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Implications of Subfossil Coleoptera for the Evolution of the Mima Mounds of Southwestern Puget Lowland, Washington

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Robert E. Nelson
Robert E. Nelson*
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, Colby College, 5804 Mayflower Hill, Waterville, Maine, 04901-8858
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Abstract

The origin of Washington State's Mima Mounds has been debated for over a century, with numerous mechanisms being postulated. Subfossil Coleopteran (beetle) remains recovered from the base of a mound at Mima Prairie consist of species that would be expected in rodent burrows and nests; all but one species are obligate burrow inhabitants. These results suggest the past presence of fossorial rodents (probably pocket gophers,Thomomys mazama) in the mounds, although none live there at present. Whether or not the gophers created the mounds, they may well have been instrumental in maintaining mound geometry until very recently.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 47 , Issue 3 , May 1997 , pp. 356 - 358
Copyright
University of Washington

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