The authors here present a methodology for the analysis of fossil horse trackways in order to determine the gait and velocity. The methodology presents recommended measurements to take on trackways, ways of distinguishing front feet (manus) from hind feet (pes) in order to determine footfall patterns, tables and figures noting how gaits can be distinguished based upon trackway patterns and measurements, formulae for estimating the speed of gait, and ways of determining likely trackmaker species and height at withers. In order to develop this methodology the authors undertook a study of twenty-five horses of different breeds and sizes in various gaits, and found six ratios determinable from trackways that can help identify horse gait and velocity: step symmetry, stride length/front hoof length, ipsilateral step distance/stride length, diagonal step distance/stride length, diagonal/ipsilateral step distance, and interior straddle/hind hoof width. Also noted were the effects of three key variables that could increase the amount of overstep of ipsilateral feet in different gaits: velocity of gait, height of trackmaker at the withers, and gleno-acetabular distance of trackmaker (distance between center of hip to center of shoulder).

The late Pleistocene fossil site of Natural Trap Cave (NTC) located in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming has been producing fossils since its first scientific exploration in the late 1960s. This site has exceptional preservation of a wide range of species including megafauna, microfauna, and pollen, and is considered a “treasure trove” among late Pleistocene sites in North America. However, this site presents logistical challenges because of its remoteness and inaccessibility (it is a 24.5m deep sinkhole located at the end of a mountainous road) and understanding how to access and excavate such a site should be recorded for future paleontologists, including how to overcome any logistical difficulties. We summarize the history of excavations of NTC including the three main teams who undertook these challenges, the overall questions the excavations addressed, how the excavations were accomplished, and the overall findings. This published work will serve as a record of how to undertake the logistical challenges of a site as rewarding as NTC.

When describing and illustrating vertebrae, it is important to consistently depict their orientation, so we can objectively assess and compare the slope of the neural arch, neural canal, or articular surfaces. However, differing vertebral shapes across taxa and across regions of the spinal column make it difficult to maintain consistency, or even define what we mean by the directions “cranial” and “caudal”. Consequently, characters such as “Neural arch slopes cranially 30° relative to the vertical” are disputable rather than objective measurements. Cranial and caudal are defined as directed along the horizontal axis, but several different definitions of “horizontal” are possible.