Prehistoric Animals and Popular Tours at Roland Springs Ranch
Research into the ancient animals of Roland Springs Ranch Locality 1 (RSR-1, Scurry County) has continued in the field and the laboratory in 2017–2018. Stream deposits contain abundant remains of fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals from at least 2.5 million years ago. Bones from RSR-1 represent different species of animals and, collectively, the over 50 species identified so far from RSR-1 record the animal community of ancient West Texas. Each bone and each species identified offers new information on this community.
Excavations during the annual six-week field season at RSR-1 in summers 2017–2018 produced many teeth and jaws from small mammals. These new specimens come from different types of rabbits, rodents, and even a mole. In any animal community, past or present, small mammals generally are far more abundant than large mammals. Understanding these small creatures is important to gaining a view of the past at RSR-1. Excavation in 2017 has discovered multiple important rabbit jaws and teeth from three different species (Figure 1), each of which is long since extinct.
Two of these extinct rabbits (Hypolagus and Notolagus) have no living relatives. The third extinct species, the progressive hare (Nekrolagus progressus), is the ancestor of modern jackrabbits and cottontails. Other 2017 discoveries include two jaws from a relative of the modern prairie dog. Large burrowing rodents such as prairie dogs provide clues about what the landscape and environments of ancient Scurry County were like. These and other small mammal remains will contribute to developing knowledge about the diversity of past life at RSR-1.
Saturday morning tours of the RSR-1 excavation were offered to the public during the annual field season. Begun in 2016, tours were presented through a partnership with the Scurry County Museum in Snyder, TX. The tour schedule was expanded in 2017 to offer six tours during June and early July. Visitors came from all across West Texas to see the excavation and learn about the region’s natural history. A total of 111 visitors attended the tours and while most were visiting for the first time, others were return guests, eager to see what was new (Figure 2).
The RSR-1 field crew also hosted the Scurry County Museum Dino Camp. The tour of RSR-1 was the grand finale for the day campers from the week-long Dino Camp. The group of 36 children and parents learned about the extinct animals of RSR-1 and how the field crew works to make discoveries. Afterwards, day campers tried their hand at excavation in a special exploratory area at RSR-1 (Figure 3). These tours helped to spread the knowledge developed from RSR-1 research.
Outside of the summer field season, RSR-1 research continues in the laboratory. Rabbits and three-toed gazelle-horses are the most common types of mammals found at RSR-1 and much of the research accomplished in 2017 focused on these creatures. A peer-reviewed article describing five species of rabbit found at RSR-1 was recently published in the journal Quaternary International.
Many teeth, jaws, and foot bones of tiny gazelle-horses found at RSR-1 were examined in the past year. Additional gazelle-horse remains from other North American localities were studied during research trips to the paleontological collections at the University of Kansas and Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in 2017. These research trips provided the evidence necessary to confirm the identification of the RSR-1 gazelle-horse as Nannippus peninsulatus. This small, three-toed horse existed from 4.8–2.1 million years ago and was specialized for life in the open grasslands. Identification of N. peninsulatus, therefore, offers evidence of the age and environment of RSR-1. The results of this research were presented to an international audience at the annual Geological Society of America meeting in Seattle, Washington, in October, 2017.
Other research efforts in 2017 involved a large cat jaw found at RSR-1. This research focused on understanding what species of big cat is present at RSR-1. Research concentrated on two related lineages of North American big cats: the puma and the North American cheetah-like cat. Visits to the University of Kansas and the Smithsonian provided access to critical fossil specimens.
The discoveries made at Roland Springs Ranch help to document the natural heritage of North America. Saturday tours, publications, and presentations share these prehistoric animals with the people of West Texas and beyond.
