Big prehistoric mammal news: Museum Curator of Paleontology | https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/
A team led by a researcher from the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science has identified a new Ice Age species related to the muskox, based on fossils found in Carlsbad Caverns National Park. The discovery was detailed in a recent edition of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin.
The new species, named Speleotherium logani, was described by paleontology curator Gary Morgan from NMMNHS, along with first author Richard White, Jim Mead, and Sandy Swift from the Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, South Dakota. The name honors Lloyd Logan, who led the original fossil exploration in 1976 and 1977.
“New Mexico is known as a hotbed for dinosaur fossils, but discoveries like this remind us that our state’s fossil record extends long after the Cretaceous extinction,” said NMMNHS Executive Director Dr. Anthony Fiorillo. “This discovery offers new clues about what mammals were living in New Mexico during the last Ice Age.”
The fossils include a well-preserved skull and much of the skeleton and were found in Muskox Cave within Carlsbad Caverns National Park. After being stored for more than forty years at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, they were studied by researchers beginning in 2023. Analysis showed they belonged to an unknown species related to modern muskoxen.
Comparisons with other bones allowed researchers to identify similar remains at four additional sites: U-Bar Cave in southwestern New Mexico’s bootheel region, two caves in Mexico, and one cave in Belize.
“Fossils of most large Ice Age mammals, such as mammoths. mastodons, ground sloths, and sabretooth cats, were discovered more than a century ago, with only a few new species, including Speleotherium logani, recognized within the past few decades,” Morgan said. “The discovery of Speleotherium in Muskox Cave and U-Bar Cave attests to the extraordinarily rich fossil record of Ice Age mammals in New Mexico.”
Speleotherium lived during the Late Pleistocene Period—less than 12,000 years ago—and is closely related to today’s muskox found north of the Arctic Circle. Its horns resemble those of modern muskoxen and helped researchers identify it as a distinct species. The animal was slightly smaller than current muskoxen: up to four feet tall at the shoulder and weighing between 400 and 700 pounds.
The distribution range for Speleotherium fossils extends farther south than any other relatives; scientists believe it inhabited rocky mountainous areas across parts of the southwestern United States and Mesoamerica. Its lifestyle may have resembled that of present-day mountain goats.
The New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science is part of the Department of Cultural Affairs and is supported by its Board of Trustees as well as private donors through its Foundation. Since opening in 1986, it has focused on preserving and interpreting New Mexico’s natural heritage through collections, research programs—including geoscience fields such as paleontology—and public exhibits. The museum also houses educational facilities like a planetarium and DynaTheater but is currently closed for renovations.
