Construction workers building an highway bridge over a railroad line accidentally discovered Inner Space Cavern in 1963. This site is located on the edge of the Edward’s Plateau 1 mile south of Georgetown, Texas. The eastern side of the Edward’s Plateau is a hilly landscape sitting on Cretaceous-age limestone bedrock. Rain dissolves limestone creating many underground caves in the region. The workers drilled down 33 feet and when the drill bit reached the cavern it fell an additional 24 feet becoming lodged in stalagmites. Inner Space Cavern is also known as Laubach Cave, named after the family who owns the land. The Laubachs opened up an accessible entrance to the cave, and it is now a tourist attraction. The cave is underneath the rail line and Highway 35. Skeletal remains of late Pleistocene age vertebrates have been excavated from 5 sites in the cave. However, radiocarbon dating of these specimens was executed during the late 1960s and early 1970s when this technology was still in its infancy, and the resulting dates are not considered accurate. The specimens are at least 13,000 years old, but it’s unclear if they can even be radiometrically dated.
Location of Georgetown, Texas. Inner Space Caverns is just south of this town.
View inside Inner Space Cavern.
An unique assemblage of grazing fauna roamed central Texas during the late Pleistocene. Mammoth, bison, horse, camel, glyptodont, and a large extinct species of pronghorn (Tetrameryx shuleri) occupied the plains. The fossil record suggests Tetrameryx shuleri was restricted to what is now the state of Texas during the late Pleistocene. Because it was a regional species, it was more vulnerable to extinction when man colonized the area. A single specimen of the scimitar-toothed cat (Dinobastis serum) was found in Laubach Cave. Although this species ranged widely over North America, the distribution of its remains suggests the region from Texas and Oklahoma to western Tennessee may have held a core population. Other large mammal remains found in the cave include Jefferson’s ground sloth, deer (probably white tail rather than mule), flat-headed peccary, jaguar, dire wolf, and the extinct Florida spectacled bear (Tremarctos floridanus). This is the westernmost known occurrence of the Florida spectacled bear during the late Pleistocene.
Today, the Texas kangaroo rat (Dipodomys elator) is restricted to 10 counties in north Texas bordering Oklahoma. Remains of this species found in Laubach Cave show it formerly ranged further south. Black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) and meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvannicus) also no longer occur this far south. Short-tailed shrews (Blarina carolinensis) don’t live this far west any more. The presence of these small mammals suggests the climate in this region was wetter with cooler summers during the Ice Age than it is today.
Texas kangaroo rat (Dipodomys elator). Skeletal remains of this species dating to the late Pleistocene were found in Inner Space Cavern. It no longer occurs this far southeast.
Skeletal remains of this extinct pronghorn (Tetrameryx shuleri) were found in Inner Space Cavern. This was its easternmost known occurrence. Note the 4 prongs.
Evidence from Inner Space Caverns shows the extinct Florida spectacled bear (Tremarctos floridanus) lived as far west as central Texas.
The faunal composition of Laubach Cave indicates this region during the Ice Age was dominated by grassy plains but with some riparian woodlands and mesquite/acacia scrubland. Grazers such as mammoth, horse, and camel clearly are evidence of prairie habitat. The presence of Jefferson’s ground sloth, deer, cottontail rabbit, spectacled bear, and jaguar (an ambush predator) make it seem likely that finger shaped communities of trees grew alongside rivers and creeks. These riparian woodlands probably consisted of centuries old live oaks, cottonwoods, and sycamores. Flat-headed peccaries, jackrabbits, and kangaroo rats prefer (or in the case of the extinct species, preferred) scrub habitat. Texas kangaroo rats almost exclusively burrow beneath the roots of mesquite.
Vegetation of this region was similar to that of today, yet slightly different. The moderate increase in precipitation combined with cooler summer temperatures meant deeper top soils and greater stream flow through rivers. The alternate climate caused changes in the abundance and density of some species of plants. Prairies were mixed with some tall grass and some shortgrass, depending upon the topography. These prairies, like many other natural communities, were thick with wildlife until man came along.
Reference:
Sansom, Jones; and Ernest Lundelius
“Inner Space Cave: Discovery and Geological and Paleontological Investigation”
Austin Geological Society Bulletin 2005
Tags: central Texas Pleistocene faunal assemblage, Florida spectacled bear, Inner Space Cavern, Laubach Cave, Tetrameryx shuleri, Texas kangaroo rat
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