Late Holocene sonoran desert arthropod remains from a packrat midden, catavina, Baja California Norte, Mexico

Arthropods are reported for the first time from a late Holocene-aged (1770 +/- 60 radiocarbon years B.P.) packrat (Neotoma) midden located in a granite boulder field in the Catavina region of the Central Desert, Baja California, Mexico. More than 23 arthropod taxa have been identified from 315 fragments found in a subsample of the midden. Ten of these taxa have not previously been reported from Neotoma midden assemblages. Coleoptera (beetles) and Hymenoptera, Formicidae (ants) are the dominant forms recovered, possibly reflecting a taphonomic bias. We compared the taxa found in the midden assemblage with that found at the site today and found little difference, however a study of the midden plants has revealed that the modern vegetation and climate are drier than similar to 1770 years ago.