are extinct, and 25 reptilian species, two of which are extinct. Hornet's Nest Quarry contains seven species of amphibians, two of which are extinct, and 11 reptilian species, none of them extinct. The faunal assemblage is one that would be characteristic of southern Kansas today. The paleoecological interpretation of the two sites indicates that Hornet's Nest Quarry represents a moister and more wooded environment than Big Springs Quarry. Big Springs Quarry was probably deposited in a tall-grass prairie.