Seasonal denning behavior and population dynamics of the late Pleistocene peccary Platygonus compressus (Artiodactyla: Tayassuidae) from Bat Cave, Missouri.

Aaron L Woodruff,Blaine W Schubert

doi:10.7717/peerj.7161

Aaron L Woodruff, Blaine W Schubert

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7161

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Abstract

The late Pleistocene faunal assemblage from Bat Cave, central Ozarks, Missouri provides an opportunity to assess specific aspects of behavior, ecology, and ontogeny of the Rancholabrean species Platygonus compressus. All identifiable elements referable to this taxon were catalogued and examined, and a minimum number of individuals of 73 was determined for the sample. Evidence of seasonal behavioral patterns are reported for the first time in a fossil peccary. Maturation of individuals was assessed using the tooth eruption sequence and occlusal wear patterns for all tooth-bearing mandibular elements and isolated lower dentition. Approximate ages were established through comparison with the extant collared peccary. The presence of distinct, developmentally non-overlapping age groups suggests that P. compressus was seasonally present at the Bat Cave locality, with the cave functioning as seasonal shelter in which individuals would occasionally die. The study also suggests the peccaries engaged in synchronous, seasonal breeding behaviors. Demographic assessment of the Bat Cave peccary population suggests that younger individuals formed the bulk of the population at a given time with progressively older individuals becoming scarcer until the age of about 10 years, which matches the typical demographic patterns and life expectancy of extant peccaries.

Highlights

The large sample of peccary remains recovered from Bat Cave, which have been referred to the late Pleistocene (Rancholabrean) species Platygonus compressus, provides the opportunity to examine the paleobiology of this species
The maturation of individuals was assessed using tooth eruption sequence and occlusal wear patterns for all tooth-bearing mandibular elements and isolated lower dentition, which has demonstrated that all age groups are represented within the sample from unborn fetal to ∼nineyear-old individuals
These age groups are distinctive and non-overlapping, separated developmentally from one another by nine to 12 months. This suggests that P. compressus engaged in seasonal breeding behaviors, at least in the BC locality and perhaps other parts of the northern temperate zone

Summary

Introduction

The large sample of peccary remains recovered from Bat Cave, which have been referred to the late Pleistocene (Rancholabrean) species Platygonus compressus, provides the opportunity to examine the paleobiology of this species. Hawksley, Reynolds & Foley (1973) identified 6,339 elements corresponding to a minimum of 98 individual peccaries from Bat Cave, making this the most numerous species recovered from the site. One of us (BWS) visited Bat Cave on several occasions to further assess the deposit On these trips, additional peccary and other vertebrate remains were collected and a preliminary survey was conducted. This paper focuses on Bat Cave peccary material collected by Hawksley, Reynolds & Foley (1973) and BWS. Bat Cave is located 8 km northwest of Waynesville in Pulaski County, Missouri (Hawksley, Reynolds & Foley, 1973) in the central Ozark Plateau (hereafter referred to as Ozarks). It is one of several caves located in Bear Ridge that developed in Ordovician dolomite. Excavations were primarily under the guidance of Dr Oscar Hawksley and focused on the section

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