UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PUBLICATIONS 



BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 



GEOLOGY 



Vol. 8, No. 21, pp. 377-384, pi. 41, 3 text-figs. Issued February 25, 1915 



AN OCCURRENCE OF MAMMALIAN REMAINS IN 

 A PLEISTOCENE LAKE DEPOSIT AT 

 ASTOR PASS, NEAR PYRAMID 

 LAKE, NEVADA 



BY 



JOHN C. MERRIAM 



Introduction 



Some months ago Professor J. C. Jones of the University of Nevada 

 kindly offered to the writer for examination a small collection of 

 mammalian remains obtained by him at Astor Pass, Nevada, in gravel 

 deposits which were evidently formed along the shore of the Pleisto- 

 cene Lake Lahontan. As the physical history of the Nevada region 

 during a portion of Pleistocene time has been the subject of exhaustive 

 discussion, while of the biological history very little has been known, 

 the specimens secured by Professor Jones are of unusual importance. 

 Particularly is this true as the occurrence evidently represents one of 

 the phases of the great lake, Lahontan. 



The writer is much indebted to Professor Jones for the opportunity 

 to examine this interesting collection and for a description of the 

 occurrence of the specimens. The origin of the deposits in which the 

 mammalian fossils occur is fully discussed by Professor Jones in a 

 recent paper. 1 In addition to the specimens obtained by Professor 

 Jones from the gravels at Astor Pass, it has been the writer's privilege 

 to examine a considerable portion of a horse skull found in a tufa 

 deposit at Astor Pass. For the use of this specimen, the writer is 

 much indebted to Mr. William Hood, chief engineer of the Southern 

 Pacific Railroad, who secured the skull during the course of the 

 excavations. 



i Jones, J. C, Science, n.s., vol. 40, pp. 827-830, 1914. 



