Cave Paleontology

a person in a cave pointing at the ceiling
Cave scientist, Vanessa Padilla, points out shark fossils exposed in the ceiling of a cave passage at Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky.

NPS photo by Rick Toomey.

Introduction

A great diversity of fossils are preserved in National Park System caves. Cave fossils have been documented in 56 park units. Cave fossils include fossil plants, invertebrates, vertebrates, and trace fossils.

There are two ways that paleontological resources can occur in caves. First, fossils can be preserved within the cave-forming rock and may become exposed through cave-forming processes. Second, fossils can accumulate within the cave and karst features, such as in cave openings, sinkholes, and tubes. Animals use caves for shelter and feeding; animals will seek refuge within and can be accidentally trapped or predators will carry a carcass into a cave. Cave fossils can be important resources for paleontologists who use these accumulations to identify what types of organisms have inhabited an area.

Caves are important environments for the preservation of paleontological resources. The relatively constant temperature and humidity of caves aid in the long-term preservation of organic material. Fossils formed inside the caves are protected from the harmful effects of solar radiation, as well as the forces of weathering and erosion.

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  • Geologic Resources Division

    National Park Service Cave Paleontology

    condor skull

    Caves are important environments for the preservation of fossils. Within the National Park Service, a rich diversity of cave fossils have been documented in at least 56 different parks.

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Stories from Around the Park System

Showing results 1-7 of 7

  • Pleistocene Life and Landscapes—Grand Canyon

    • Locations: Grand Canyon National Park
    • Offices: Geologic Resources Division
    illustration of a ground sloth

    Well known for its geologic significance, the Grand Canyon is one of the most studied geologic landscapes in the world. The park also has numerous caves and a rich and diverse fossil record. Rampart Cave fossils include not only bones, but also hair, skin, sinew, and other soft parts, mostly of sloths. Plant fossils in the sloth dung and packrat middens provide important information about the ecosystem and climate of the Rampart Cave area over thousands of years

  • Pleistocene Life and Landscapes—Valley Forge

    • Locations: Valley Forge National Historical Park
    • Offices: Geologic Resources Division
    fossil skull of a short-faced bear

    One of the richest fossil sites ever discovered in eastern North America was Port Kennedy Bone Cave in Valley Forge National Historical Park. The cave was found in the 1870s and explored through the 1890s.

  • An Inventory of Fossils at Carlsbad Caverns National Park

    • Locations: Carlsbad Caverns National Park
    • Offices: Geologic Resources Division
    fossils and scale bar ruler

    The rich fossil record at Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico, was the focus of a recent paleontological resource inventory. Paleontologist Scott Kottkamp dedicated three months at the park researching and reporting on the fossils from the Permian marine reef system and Ice Age fossils founds within park caves at the park.

  • The Ghosts of Ancient Sharks at Mammoth Cave National Park

    • Locations: Mammoth Cave National Park
    • Offices: Geologic Resources Division
    a paleo artist

    2019–2020 investigations at Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, have revealed an unprecedented assemblage of Paleozoic (Late Mississippian) shark fossils preserved in the passages of the cave system. Not only teeth and spines are present, but there are examples of rare cartilaginous skeletal remains, and the fossils include previously unknown species.

  • Shark Fossil—"Saivodus striatus"

    • Locations: Mammoth Cave National Park
    • Offices: Geologic Resources Division
    3d model of fossil on larger rock

    Interactive 3D Model Collected from Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky.

  • Shark Fossil—"Glikmanius"

    • Locations: Mammoth Cave National Park
    • Offices: Geologic Resources Division
    painting of a prehistoric shark

    Interactive 3D Model Collected from Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky.

  • Geologic Resources Division

    Fossils of the 2019 National Fossil Day Artwork

    • Offices: Geologic Resources Division
    national fossil day artwork with sloth illustration

    The giant ground sloth graphic is the official National Fossil Day 2019 artwork. It can be used to promote National Fossil Day 2019 activities and events and includes the date October 16, 2019.

Tags: cavepaleontology
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Published Cave Paleontology Inventories

  • Kottkamp S, Santucci VL, Tweet JS, Horrocks RD, Lynch E, Morgan GS. 2020. Carlsbad Caverns National Park: Paleontological resource inventory (public version). Natural Resource Report. NPS/CAVE/NRR—2020/2148. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado. https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2275666

  • Santucci VL, Kenworthy J, Kerbo R. 2001. An inventory of paleontological resources associated with National Park Service caves. NPS/NRGRD/GRDTR-01/02, NPS D-2231. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Geological Resources Division. Lakewood, Colorado. https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/573879

  • Santucci, V.L., and J.S. Tweet, editors. 2020. Grand Canyon National Park: Centennial paleontological resource inventory (sensitive version). Natural Resource Report NPS/GRCA/NRR—2020/2095. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2272389

Last updated: June 5, 2023

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