Tundra Rodents in a Late Pleistocene Fauna from the Tofty Placer District, Central Alaska

Abstract

Describes remains of the arctic ground squirrel, collared and brown lemmings, and the narrow-skulled vole collected 1956-1961 in or near the Sullivan mining pit. Topography, vegetation, and mining history are outlined, as are the stratigraphy and age of the unconsolidated deposits in which the fossils were found. The rodents, all typical tundra forms, are not now in the Tofty area which has been forested at least 6800 yr. Apparently, they represent the fauna of a colder climatic period during Wisconsin time.