TX: Culberson Co.
General Description.—Dalquest and Stangl (1984): Cave in limestone ca. 10 km N Kent at est. (by AHH) elev. of 4200 ft. Near southern terminus of the Apache Mts. Cave is a sinkhole. Black, surficial deposits ranging from less than 1 ft to more than 16 inches were removed from a study area, exposing yellow, Pleistocene sediments. Layer two of these contained abundant fossils, and some 1000 lbs. form the basis for the Pleistocene fauna (the recent fauna also is reported).
Current Environment.—Parmley 1990: Typical Chihuahuan Desert habitat (creosote-sotol association).
Paleoenvironment.—Parmley 1988: At least running or standing water near the cave during the time of deposition. Parmley (1990) cites Dalquest and Stangl (1984) as suggesting the mixture of boreal and desert mammals resulted from the effects of glaciation in the Guadalupe Mts., and Parmley then cites Antevs (1955). Note that neither Antevs (1955) or any other geological author I'm aware of considers the Guadalupes as ever having been glaciated (nor close to it). Furthermore, the drainage from the Guadalupes does not approach Fowlkes Cave.
Comments.—Includes a snail fauna, also. Land snails, all occurring in Culberson Co. today, though three species now only in isolated colonies high in Guadalupes to north. None of xeric nor western species of Oreohelix, Holospira, nor Ashmunella present (Dalquest and Stangle 1984).
Age.— (black silts) and late Pleistocene— suggestion that possibly the cooler climate of the late Pleistocene was just giving way to hot, desert climate of today (Dalquest and Stangl 1984).
Publications.—*Dalquest and Stangl 1984; *Harris 1990; (*Parmley 1988); (*Parmley 1990); (*Stangl and Dalquest 1991).
Fauna.—
Last Update: 7 September 1998.