Two Doves in the Pleistocene of Veracruz, Mexico
Two Doves in the Pleistocene of Veracruz, Mexico.-A late Pleistocene deposit at Barranca Seca, 3 kilometers east of Acultzingo, is of interest in that it is the first fossil bird locality in the Mexican state of Veracruz. In July of 1960, Professor Antonio Barges, the discoverer of the site, kindly showed it to Leora Forbes and Linda DaIquest, who collected four species of mammals (Dalquest, Jour. Mammalogy, 42, 1961:40&409) and two birds. The avian material consists of a left coracoid (Midwestern Univ. no. 2214) of the Band-tailed Pigeon (Cohmba fasciata) and the proximal portion of a left tibiotarsus (no. 2215) of the Mourning Dove (Zenaidura macrogra) . Except for an extinct species of glyptodon, all the birds and mammals obtained still occur in the state, although Columba fax&a and one of the rabbits (Sylvilagus cuniczdaris) are temperate zone species that probably do not now descend to so low an altitude. An apparent slight cooling and a preponderance of living species would suggest that the site is of Wisconsin age.
This study was aided by the National Science Foundation through grant number G-19595.- PIERCE BRODKORB, Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gaines-vi& Florida, October 8,1962.
