The protracted Holocene extinction of California's flightless sea duck (Chendytes lawi) and its implications for the Pleistocene overkill hypothesis.

ABSTRACT: Bones of the flightless sea duck (Chendytes lawi) from 14 archaeological sites along the California coast indicate that humans hunted the species for at least 8,000 years before it was driven to extinction. Direct (14)C dates on Chendytes bones show that the duck was exploited on the southern California islands as early as approximately 11,150-10,280 calendar years B.P., and on the mainland by at least 8,500 calendar years B.P. The youngest direct date of 2,720-2,350 calendar years B.P., combined with the absence of Chendytes bones from hundreds of late Holocene sites, suggests that the species was extinct by approximately 2,400 years ago. Although the extinction of Chendytes clearly resulted from human overhunting, its demise raises questions about the Pleistocene overkill model, which su

SUBMITTER: Jones TL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2393816 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature