Biological Sciences, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Australia.
PLoS One. 2013;8(1):e52957. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0052957. Epub 2013 Jan 2.
The co-occurrence of vertebrate trace and body fossils within a single geological formation is rare and the probability of these parallel records being contemporaneous (i.e. on or near the same bedding plane) is extremely low. We report here a late Pleistocene locality from the Victorian Volcanic Plains in south-eastern Australia in which demonstrably contemporaneous, but independently accumulated vertebrate trace and body fossils occur. Bite marks from a variety of taxa are also present on the bones. This site provides a unique opportunity to examine the biases of these divergent fossil records (skeletal, footprints and bite marks) that sampled a single fauna. The skeletal record produced the most complete fauna, with the footprint record indicating a markedly different faunal composition with less diversity and the feeding traces suggesting the presence, amongst others, of a predator not represented by either the skeletal or footprint records. We found that the large extinct marsupial predator Thylacoleo was the only taxon apparently represented by all three records, suggesting that the behavioral characteristics of large carnivores may increase the likelihood of their presence being detected within a fossil fauna. In contrast, Diprotodon (the largest-ever marsupial) was represented only by trace fossils at this site and was absent from the site's skeletal record, despite its being a common and easily detected presence in late Pleistocene skeletal fossil faunas elsewhere in Australia. Small mammals absent from the footprint record for the site were represented by skeletal fossils and bite marks on bones.
在单一地质地层中同时出现脊椎动物痕迹和身体化石的情况非常罕见，这些平行记录同时发生（即在同一层位或附近）的概率极低。我们在这里报告一个来自澳大利亚东南部维多利亚火山平原的晚更新世地点，在那里可以看到明显同时但独立积累的脊椎动物痕迹和身体化石。各种分类群的咬痕也存在于骨骼上。该地点提供了一个独特的机会，可以检查这些不同化石记录（骨骼、足迹和咬痕）的偏差，这些记录均采样于单一动物群。骨骼记录产生了最完整的动物群，足迹记录表明动物群组成明显不同，多样性较低，而食迹表明，除其他外，存在一种在骨骼或足迹记录中均未出现的捕食者。我们发现，大型已灭绝的有袋类捕食者袋狮是唯一一种显然被所有三种记录都记录的分类群，这表明大型食肉动物的行为特征可能会增加其在化石动物群中被发现的可能性。相比之下，双门齿兽（有史以来最大的有袋类动物）仅在该地点的遗迹化石中被记录，尽管它在澳大利亚其他地方的晚更新世骨骼化石动物群中是一种常见且容易检测到的存在，但在该地点的骨骼记录中却没有被记录到。在该地点的足迹记录中没有出现的小型哺乳动物在骨骼化石和骨骼上的咬痕中被记录到。
