Mammals of the Holloman Local Fauna, Pleistocene of Oklahoma

Abstract

The original list of the fossil mammals from Holloman gravel pit, near Frederick, Oklahoma, published in 1930, included 22 species. Restudy of the specimens, including material unavailable for many years, shows that: Equus lit- toralis and Odocoileus hemionus were included in the list by accident; the Colum- bian mammoth teeth probably came from elsewhere; the muskox fossil is lost but is probably Recent Bison; Equus achates Hay and Cook is a synonym of Equus tau Owen; teeth and jaw fragments originally referred to Equus complicatus are referable to E. scotti and E. calobatus; the tooth originally called Equus pacificus is probably E. giganteus; Mammuthus haroldcooki (Hay) and Stegmastodon priestleyi (Hay and Cook) are retained as valid species. The Holloman local fauna is equivalent in age to the Gilliland local fauna of Texas. Both are earliest Irving- In the 1920's, excavation in a commercial gravel pit one mile north of Frederick, Oklahoma, yielded fossils of early Pleistocene verte- brates and, mingled with them, stone artifacts of human manufacture. These and other specimens were kept in a private collection main- tained by the quarry owner, A. H. Holloman. Between 1927 and 1932 there was controversy about the alleged association of the fossils and human artifacts (for bibliography see Meade 1953). The early Pleis- tocene age of the fossils was eventually established (Sellards 1932), and it was discovered that the artifacts were in overlying sediments that fell into the quarry as excavation progressed. The late Dr. A. S. Romer told me that he actually saw a metate stone perched in the overburden, ready to fall into the pit. Though the controversy was settled, some of the animosity engendered by it was not. Mr. Hollo- man, who had insisted that the artifacts came from the lower levels of the gravel pit, closed his property to collecting and it remained closed until his recent death. The quarry is now slumped and partial- ly filled, and it is unlikely that other fossils will be obtained there. Previous to 1930, many of the fossils from Mr. Holloman's collection were sent to H. J. Cook at the Colorado Museum of Natural History (now the Denver Museum of Natural History), some on loan and