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Fungal Remains in Pleistocene Ground Squirrel Dung from Yukon Territory, Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Kris A. Pirozynski
Affiliation:
Paleobiology Division, National Museums of Canada, Ottawa K1A 0M8, Canada
Adrian Carter
Affiliation:
Paleobiology Division, National Museums of Canada, Ottawa K1A 0M8, Canada
Richard G. Day
Affiliation:
Paleobiology Division, National Museums of Canada, Ottawa K1A 0M8, Canada

Abstract

Fungi in dung of the Arctic ground squirrel (Spermophilus parryii) collected near Dominion Creek, Yukon Territory, Canada, have a radiocarbon age of 12,200 ± 100 yr B.P. Most of the fungal remains are assignable to modern taxa, and most of these are either widespread saprobes or nonspecific coprophiles. However, specimens identified as Chaetomium simile and Thecaphora deformans represent fungi that may be more characteristic of rodent dung than that of other animals, inviting consideration of dung fungi as a potential source of paleontological data.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
University of Washington

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