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The contribution of raptorial birds to patterning in small mammal assemblages

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2016

Rob Hoffman
Rob Hoffman*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996
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Abstract

Seven taxa of raptorial birds were experimentally fed a controlled sample of 50 house mice (Mus musculus). Bones recovered from the pellets were examined for interspecies variability in preservation to assess the potential contribution of specific raptors to patterning in fossil assemblages. Quantitative analyses demonstrate that patterns in bone fragmentation may assist in the identification of particular raptor species as depositional agents in small mammal assemblages.

Type
Articles
Information
Paleobiology , Volume 14 , Issue 1 , Winter 1988 , pp. 81 - 90
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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