Orange County, Florida paleontological sites

The Orange County paleontological sites are assemblages of Late Pleistocene vertebrates occurring in Orange County, Florida.

Age

Era: Neogene<br /> Period: Pleistocene<br /> Faunal stage: Rancholabrean 126,000—11,000 years ago, calculates to a period of approximately .

Sites

• Rock Spring site (Pleistocene). Time period: ~126,000—11,000 thousand years ago. Specimens were collected by H. J. Gut, J. Mann, J. Todd, G. Lintner, circa 1939. The site was recorded as bone-bearing argillaceous sandstone overlaying Ocala Limestone containing macrofossils. "The bones are well mineralized, and most are unworn; frequent occurrence in association of bones from what appear to be the same individual indicates that the material has not been reworked." (Glen E. Woolfenden 1959).

Coordinates:

Specimens

Birds

• Meleagris gallopavo (wild turkey)
• Mergus serrator (red-breasted merganser)
• Anas fulvigula (mottled duck)
• Anas crecca carolinensis (green-winged teal)
• Anas discors (blue-winged teal)
• Anas acuta (northern pintail duck)
• Aix sponsa (wood duck)
• Aythya collaris (ring-necked duck)
• Aythya affinis (lesser scaup duck)
• Gavia immer (great northern loon)
• Podiceps auritus (horned grebe)
• Podilymbus podiceps (pied-billed grebe)
• Nannopterum auritum (double-crested cormorant)
• Anhinga anhinga (snakebird)
• Ciconia maltha (extinct stork)
• Ajaia ajaja (roseate spoonbill)
• Botaurus lentiginosus (American bittern)
• Ardea herodias (great blue heron)
• Ardea alba (great egret)
• Nycticorax nycticorax (black-crowned night heron)
• Aramus guarauna (limpkin)
• Grus canadensis (sandhill crane)
• Fulica minor (coot)
• Limnodromus scolopaceus (long-billed dowitcher)
• Gallinula galeata (common gallinule)
• Larus (gull)
• Pandion haliaetus (osprey)
• Buteo jamaicensis (red-tailed hawk)
• Haliaetus leucocephalus (sea eagle)
• Strix varia (barred owl)
• Ectopistes migratorius (passenger pigeon)
• Megaceryle alcyon (belted kingfisher)
• Dendrocopos borealis (a woodpecker)
• Corvus ossifragus (fish crow)
• Cardinalis cardinalis (northern cardinal)

Mammals

• Paramylodon (ground sloth)
• Dasypus bellus (armadillo)
• Holmesina septentrionalis (armadillo-like Cingulata)
• Trichechus manatus Linnaeus (sea cow)
• Mammuthus (mammoth)
• Mammut americanum (American mastodon)
• Tapirus veroensis (tapir)
• Equus (horse)
• Mormoops megalophylla (bat)
• Myotis austroriparius (bat)
• Tremarctos floridanus (Florida cave bear)
• Ursus americanus (American black bear)
• Procyon lotor (raccoon)
• Aenocyon dirus (dire wolf)
• Urocyon cinereoargenteus (gray fox)
• Leopardus amnicola (margay)
• Puma concolor (puma)
• Mylohyus nasutus (peccary)
• Platygonus compressus Leconte (peccary)
• Odocoileus virginianus (deer)
• Bison (bison)
• Tursiops (bottlenose dolphin)
• Palaeolama mirifica (camel)
• Blarina carolinensis (shrew)
• Sylvilagus (rabbit)
• Thomomys orientalis (gopher)
• Geomys pinetis (pocket gopher)
• Castor (North American beaver)
• Reithrodontomys (harvest mouse)

Further reading

• Kathryn A. Hoppe1, Paul L. Koch, Richard W. Carlson and S. David Webb, Tracking mammoths and mastodons: Reconstruction of migratory behavior using strontium isotope ratios.http://geology.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/content/abstract/27/5/439

References