Abstract: An exceptional, complete tusk of a mature male woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) was recovered from a placer mining exposure on Last Chance Creek, Yukon Territory in July, 2002. The tusk is associated with peat dated to 25 700 ± 400 14C yrs BP. The direct association of Pleistocene fossils with past vegetation is rare, and allows a comparison between the local vegetation of Last Chance Creek and megafauna during the last glaciation. Preliminary analyses of plant and insect macrofossils from the peat indicate a vegetation cover composed of a mosaic of mesic riparian meadows with sedges, mosses, and willows, and well-drained grasslands or steppe with diverse herbs and sage. This discovery supports the interpretation that the "Mammoth-Steppe" biome existed near the onset of the last glaciation in eastern Beringia.

Authors: Zazula, G.D., Froese, D.G., Telka, A.M., and Mathewes, R.W.

Keywords: fossils, Pleistocene

NTS Mapsheet(s): 115O

Citation: Zazula, G.D., Froese, D.G., Telka, A.M., and Mathewes, R.W., 2003. Plants, bugs, and a giant mammoth tusk: Paleoecology of Last Chance Creek, Yukon Territory. In: Yukon Exploration and Geology 2002, Emond, D.S. and Lewis, L.L. (eds.), Indian & Northern Affairs Canada/Department of Indian & Northern Development: Exploration & Geological Services Division, p. 251-258

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