Multivariate analyses of Cenozoic mammalian faunas from Riversleigh, northwestern Queensland

Abstract

Mammalian faunal lists of Riversleigh fossil sites were compared using several techniques to assess the age relationships between 75 Riversleigh sites and the central Australian Ngama, Kutjamarpu and the Northern Territory Bullock Creek Local Faunas. Presence/absence data of the sites' mammalian faunas were compared in terms of faunal similarity using cluster analysis, ordination, seriation and cladistics (the latter method has not previously been used to compare such data). The analysis was repeated using only sites with eight mammal taxa or more. The analyses also tested and supported the Riversleigh System concept introduced by Archer et al. (1989). The analyses confirmed the placement of several sites previously assigned (Creaser 1997, Arena 2004) to a System based on their geology and topography. However, the analyses could not confirm the assignment of sites with less than eight taxa. Sites with eight mammal taxa or more were used as diagnostic sites for a preliminary description of the “Systems” or “Faunal Zones” (sensu Arena 2004).