1886, p. 12), Dr. Joseph Leidy briefly described three species of the
genus Procamelus from materials collected near Archer by Dr. W. H. Dall.
The teeth and bones had been found in what has been called the Alachua
clays, and were associated with a considerable number of species of
vertebrates. The list will be found on page 375, where the Pleistocene
geology is considered. The three species of camels were called _Auchenia
major_, _A. minor_, and _A. minimus_. They are now referred to the genus
_Procamelus_. In 1896 they were (Trans. Wagner Free Inst. Sci., vol. IV,
pp. VII-XIV, 15–61, with plates) described in more detail and
illustrated by Leidy and Lucas. The error of calling _P. minor_ by the
name _P. medius_, first introduced by Cope, was followed in the paper
just mentioned; and some authors have continued this practice. Dr. W. H.
Dall included these camels in his list (Bull. U. S. Geol. Surv. No. 84,
p. 129). Authors have in general referred to the Tertiary the deposit
which furnished these camels; the present writer believes that the
Alachua beds belong to the first glacial stage. The matter is further
discussed on pages 376 to 378.
2. _Williston, Levy County._—In 1892 (Bull. U. S. Geol. Surv., No. 84,
p. 129), Dr. W. H. Dall published a list, furnished by Joseph Leidy, of
the vertebrate fossils found at what was then known as Mixon’s bone-bed.
The species, with some additions, are listed on page 375. Among others
is _Procamelus major_. The species were found in the Alachua clays, and
these clays are referred by Sellards to the Upper Miocene or Lower
Pliocene.
3. _Ocala, Marion County._—In 1889 (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1889,
p. 31; Trans. Wagner Free Inst. Sci., vol. II, pp. 13–17), Leidy
mentioned the discovery of a tooth of a camel, regarded by him as
belonging to _Procamelus_, in a limestone quarry at Ocala. With it were
described the saber-tooth tiger _Machairodus floridanus_. Teeth were
found also of a horse which is referred to _Equus leidyi_. A list of the
species found at this locality is on page 378. In the Philadelphia
Academy paper Leidy called the camel _Auchenia minor_. In the next paper
cited he regarded it as _A. minimus_.
4. _Dunnellon, Marion County._—In 1916 (8th Ann. Rep. Florida Geol.
Surv., pp. 94, 104), Dr. Sellards presented a list of the species of
vertebrates discovered in the Dunnellon formation at Dunnellon and
vicinity. Among the species is the camel _Procamelus minor_. This,
however, he did not include among the Pleistocene animals.
Undetermined teeth of a camel are mentioned by Sellards as found in the
phosphate mines at Dunnellon (5th Ann. Rep. Fla. Geol. Surv., p. 58).
5. _Hernando, Citrus County._—Sellards (5th Ann. Rep. Florida Geol.
Surv., p. 58) reported a discovery of teeth of an undetermined species
of camel in a phosphate mine at Hernando. These probably are of the
genus _Procamelus_.
6. _Vero, St. Lucie County._—Some remains of a camel have been found in
the stratum at Vero known as No. 2, the one immediately overlying the
bed of marine marl. Sellards (8th Rep., p. 149) states there had been
secured up to that time two upper cheek-teeth, a distal end of a
cannon-bone, and a phalanx. The latter, a hinder first phalanx, is
figured (plate XXX, fig. 5). It resembles considerably the bone figured
by Leidy and Lucas (Trans. Wagner Free Inst., vol. IV, plate XVIII, fig.
8), but it presents important differences.
The anterior phalange figured by Leidy and Lucas is 85 mm. long; a
hinder phalange of the same animal would have been shorter. The hinder
phalange found at Vero is 104 mm. long. The probability is that its
owner was an animal considerably larger than Leidy’s _Procamelus
minimus_. The phalanx referred by Leidy and Lucas to _Procamelus medius_
(=_P. minor_) has exactly the length of that of _P. minimus_, but is a
much stouter bone, the side-to-side diameter at the middle of the length
being one-half greater. The Vero camel appears, therefore, to be
distinct from any of the Pliocene camels of Florida. It probably belongs
to the genus _Camelops_.
TENNESSEE.
(Map 21. Figure 23.)
1. _Nashville, Davidson County._—From Mr. W. E. Myer, of Nashville, the
writer has received for examination a right calcaneum of an undetermined
species of camel, belonging probably to the genus _Camelops_. This was
found near Nashville, in the bank of Cumberland River. At the same
locality were found part of a tooth of a young mastodon, a tooth of
_Equus leidyi_, a fragment of a femur of a probably larger horse, an
antler of a young deer, a tooth of _Mylodon_, and some fragments of
turtle bones. However, the horse remains and the antler are said to have
been lying in a layer of gravel, while the camel and mastodon were in a
bed of sand just above the gravel. Over these beds are nearly 30 feet of
gravel.
The total length of the calcaneum is 138 mm., the greatest height 67
mm., and the thickness at the rear of the articular surface for the
astragalus, 45 mm. From the rear end to the surface for the astragalus
is 85 mm. The surface for union with the cuboid is 19 mm. wide,
considerably narrower than in the dromedary and in an astragalus from
Denver, Colorado, which apparently belongs to _Camelops huerfanensis_.
The outer face of the bone is considerably less concave than in either
of the two species referred to. The tuberosity is relatively thicker at
the middle of its length than is either of the species mentioned; its
height at its middle is relatively less than in the Denver specimen. It
is believed that the age of the beds containing these fossils is about
that of the Aftonian interglacial.
FINDS OF PLEISTOCENE DEER OF THE GENUS ODOCOILEUS IN EASTERN NORTH
AMERICA.
ONTARIO.
(Map 22.)
1. _Toronto._—In the Guide Book No. 6, issued by the Ontario Bureau of
Mines in 1913, and prepared by Professor A. P. Coleman, it is recorded
on page 18 that in the Don beds at Toronto, supposed to belong to the
Sangamon stage, had been found bones of a deer resembling those of the
Virginia deer. On page 29 deer bones are reported as found in other beds
situated in the western part of Toronto. The age of these is uncertain;
they may be older than the Don beds or younger than the Scarboro beds.
In these same beds have been found also a lower jaw of a bear, possibly
_Ursus americanus_; an atlas of a bison, a part of an antler of
_Cervalces borealis_, and some parts of either a mastodon or a mammoth.
The geology of the Pleistocene in the region about Toronto is treated on
pages 281 to 283, figure 3.
NEW YORK.
(Map 22.)
1. _Orange County._—Emmons, in 1858 (Geol. Surv. North Carolina, East.
Counties, p. 201), stated he had found, in a fresh-water marl-bed in
Orange County, a horn of an extinct deer, associated with remains of
mastodon. The exact locality is unknown.
2. _Greenville, Greene County._—In 1846 (Boston Jour. Nat. Hist., vol.
V, p. 390), James Hall mentioned the finding of a jawbone, with teeth,
of a deer in Greene County. It was associated with remains of a
mastodon.
3. _Cuba, Allegany County._—In 1843 (Geol. 4th Dist., p. 367), Hall
reported that an engineer of the Genesee Valley Canal informed him that
near New Hudson, 4 miles from Cuba, several antlers of deer and one of
an elk had been found 12 feet below the surface, in a muck deposit. New
Hudson appears to be about 10 miles north of Cuba, and not on the canal.
The locality is said to be at the summit of the canal.
4. _Hinsdale, Cattaraugus County._—James Hall (op. cit., pp. 364, 366)
stated that a tusk, supposed to belong to a mastodon, with some horns of
deer, had been found at Hinsdale in sand and gravel, 16 feet below the
surface. Clarke (Bull. 69, N. Y. State Mus., p. 933) suggested that
these may have been antlers of the elk.
There appear to be no good reasons for suspecting that any of the deer
remains found in New York are older than Late Wisconsin.
NEW JERSEY.
(Map 22.)
1. _Woodstown, Salem County._—In the palæontological collection at Yale
University is a fragment of an antler of a deer, most probably of
_Odocoileus virginianus_, discovered in Salem County. It is not
accompanied by any information as to the exact locality where found or
as to the conditions of burial. The fragment of the shaft is 135 mm.
long, and from it springs a tine, the partial length of which is about
45 mm.
2. _Vincentown, Burlington County._—In the collection of the Academy of
Natural Science at Philadelphia are some fragments of antlers labeled as
having been found at Vincentown.
In 1869 (Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., vol. VII, p. 376), Dr. Joseph
Leidy stated that remains of the deer had been found in Burlington and
Monmouth Counties, but no exact localities were mentioned. Many of the
specimens seem to have been found, as accidental occupants, in marl-beds
of Cretaceous age. In the Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia
there are specimens from Pemberton.
3. _Deal, Monmouth County._—In the Academy’s collection, at
Philadelphia, there is a specimen labeled as having been found at this
place. No details are recorded.
PENNSYLVANIA.
(Map 22.)
1. _Stroudsburg, Monroe County._—In 1889 (Ann. Rep. Geol. Surv.
Pennsylvania for 1887, p. 6), Dr. Joseph Leidy reported on a collection
which many years before had been found in Hartman’s Cave, near
Stroudsburg. Nearly all the species still exist, but in the collection
was included _Castoroides_ and _Rangifer_. Among the fossils were
jawbones, with teeth, and broken bones of the Virginia deer. It seems
possible that the remains had collected there at the close of the
Pleistocene; but some may belong to the Recent.
2. _Frankstown, Blair County._—In 1908 (Ann. Carnegie Mus., vol. IV, p.
231), Dr. W. J. Holland reported the discovery of remains of a deer,
possibly _Odocoileus virginianus_, in a cave at Frankstown. With this
deer were many other species of mammals. A list is presented on page
321.
OHIO.
(Map 22.)
1. _New Knoxville, Auglaize County._—In his “History of Ohio and of
Auglaize County,” 1905, on page 338, C. W. Williamson, in describing the
finding of a skull of _Castoroides_ near New Knoxville, stated that some
bones of the deer had been found in what was believed to have been the
house of the giant beaver. They were supposed to have been brought there
by carnivorous animals; but the deer may have died there before the
house was covered up.
MICHIGAN.
(Map 22.)
1. _Adrian, Lenawee County._—In 1880 the U. S. National Museum received
from Professor Kost, then of Adrian College, a skull of _Castoroides
ohioensis_ discovered at the place named above. In his communication he
wrote that at the same place there had been found previously a mastodon
and bones of an elk and of a deer. The place was in a marsh, in Adrian,
and the fossils were at a depth of 4 feet.
2. _Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County._—In 1908, Russell and Leverett (Folio
155, U. S. Geol. Surv., p. 9) reported the discovery of bones of deer
and elk in a peat-swamp, 3 miles south of Ann Arbor. In the same swamp
had been found, at a depth of 5 feet, a skull of _Castoroides
ohioensis_. The bones of the deer and elk were at a somewhat higher
level, so that it is not wholly certain they belong to the Pleistocene.
The specimens found both at Adrian and Ann Arbor lived there after the
retreat of the Wisconsin ice.
INDIANA.
(Map 22.)
1. _Evansville, Vanderburg County._—In a collection of bones and teeth
made at the mouth of Pigeon Creek, a short distance below Evansville,
and described by Leidy (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., 1854, pp.
199–200) were included remains of the Virginia deer. With these bones
were parts of the skeleton of _Megalonyx jeffersonii_, a bison of
probably an extinct species, a cervical vertebra of the horse known as
_Equus complicatus_, a tooth of a tapir, and the type upper jaw of the
extinct wolf _Ænocyon dirus_.
On page 32 is discussed the age of the bone-bed. It is concluded that it
belonged possibly to the Aftonian stage, but more probably to the
Sangamon. Although this species of deer yet exists, abundant remains of
a species not yet distinguishable from it are found in early Pleistocene
deposits in Florida and elsewhere. According to D. D. Owen (Smithson.
Contrib. Knowl., vol. VII, art. V, p. 7), this deer was found associated
with megalonyx bones a few miles below Henderson, Kentucky. Also, these
two species, together with _Equus complicatus_ and an extinct species of
_Bison_ and other extinct species of mammals, have been exhumed at
Bigbone Lick, halfway between Louisville and Cincinnati, on the Kentucky
side.
Under this number may be considered the deer _Odocoileus dolichopsis_,
which Cope described in 1878 (Amer. Naturalist, vol. XII, p. 189). This
was represented by a left ramus of the mandible, found, as reported by
the State geologist, John Collett, in a late lacustrine deposit in
Vanderburg County. In the same deposits was found an ulno-radius of a
species of _Bison_. The deer jaw was further described and figured by
Cope and Wortman in 1884 (Geol. Surv. Indiana, vol. XIV, p. 22, plate
ii). Here, in quoting Cope’s description found in volume IV of Bulletins
U. S. Geological Survey, page 379, the authors substituted Harrison
County for Vanderburg County. In 1912 (Geol. Surv. Indiana, vol. XXXVI,
p. 615), the present writer accepted Cope and Wortman’s statement as to
the county; but it appears that the locality was really in Vanderburg
County. Cope and Wortman’s plate was reproduced by the writer in 1912
(Geol. Surv. Indiana, vol. XXXVI, p. 615, plate VI, figs. 2, 2_b_).
Figure 1 of the plate represents a part of an upper jaw which may or may
not belong to the same species. It was supposed to have been found in
the same deposits.
2. _Harrisville, Randolph County._—In the collection at Earlham College,
Richmond, Indiana, the writer has examined some bones which apparently
belonged to the Virginia deer, _Odocoileus virginianus_. The distal end
of the radius, a right calcaneum, and a sacrum have been identified.
These were found in a swamp known as “The Dismal,” situated about 6
miles nearly east of Winchester. This would not be far from the village
of Harrisville. In this swamp were collected the fine specimen of the
giant beaver, preserved at Earlham College, and the bones of an elk. The
swamp is located near the Union City moraine, and the animals buried
there must have lived at some time after the retirement of the Wisconsin
ice-sheet; probably the time was long enough after that retirement for
the climate to become relatively mild.
3. _Roann, Wabash County._—In 1892 (Geol. Surv. Indiana, vol. XVII, p.
241), Elrod and Benedict reported that in 1882 a Mr. Rantz, while
digging a ditch on the farm of William Runkle, 3 miles north of Roann,
unearthed, at a depth of 9 feet, the antlers and part of the skeleton of
the deer _Odocoileus virginianus_. The locality is evidently north of
Eel River and near the southern border of the great moraine which runs
parallel with this stream and north of it. Undoubtedly this deer lived
after the Wisconsin ice had withdrawn from the vicinity. In similar
situations in that region have been found several mastodons. It is
probable, therefore, that the deer belonged to the late Pleistocene.
From Mr. B. E. Galtry, of Roann, the writer learns that Mr. Runkle
informed him that none of the bones found has been preserved. There were
many found, shin-bones, ribs, and antlers, from 3 to 4 feet below the
surface. Large numbers of poles were found, and the ditch diggers got
the notion that these poles had formed a bridge.
ILLINOIS.
(Maps 22, 38.)
1. _Niantic, Macon County._—In 1873, Worthen, State geologist of
Illinois, reported (Geol. Surv. Illinois, vol. V, p. 308) that he had
found some deer bones in a bog near Niantic; with them were remains of
the mastodon, buffalo, and elk. What is known regarding the locality and
the geology is here recorded on page 102. All these remains were
probably buried near the close of the Wisconsin glacial stage.
2. _Whitewillow, Kendall County._—In Netta C. Anderson’s list, page 11.
E. S. Riggs, assistant curator of palæontology in Field Museum of
Natural History, reported that in 1902 Mr. John Bamford, in enlarging a
spring in a bog, encountered a layer of about 2 feet of bison, deer, and
elk bones at a depth of about 5 feet. With these were found skulls of at
least 6 mastodons. From Mr. George Langford, of Joliet, the writer has
received a base of a large antler and a nearly complete small antler of
the right side. These are not to be distinguished from those of _O.
virginianus_. Mr. Langford wrote that the mastodon bones were mingled
with the other bones to the bottom of the pit dug. In the same
excavation were found remains of mastodon, _Cervalces_, the existing
moose, the elk, the buffalo, and the cannon-bone of a large sheep-like
animal. The exact levels in which these bones occurred is not known. The
reader may consult page 109.
3. _Ottawa, La Salle County._—J. D. Caton (“Antelopes and Deer of North
America,” p. 227) tells of having found a nearly complete skeleton and
three antlers of the Virginia deer in the valley of Fox River, near
Ottawa. These remains were in a stratum of gravel at a depth of more
than 16 feet. Over this was the surface loam, then sand, sand and clay,
then more sand. It seems probable that these deposits belonged to the
Late Wisconsin.
4. _Evanston, Cook County._—Dr. Frank C. Baker (Univ. Ills. Bull, XVII,
pp. 4, 86) presented a geological section taken in the Toleston beach at
Evanston. This beach was laid down after the withdrawal of the Wisconsin
ice. At the depth of about 9 feet was found a bone of a deer. In 1891,
W. K. Higley (Bull. Chicago Acad. Sci., vol. II, No. 1, p. XIV) reported
that a pelvis, referred to a deer, had been found in Late Wisconsin
deposits at Evanston. He had in mind the bone found in Toleston beach.
At the same place was found a femur of a deer at a depth of 9 feet
(Leverett, Bull. Chicago Acad. Sci. Geol. Nat. Hist. Surv., II, 1897,
pp. 76, 77). Apparently the femur and the pelvis had been discovered by
Dr. Oliver Marcy in 1864, from whom both Leverett and Baker quote the
geological section.
5. _Lemont, Cook County._—Dr. F. C. Baker (op. cit., pp. 56, 89)
reported the finding of a portion of a skull of _Odocoileus virginianus_
and a skull of the muskrat in the Des Plaines Valley, at Lemont, in a
bed of peat.
WISCONSIN.
(Map 22.)
1. _Lead region._—In 1862 (Geol. Surv. Wisconsin, p. 421), Jeffries
Wyman, in his report on the vertebrate animals found by J. D. Whitney,
stated that there was a series of several molar teeth which, in form and
size, corresponds exactly with those of the red deer (_Cervus
virginianus_). He mentioned also various bones which seemed to belong to
the same species, but some were larger than those of the Virginia deer.
In 1876 (Amer. Jour. Sci., vol. XI, p. 49), Allen described as a new
species _Cervus whitneyi_, basing the name on a left humerus, a left
radius, and a right metatarsal found in the Whitney collection. It
appears probable that these bones are those mentioned by Wyman as being
larger than the existing Virginia deer and the mule deer. Allen does
not, however, mention what Wyman wrote. Allen’s species is now referred
to the genus _Odocoileus_. It is not stated by either Wyman or Allen
even from what State the remains were secured. It is most probable that
it was Wisconsin.
From the Pleistocene of that region two species of _Odocoileus_ are
therefore known, _O. virginianus_ and _O. whitneyi_.
2. _Menomonie, Dunn County._—In a letter to the author dated January 21,
1917, Dr. S. Weidman, State geologist of Wisconsin, noted that a
vertebra of a deer had been found in brick clay at Menomonie. It was
sent to the American Museum of New York and identified by Dr. W. D.
Matthew. This clay is at present regarded by Dr. Weidman as probably
belonging to the Sangamon interglacial.
MARYLAND.
(Map 22.)
1. _Oxford Neck, Talbot County._—In 1869 (Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc., vol.
XI, p. 178), Cope reported that fragments of antlers not distinguishable
from those of the Virginia deer, _Odocoileus virginianus_, had been
found on the farm of Lambert Kirby, in Oxford Neck. These, with remains
of other vertebrates, were placed in the Baltimore Academy of Sciences.
2. _Cavetown, Washington County._—In 1920 (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol.
LVIII, p. 104), the writer described the distal end of two radii found
at Cavetown in a fissure in a limestone quarry. These were associated
with remains of 24 other species of vertebrates, mostly mammals. The
radii appeared to be those of _Odocoileus virginianus_. Another deer,
_Sangamona fugitiva_, was found in the same fissure.
A list of the accompanying species is given on page 348.
VIRGINIA.
(Map 22.)
1. _Saltville, Smyth County._—Mr. O. A. Peterson (Ann. Carnegie Mus.,
vol. XI, p. 474, fig. 7) reported the finding of an astragalus of some
deer-like animal at Saltville. He states that the bone agrees with that
of _Odocoileus virginianus_, but is larger. To the present writer the
bone is not only too large to be that of the Virginia deer, but is
relatively too narrow, it being assumed that Peterson’s figure is
correct. In both the Virginia deer and the elk the width of the bone is
about 70 per cent of the greatest length, while the figure given is only
60 per cent as wide as long. It is not improbable that the animal
belonged to another genus.
2. _Ivanhoe, Wythe County._—In 1869 (Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc., vol. XI,
p. 176) Cope stated that molars and other fragments of _Cariacus
(Odocoileus) virginianus_ were abundant in the cave breccia which he
examined. A list of the accompanying species will be found on page 353.
WEST VIRGINIA.
(Map 22.)
1. _Wood County._—In 1835 (Amer. Jour. Sci., vol. XXIX, p. 147),
Hildreth stated that bones of a deer had been found in this county, then
a part of Virginia, involved in the travertine on the floor of the cave.
No facts are known that give any clue to the geological age of these
bones. They probably belong to some early or middle stage of the
Pleistocene.
NORTH CAROLINA.
(Maps 22, 39.)
1. _On Neuse River, Pamlico County, 16 Miles below Newbern._—According
to both Croom (Amer. Jour. Sci., vol. XXVII, 1835, p. 168) and Harlan
(op. cit., vol. XLIII, 1842, p. 143), remains of deer had been found at
this locality. For want of more exact information we may refer them to
_Odocoileus virginianus_. On page 359 will be found a list of the
species collected here.
SOUTH CAROLINA.
(Map 22.)
1. _Charleston, Charleston County._—Numerous fragmentary remains of
_Odocoileus_ have been found in the region about Charleston. F. S.
Holmes, as early as 1859 (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., 1859, p. 177),
announced the discovery of remains of deer in the vicinity of
Charleston. Leidy (Holmes’s Post-Pliocene Foss. South Carolina, p. 109,
plate XX, figs. 1–4) stated that the collections of Professor Holmes and
Captain Bowman contained fragments of antlers, portions of jaws, and
teeth which had been found in the Post-Pliocene beds of Ashley River.
Leidy concluded these remains did not differ from the corresponding
parts of the existing white-tailed deer (_O. virginianus_). Many
fragments of antlers belong in the Scanlan collection at Yale
University. They are thoroughly fossilized and are hard and heavy.
In the Charleston Museum (No. 1047) is an anterior cannon-bone of a
deer, but no definite locality is recorded. It is black and apparently
phosphatized, as are the numerous fragments of antlers found in the
private collections at Charleston. The cannon-bone mentioned is 188 mm.
long.
While the materials so far discovered do not enable us to distinguish
the deer remains found about Charleston from _Odocoileus virginianus_,
it is not improbable that they belonged in reality to another species,
some perhaps to the Floridan Pleistocene species _O. sellardsiæ_.
Antlers of the white-tailed or Virginia deer are common in the
collections about Charleston. In the Scanlan collection are bases of
antlers of adult bucks and two simple spikes of young deer. One base is
different from the others in being much flattened in one border,
probably the one on which the first tine arose. It is possible that it
represents a distinct species.
2. _Darlington, Darlington County._—In 1848, Tuomey (Rep. Geol. South
Carolina, pp. 177–180) stated that on the land of a Rev. Mr. Campbell,
somewhere in the vicinity of Darlington, he had found fragments of the
horns of a deer. He regarded the beds as belonging to the Pliocene. In
the neighborhood, in a similar deposit, had been found molars of
_Mastodon maximus_ (=_Mammut americanum_). Both species may belong to
the early Pleistocene.
FLORIDA.
(Map 22.)
1. _Pablo Beach, Duval County._—Dr. Sellards (8th Ann. Rep. Florida
Geol. Surv., p. 106) reported remains of _Odocoileus_ found at station
120 of the Inland Waterway Canal, about 5 miles south of Pablo Beach.
Further mention is made of this on page 374.