somewhere in this county. The specimen was first mentioned by Leidy in
1860 (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., p. 416), but without other
designation than peccary. Leidy wrote that it had been sent to him by
Dr. David D. Owen, who informed him that it had been discovered in
Gibson County, in digging a well, at a depth of between 30 and 40 feet.
No more exact locality has ever been determined. The specimen consisted
of the front of the skull only. It was later described by Leidy (Proc.
same Academy, 1868, p. 230), under the name _Dicotyles nasutus_; and in
1869 (Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., vol. VII, p. 385, plate XXVIII,
figs. 1, 2) was further described and illustrated. The figures referred
to have been reproduced by the present writer in 1912 (Geol. Surv.
Indiana, vol. XXXIII, p. 607, text-figs. 42, 43), and again in 1914
(Iowa Geol. Surv., vol. XXIII, plate XXVI, figs. 1, 2).
It is unfortunate that Owen and Leidy did not more accurately establish
the locality where this jaw was found. In Gibson County there is a
considerable variety of geological deposits, even considering only those
belonging to the Pleistocene and Recent. The eastern and the
southeastern portion lies outside the drift-covered region. A strip
along the Wabash is occupied by alluvial deposits belonging to the
Recent epoch. Outside of this is another strip covered mostly by
Illinoian drift.
The Patoka Quadrangle, described in Folio No. 105 of the U. S.
Geological Survey, published in 1904, covers nearly the whole of Gibson
County. An examination of this folio shows how complicated are the later
geological features of the region. It is fair to suppose that a well
from 30 to 40 feet in depth was dug, especially at that time, in the
higher parts of the county, where the elevation is somewhere near 500
feet above sea-level. Here such a well would probably go through the
rather scattering Wisconsin deposits of various kinds or through the
loess referred to the Iowan stage, reaching perhaps the Sangamon; or
through later Illinoian or early Sangamon lake deposits and Illinoian
glacial accumulations into pre-Illinoian deposits. The folio cited notes
(p. 3) the presence of deposits supposed to belong to the beginning of
the Illinoian stage. These contained zones of black muck and other
organic materials; and in places were found logs and what were thought
by the well-diggers to be “black-oak” leaves. All these might have been
of Aftonian age; and in deposits of that time might have been found the
jaw of _Mylohyus nasutus_.
This species has been reported from a number of other localities; but
the remains have been of so imperfect character that the identifications
may have been erroneous. Professor Cope reported in 1869 (Proc. Amer.
Philos. Soc., vol. XI, p. 176) that he had found several molars and
canine teeth of this animal in cave breccia in Wythe County, Virginia.
The breccia appeared to be very old, and in them were found a species of
_Megalonyx_, _Equus complicatus?_, _Tapirus haysii_, _Ursus amplidens_,
and many other extinct species.
Cope in 1899 (Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., vol. XI, p. 263) announced
this species from the Port Kennedy cave in southeastern Pennsylvania. In
this case there were found only a canine and 4 molars; hence not too
much reliance must be placed on the identification. A large majority of
the numerous species found in the Port Kennedy cave are extinct. Among
these are species of _Megalonyx_, a mylodon, a bear, 2 species of
saber-tooth tigers, a tapir, 1 or 2 species of horse, and 3 species of
peccaries. One can hardly doubt that the animals belonged to the early
part of the Pleistocene. The indications are that the known examples of
_Mylohyus nasutus_ belonged to the first half of the Pleistocene; that
is, to the Sangamon stage or to the Aftonian.
2. _Near Williams, Lawrence County._—In the collection of the University
of Indiana are some peccary remains found in Rock Cliff quarry, not far
northwest from Williams. These were described by the writer in 1912
(Geol. Surv. Indiana, vol. XXXIII, pp. 596, 605). The remains were
secured by Professor J. W. Beede. A part of a lower jaw which contained
a first true molar and impressions of the second and third molars was
referred to Leidy’s species _Tagassu lenis_. A large last upper molar
(op. cit., p. 605, plate IV, fig. 2) was referred with some doubt to
_Platygonus vetus_.
These remains, together with some bones of one or the other of these
species and a carapace of the box-tortoise still living in that region,
were inclosed in masses of stalagmite which appear to have pretty
completely filled an old cave in the limestone, encountered in quarrying
operations. According to Professor Beede, the cave had, when he saw it,
been all quarried away except one corner. This was from 20 to 30 feet
below the general surface at that place. It was about 100 feet above the
present level of White River, about on a level with the highest terrace
along that stream. The probabilities are that the peccaries and the
box-tortoise belong to one of the earlier Pleistocene interglacial
stages. Professor Beede is inclined to believe that the cave was filled
during the Illinoian glacial stage by streams carrying in mud and sand
and gravel. If this view is correct the inclosed remains would be at
least as old as the Yarmouth.
The species _Tagassu lenis_ is closely related to the peccary which now
lives in southwestern Texas and Mexico, and it has been regarded as
identical with it; but there appear to be reasons why it should be
retained under its own name. It was first described from teeth found
among materials coming from the phosphate deposits about Charleston,
South Carolina. Certainly many of the species found there lived during
the early part of the Pleistocene.
It is possible that certain teeth referred by Cope (Proc. Acad. Nat.
Sci., Phila., 1867, p. 155) to the existing peccary belonged to _T.
lenis_; but there is nothing known regarding their exact geological age.
Other teeth found in the lead region of Illinois were identified by
Wyman as those of the existing peccary. They too may have been those of
_T. lenis_. The writer regards the animals found in the lead crevices as
belonging to rather late Pleistocene, possibly to Peorian or Sangamon
times. As to the remains found in the cave in Lawrence County it is
probable that they date back to the Sangamon stage.
3. _Laketon, Wabash County._—In the Fourteenth Annual Report of the
Geological Survey of Indiana, page 20, Cope and Wortman stated there was
in the Survey’s collection the symphyseal portion of the lower jaw and a
large part of the left ramus with all the premolar teeth, except the
last. This had been found at Laketon, in Wabash County. There were given
no further details, and the writer failed to find the specimen in the
collection. In the collection of Earlham College, Richmond, are
photographs of probably this specimen and of a part of the upper jaw.
The latter bone shows 3 premolars and the first molar; the lower jaw
presents the symphysis, the right canine, and the 2 anterior premolars.
The photographs are labeled as those of _Platygonus compressus_,
determined by Cope, and as made from the Wabash County specimen.
All the region about Laketon is covered with Wisconsin drift or
materials derived from it. The peccary found must have lived after the
retirement of the border of the glacier beyond the Wabash River. It was
probably long after this and when the climate was perhaps warmer than it
is now.
ILLINOIS.
(Maps 20, 38.)
1. _Galena, Jo Daviess County._—In 1848, Dr. John L. Le Conte (Amer.
Jour. Sci., vol. V, pp. 102–106) described what he regarded as 5 new
species of fossil mammals from the lead region of Illinois. These had
been secured by Mr. Wm. Snyder, of Galena, in a lead crevice 50 feet
below the surface, filled with a mixture of clay and sand cemented by
oxide of iron into a hard mass from which the specimens could not be
removed without great injury. The species described were called
_Platygonus compressus_, _Hyops depressifrons_, _Protochœrus
prismaticus_, _Procyon priscus_, and _Anomodon snyderi_. The last was
regarded as related to the moles. _Procyon priscus_ resembled closely
the existing _P. lotor_. The 3 species first mentioned are now regarded
as belonging to a single species, which takes the name _Platygonus
compressus_. It may be remarked that the original spelling of the
generic name was due perhaps to a lapsus calami or to a printer’s error.
In the complete paper published shortly afterward the name was spelled
_Platygonus_. It is to be added that the teeth which served as the type
of the so-called species _Protochœrus prismaticus_ were found at a
locality 15 miles from the place where the other remains were obtained;
but as to where this place was nothing is said.
In 1848 (Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts, Sci., vol. III, pp. 257–274, plates I to
IV) _Platygonus compressus_ was more completely described. Various teeth
and parts of the skull and some limb-bones were figured. In this article
it is stated that the remains described had been found in a lead crevice
a few miles from Galena. A portion of the bones had been preserved by
the miners and had at length found their way into the hands of Mr.
Snyder, a merchant in Galena.
In 1852 (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., vol. VI, pp. 3–5) _Hyops
depressifrons_ and _Protochœrus prismaticus_ were further described, the
first being placed in the genus _Dicotyles_. Both of these are now
regarded as belonging to _Platygonus compressus_.
The writer has considered it as probable that the peccary remains, as
well as _Procyon priscus_ and _Anomodon snyderi_, are of Late Wisconsin
age; but it is possible that they are somewhat older. The reader is
referred to page 343, where the Pleistocene of the lead region is
discussed.
2. _Alton, Madison County._—In the McAdams collection, of which a
general account has been given on page 339, is a part of a lower canine
tooth which apparently differs in no way from the corresponding canine
of _Platygonus cumberlandensis_, found by Mr. J. W. Gidley in a
limestone fissure near Cumberland, Maryland. On page 350 will be found a
list of the species found in this fissure and their geological age.
WISCONSIN.
(Map 20.)
1. _Bluemounds, Dane County._—In 1862, Professor J. D. Whitney reported
(Geol. Surv. Wisconsin, vol. I, pp. 135, 136) that he had discovered in
a crevice at Bluemounds, accompanied by bones and some teeth of the
mastodon, a buffalo, and a wolf, several fragments of jaws and some
teeth and other bones of a peccary, in an excellent state of
preservation. At the top of his page 134 Whitney indicates that these
remains belonged to the species now called _Platygonus compressus_. On
page 422 of the same volume Jeffries Wyman, in reporting on the
vertebrate remains collected in the lead region, mentions only 3 teeth;
and these, he said, differed much from either of the fossil species and
agreed with the existing peccary. From Whitney’s note at the bottom of
his page 135 we may suppose that these 3 teeth were found in Iowa, near
Dubuque. It is probable that the teeth found at Bluemounds belonged to
_Tagassu lenis_.
In 1866 (Geol. Surv. Illinois, vol. I, p. 162), Whitney stated that from
a crevice near Bluemounds he got peccary bones and teeth which were
supposed to be identical with the animals now living. Leidy (Jour. Acad.
Nat. Sci. Phila., vol. VII, p. 384) stated that he believed that teeth
found in Wisconsin belonged to _Dicotyles lenis_. One can not be certain
regarding the age of these animals found in this lead region. They are
probably pre-Wisconsin. The age will be discussed on page 343.
MARYLAND.
(Map 20.)
1. _Benedict, Charles County._—More than 50 years ago Cope (Proc. Nat.
Sci. Phila., 1867, p. 155) reported the finding of peccary jaws mingled
with remains of Miocene vertebrates collected by James T. Thomas, near
his residence in Charles County, not far from Patuxent River, near
Benedict. Cope recognized that the peccary and a part of a jaw of
_Grison macrodon_ (referred by Cope to _Galera_) belonged to the
Pleistocene. The peccary was referred to the existing species _Dicotyles
(Tagassu) torquatus_; likewise their similarity to the remains described
by Leidy from Charleston, South Carolina, was noted. They are assigned
here to _Tagassu lenis_. The jaws from the Patuxent locality are now in
the Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia.
2. _Chesapeake Beach, Calvert County._—Mr. William Palmer, of the U. S.
National Museum, has shown the writer 3 teeth of a peccary secured at
the place named. These will be mentioned in the discussion of the
geology of the locality. A left third premolar is 10.3 mm. long and 6.2
mm. wide. A left second molar is 12 mm. long and 10 mm. wide. These
apparently belonged to _Tagassu lenis_.
In March 1921, Dr. Adolph H. Schultz, of the Johns Hopkins Medical
School, presented to the U. S. National Museum a part of the left ramus
of the lower jaw of a peccary found at Chesapeake Beach. This fragment
contains the first and second molars and the sockets of the fourth
premolar and the third molar. This jaw and the teeth have been compared
with the corresponding parts of a specimen of _Tagassu angulatus_ (No.
35815, U. S. Nat. Mus.), secured along the boundary between the United
States and Mexico. In size the fossil teeth differ little from those of
_T. angulatus_; the first molar is, however, somewhat wider; the conule
between the two hindermost cones, the hypoconulid, is much smaller than
in the existing peccary used for comparison. The inner face of each
tooth is not so flat in the fossil as in the other species. In the
fossil the height of the jaw at the second molar is 28 mm.; in _T.
angulatus_ 35 mm. The specimen is referred to _Tagassu lenis_.
3. _Corriganville, Allegany County._—In a rock crevice 3 miles west of
north of Cumberland, J. W. Gidley found abundant remains of peccaries.
These were described by him in 1920 (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. LVII,
pp. 651–678, plates LIV, LV, 13 text-figs.). He recognized 4 species, 2
belonging to _Platygonus_ and 2 to _Mylohyus_. The new species,
_Platygonus cumberlandensis_ and _P. intermedius_ and _Mylohyus
exortivus_, are based on materials found in the fissure. With the other
materials he recognized a part of a lower jaw, which he referred to _M.
pennsylvanicus_.
4. _Cavetown, Washington County._—In 1920 (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol.
LVII, pp. 96–109), the writer described a collection of fossil
vertebrates made at Cavetown by the officers of Phillips Academy,
Andover, Massachusetts. Among the species are 6 which belong to the
group of peccaries, as follows: _Mylohyus nasutus_ (Leidy), _M.
exortivus_ Gidley, _M. obtusidens_ Hay, _Tagassu? tetragonus?_ (Cope),
_Platygonus vetus_ Leidy, _P. cumberlandensis_ Gidley.
These and the associated species apparently lived here during
approximately the Middle Pleistocene, probably the Sangamon stage. A
list of the species found in the fissure and their geological relations
are presented on page 348. The specimen above referred provisionally to
_Tagassu tetragonus_ was called, in the paper cited above, _Platygonus
tetragonus_. It appears, however, to be nearer _Tagassu_. It may even
belong to an unnamed genus.
VIRGINIA.
(Map 20.)
1. _Ivanhoe, Wythe County._—In 1869 (Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc., vol. XI,
p. 176), Cope reported he had found several molar and canine teeth of
_Dicotyles nasutus_, in cave breccia on New River, with remains of many
other species of vertebrates. This now bears the name _Mylohyus
nasutus_. A list of the species is given on page 353, where the
Pleistocene geology of Virginia is discussed.
2. _Augusta County._—In 1857 (Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., vol. XI, p.
104), Leidy stated he had examined a fragment of a lower jaw of a young
individual of _Platygonus compressus_, found in the county named. The
jaw contained the last milk molar, unworn. The first true molar had not
yet begun to protrude. The writer has seen this specimen in the
collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia. No other
information regarding its place of origin has been secured.
WEST VIRGINIA.
(Map 20.)
1. _Renicks, Greenbrier County._—In 1920 (Rep. Smithson. Inst, for 1918,
p. 288, plates I-VI), J. W. Gidley reported on a visit he had made to a
cave situated on Greenbrier River, near Renicks. The cave was discovered
during quarrying operations in limestone. The greater part of the bones
had been destroyed before the workers appreciated their value. Only a
part of a skull of a peccary was secured, probably of the species
_Platygonus intermedius_ (Gidley, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. LVII, p.
669). It has the catalogue No. 8003 of the U. S. National Museum. This
animal is to be referred to the Middle Pleistocene.
SOUTH CAROLINA.
(Map 20.)
1. _Charleston, Charleston County._—In 1860 (“Holmes’s Post-Pliocene
Fossils of South Carolina,” p. 108, plate XVII, figs. 13, 14), Leidy
reported the finding of teeth of a peccary in the Ashley River deposits.
These teeth, a lower third molar and probably a lower second molar, were
described under the name _Dicotyles fossilis_ and were said to have the
size and form of the corresponding teeth of the collared peccary,
_Dicotyles torquatus_ (=_Tagassu tajacu_). Fragments of some upper teeth
were said to have the size of those of _D. labiatus_. In 1869 (Jour.
Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., ser. 2, vol. VII, p. 384), the fossil teeth just
mentioned were referred, with some others, to the new species _Dicotyles
lenis_. The principal character distinguishing the teeth of this species
from those of the existing peccaries mentioned is the absence of
accessory tubercles. This is shown also in an upper hindermost molar of
the same species, described by the writer (9th Ann. Rep. Florida Geol.
Sur., 1917, p. 48, plate III, fig. 2) under the name _Tayassu lenis_.
The name should have been _Tagassu lenis_.
In the Pinckney collection, at the Pinckney residence, Lambs, South
Carolina, near Charleston, the writer examined a tooth of a peccary,
which apparently belongs to another species. It is taken to be a lower
hindermost molar. A part of the anterior crest and a part of one side
are broken off. The heel is relatively large, consisting of a hinder and
2 anterior tubercles; between the anterior tubercles is another minute
one. In the middle of each cross-valley is a tubercle. The length of the
fragment is 20.2 mm., the width 9.5 mm. This was evidently a larger
animal than _Tagassu lenis_.
FLORIDA.
(Map 20.)
1. _Vero, St. Lucie County._—Apparently 2 species of peccaries have been
found in the deposits along the drainage canal, near Vero, in the
uppermost stratum (No. 3). One, represented by a canine tooth, has not
been determined (Hay, Rep. Florida Geol. Surv., vol. IX, p. 50). It
appeared to be too large to belong to _Tagassu lenis_.
The other remains belonged to a small peccary and have been referred to
_Tagassu lenis_. In 1916 (Rep. Florida Geol. Surv., vol. VIII, p. 149),
Sellards reported the finding of 2 cheek-teeth and a tibia. One of the
teeth was taken from the stratum called No. 2; the other teeth and the
tibia had washed out of the bank and it was uncertain from which stratum
they had come. In 1917 (Rep. Florida Geol. Surv., vol. IX, pp. 45, 48,
plate III, fig. 2), the writer reported the finding of a hindermost
molar of a small peccary, believed to be _T. lenis_, in stratum No. 2;
also the discovery by Isaac M. Weills of a small canine of _T. lenis_ in
stratum No. 3 (op. cit., plate III, fig. 3). On page 50 of the same
paper the writer referred provisionally to _T. lenis_ the tibia above
mentioned.
2. _Palma Sola, Manatee County._—From this place have been sent to the
U. S. National Museum many specimens of fossil vertebrates, a list of
which will be found in the discussion of the Pleistocene geology of
Florida (p. 379). Some of these belong to the Pleistocene, others
apparently to the Miocene. Among the specimens is a right astragalus of
a peccary. While it is possible that the original possessor of this
astragalus lived during the Miocene, it does not seem probable. It may
have belonged to _Tagassu lenis_. The length of the bone is 32 mm., the
width across the lower end 19 mm.
TENNESSEE.
(Map 20. Figure 23.)
1. _Rogersville, Hawkins County._—In the U. S. National Museum is a part
of a lower left canine tooth of a peccary found near the place
mentioned. With it came an upper molar of _Equus leidyi_. The tooth
lacks most of the crown. It has been described by the writer under the
name _Mylohyus setiger_ (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. LVIII, p. 84, plate
III, figs. 21–23). The root of the tooth is 93 mm. long, measured along
the convexity of the curve. A little of the tip of the root is missing.
The size of the tooth indicates a very large animal.
2. _Whitesburg, Hamblen County._—In the U. S. National Museum is a
considerable collection of bones and teeth made in 1885 near Whitesburg.
This locality and the accompanying species will be discussed on another
page. Among the remains are 3 upper canine teeth, referred by the writer
(Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. LVIII, p. 90, plate III, figs. 12–13) to
_Mylohyus nasutus_ Leidy. A list of the associated species will be found
on page 395.
3. _Dandridge, Jefferson County._—In 1896 (Dept. Amer. and Prehist.
Archæol. Univ. Penn.), Dr. H. C. Mercer reported he had found remains of
the tapir, peccary, bear, and small rodents in Zirkel’s Cave. The cave
is situated on the left bank of Dumplin Creek, about 5 miles above its
entrance into French Broad River. The species to which the peccary
remains belonged was not determined.
KENTUCKY.
(Map 20.)
1. _Rockcastle County._—In 1853, Dr. Leidy (Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc.,
vol. X, p. 331, plates XXXV, XXXVI, XXXVII, figs. 5–8, 17, 19) described
under the name _Euchœrus macrops_, a fine skull of a peccary which had
been lying for 47 years in the collection of the society. It had been
sent there by Dr. Samuel Brown, of Lexington, Kentucky, and was said to
have been found in one of the nitrous caves of that State. The writer is
informed by Dr. Arthur M. Miller, Professor of Geology in the University
of Kentucky, that it is unlikely that the skull came from any of the
caves in the region about Lexington, as he had never heard any of them
had been worked for saltpeter. In the Transactions of the American
Philosophical Society for 1804 (vol. VI, pp. 235–247) is a paper by
Samuel Brown, in which he describes a cave in what is now Rockcastle
County. In this and some other neighboring caves were found immense
quantities of saltpeter. Probably the skull which Leidy afterward
described from this region was brought to light. It appears to have been
mentioned by Dr. B. S. Barton as early as 1806 (Phila. Med. and Phys.
Jour., vol. II, plate I, p. 158). It is now in the collection of the
Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia. It was recognized by Leidy
as belonging to _Platygonus compressus_.
FINDS OF PLEISTOCENE CAMELIDÆ IN EASTERN NORTH AMERICA.
PENNSYLVANIA.
(Map 21.)
1. It is not certain that any fossil camel remains have ever been found
in Pennsylvania. In 1899 (Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., ser. 2, vol. XI,
p. 264, plate XXI, figs. 4, 4_a_) Cope described _Teleopternus
orientalis_ and referred it to the Camelidæ. This was found in the Port
Kennedy cave, and whatever its relationships it belongs to the early
Pleistocene. Matthew (Osborn, Age of Mamm., p. 469) suggested that its
affinities might be with the musk-oxen.
FLORIDA.
(Map 21.)