and the rhinoceroses with Pleistocene forms should occur thus
accidentally so often and at such widely removed localities. It appears
more probable that these Tertiary genera did not become extinct so early
as has been supposed and that the association was not a secondary one.
The association is what might be expected in collections made in
deposits of the earliest Pleistocene.
It must not be forgotten in these discussions that the Pleistocene
genera and species with which the collections in question are being
compared are those of the so-called _Equus_ beds, which appear to
represent the fauna of the first interglacial stage. This, however, was
preceded by the Nebraskan, the first glacial, which probably occupied a
long period of time; possibly it was half as long as all the rest of the
Pleistocene (Chamberlin and Salisbury, Geology, vol. III, p. 383). About
the vertebrate life of this long stage we know as yet very little. The
writer is quite convinced that the Idaho formation and the Alachua, or
Bone Valley, belong to the earliest Pleistocene.
_Marion County._—In a fissure in the limestone-rock quarry at Ocala
there has been found an important collection of vertebrates. The
following list is thought to include all that have been reported:
Trucifelis floridana.
Sylvilagus sp. indet.
Elephas columbi (p. 158).
Bison sp. indet.
Odocoileus sp. indet. (p. 233).
Procamelus minimus (p. 224).
Tapirus sp. indet. (p. 207).
Equus leidyi (p. 196).
Dasypus sp. indet. (p. 38).
Terrapene formosa.
Testudo distans.
T. incisa.
T. ocalana.
A part of this list was published by Sellards in 1916 (8th Ann. Rep.
Florida Geol. Surv., p. 103). The tortoises were described in the same
volume.
Inasmuch as _Trucifelis floridana_ has been found in the Pleistocene at
Vero, Florida, one may safely regard the specimen found at Ocala as also
of Pleistocene age. All of the other mammals are admitted to be of
Pleistocene age except _Procamelus minimus_. The fissure may have been
open during some part of the Nebraskan stage.
_Volusia County._—At Daytona, situated on the east coast, therefore on
the youngest terrace, remains of _Mammut americanum_ (p. 122) have been
found. At DeLand there has been recovered the skull of a dolphin which
Sellards (8th Ann. Rep. Florida Geol. Surv., p. 107, plate XIV) has
described as _Globicephalus bœreckii_ (p. 20). It was found at a depth
of 10 feet, in sands which overlie Pliocene shell marls. The sands are
regarded as belonging probably to the Pleistocene. DeLand is on the
Tsala Apopka terrace. At a depth of 10 feet there was reached the
supposed marine base of this terrace.
_Orange County._—As stated on page 196, a tooth of an extinct horse was
found somewhere in the county.
_Pinellas County._—On the western shore of Tampa Bay (p. 159), near St.
Petersburg, at Indian Rock, a tooth of _Elephas columbi_ was found.
_Hillsboro and Manatee Counties._—The region around Tampa Bay is
important because of the wealth of vertebrate fossils dredged up by the
collectors of phosphate rock from the beds of Hillsboro, Alafia, and
Manatee Rivers. Unfortunately, few accurate records have been kept of
localities and conditions of occurrence of the fossils, and we usually
know only that a collection was made in a certain river, perhaps not so
much as that. For that reason it is concluded to group together all the
fossils regarded as Pleistocene and known to have been found in
Hillsboro, Manatee, and Sarasota Counties. In order to indicate as far
as possible the localities, the names of the species are followed by
contractions which apply as follows.
A, Alafia River.
E, Ellenton, on Manatee River.
Hc, Hillsboro County.
Hr, Hillsboro River.
Ls, Little Sarasota Bay.
Ps, Palma Sola.
M, town of Manatee.
P, Palmetto.
S, 8 miles southeast of Sarasota.
T, around Tampa Bay.
Wb, White Beach, on Sarasota Bay.
_List of Pleistocene vertebrates found in Hillsboro, Manatee, and
Sarasota Counties._
Homo sapiens, Ps.
Elephas imperator, P (p. 164).
E. columbi, T, S, Ps (p. 159).
E. primigenius, Ps (p. 145).
Mammut americanum, T, He, A (p. 123).
Bison latifrons, Ps (p. 263).
B. sp. indet., T, A, P, Ps (p. 263).
Odocoileus sp. indet., P, Ps (p. 233).
Tapirus sp. indet., T, A (p. 208).
Tagassu lenis?, Ps (p. 222).
Equus complicatus, A, Wb, Ps (pp. 196, 197).
E. leidyi, A. P, Wb, Ps, S (pp. 196, 197).
E. littoralis, M, Ps (p. 197).
Chlamytherium septentrionale, Hr, Wb, S (p. 38).
Testudo crassiscutata?, A.
T. ocalana, He.
Terrapene putnami, A.
Deirochelys floridana, He.
Trachemys euglypha, E.
T. jarmani, Hc.
T. sculpta, Hc.
Pseudemys extincta, Hc.
P. cælata, Ps.
Platypeltis ferox, Hc.
The bones of man belonged to the skull and are as completely fossilized
as the bones of a horse and are wholly free from organic matter.
Among the mammals of this list there are no genera and few species that
have not been found in the Pleistocene at many places in the United
States. The presence of _Elephas imperator_ and three species of _Equus_
and _Chlamytherium_ apparently indicate Pleistocene of about Aftonian
times.
From Palma Sola, Manatee County, there have been sent to the U. S.
National Museum by Mr. Charles T. Earle many specimens of fossil
vertebrates, found at various times washed up on the beach. Some
belonged evidently to deposits older than the Pleistocene, probably to
Miocene, and included teeth of sharks, a beak of a platanistid porpoise,
and a lower tooth of a sirenian, _Metaxytherium floridanum_. Other
specimens, as bones of a camel, parts of the shells of tortoises,
alligator or crocodile teeth and bones are of uncertain age. Ten species
of the list are referred to the Pleistocene. All of the teeth are
isolated, but many are well preserved and little water-worn. The bones
are mostly fragmentary, some worn, some not.
_Polk County._—On page 159 is an account of a tooth of an elephant.
_Elephas columbi_, reported as being found at Kingsford, Polk County,
under 19 feet of phosphate rock and sand. It may belong to _E.
imperator_. On page 196 is detailed the finding of several teeth of
_Equus_ in the phosphate mines of Kingsford. The species _E. leidyi_ and
_E. littoralis_ are recognized. Unless these elephant and horse-teeth
had been incorrectly reported or had been secondarily introduced into
the phosphate beds, they are, in the writer’s opinion, to be referred to
the first glacial stage, the Nebraskan. Dr. W. H. Dall has somewhere
reported the finding of tusks at Bartow; these were supposed to have
belonged to _Elephas columbi_ (p. 180). At Nichols the large
land-tortoise _Testudo hayi_ Sellards has been recovered from a
phosphate mine. From phosphate mines at Brewster has been secured the
following list of vertebrates, obtained from Dr. Sellards’s reports
(Florida Geol. Surv., vol. VII, pp. 100, 106, 108; vol. VIII, pp. 95,
96, 98, 100).
Gomphotherium floridanum? (p. 123).
Mammut progenium (p. 123).
Hipparion minor (p. 197).
Procamelus minor?
Teleoceras or Aphelops sp. indet. (p. 211).
Agriotherium schneideri.
Tomistoma americanum.
All of this list are referred by Sellards to the upper Miocene or lower
Pliocene. The writer regards them as belonging to the first stage of the
Pleistocene.
From a phosphate pit at Christina, Sellards (Florida Geol. Surv., vol.
VII, p. 106, fig. 35) has reported a tooth of an undetermined species of
Gomphotherium.
Sellards (Florida Geol. Surv., vol. VII, pp. 72, 110) has reported the
collection of remains of _Hipparion_ sp. indet. and of _Teleoceras
proterus_ (p. 211) from phosphate mines at Mulberry. In the U. S.
National Museum are undetermined remains of _Gomphotherium_ from the
same place, sent in by Matson.
_Brevard County._—In the Hopkins drainage canal at Eau Gallie have been
found remains of _Equus complicates_ (p. 196) and _Elephas columbi_ (p.
159).
_Zolfo, Hardee County._—At Zolfo, near the border of the Bone Valley
area, have been found _Megatherium_ (p. 38) and _Elephas columbi_ (p.
160).
_De Soto County._—With one exception, apparently, fossil vertebrates
have been discovered in De Soto County only in deposits along Peace
Creek. The exception is a place called Tourner’s or Turner’s, on
Caloosahatchee River. The elephant found there will be considered among
the fossils found in Lee County. At Calvenia, at the entrance of Charlie
Apopkee Creek into Peace Creek, _Equus leidyi_ (p. 198) has been
secured.
Most of the fossils found below Calvenia are accredited to Arcadia.
According to Leidy (Trans. Wagner Inst., vol. II, p. 19), those of his
list were found on a sand-bar at Arcadia; but certainly others have been
taken from phosphate rock dredged both above and below the town. As
complete and as accurate a list as the writer has been able to prepare
is here presented.
Peace Creek, or Peace River, has been the source of many fossil
vertebrates, the greater part of them obtained at or near Arcadia. Most
of the species were described by Joseph Leidy in 1889 (Trans. Wagner
Free Inst., vol. II, pp. 19–31). The region was examined by Dr. W. H.
Dall, whose report was published in 1892 (Bull. 84, U. S. Geol. Surv.,
pp. 128–133). He referred the bed bearing vertebrate fossils to the
Pliocene. Cope (in Dall’s report, p. 130) regarded them as equivalent to
the _Equus_ beds of the Great Plains, or between these and the Loup
Fork. Sellards (Florida Geol. Surv., vol. VII, pp. 78–83) places the
formation in the Pleistocene.
_List of fossil vertebrates found in Peace Creek at or near Arcadia._
Elephas imperator (p. 164).
E. columbi (p. 160).
Mammut americanum (p. 124).
Bison sp. indet. (p. 264).
Odocoileus osceola? (p. 233).
Tapirus terrestris (p. 208).
Equus leidyi (p. 199).
E. littoralis (p. 199).
Hipparion ingenuum (p. 199).
Delphinid sp. indet.
Trichechus antiquus.
Glyptodon petaliferus (p. 39).
Glyptodon rivipacis (p. 40).
Chlamytherium septentrionale (p. 40).
Megalonyx jeffersonii (p. 39).
Alligator mississippiensis?.
Testudo crassiscutata.
T. obtusa.
Trachemys euglypha.
Macrochelys floridana.
Chætodipterus faber.
Diodon sp. indet.
Myliobatis sp. indet.
Galeocerdo sp. indet.
Isurus sp. indet.
Of all the genera and species of mammals and reptiles appearing in the
list, there is none that it is necessary to suppose was derived from
Pliocene deposits, or even from those of a Pleistocene stage earlier
than the first interglacial. The marine fishes and sharks have been
derived possibly from the Arcadia marls. On the other hand, the presence
of _Elephas imperator_, the species of _Equus_, _Hipparion_,
_Glyptodon_, _Chlamytherium_, and the gigantic tortoise _Testudo
crassiscutata_ furnishes evidence that the age was about that of the
_Equus_, or Aftonian, beds of the Great Plains.
_St. Lucie County._—At Fellsmere, a place near the northern border of
the county and about 10 miles west of Indian River, teeth of both
_Elephas columbi_ (p. 159) and _Mammut americanum_ (p. 122) have been
found, in the construction of drainage canals.
The most important locality for Pleistocene fossils in St. Lucie County,
one may say in the whole State, is Vero. The topographical, geological,
and palæontological conditions found here are described in the Eighth
and Ninth Annual Reports of the Florida Geological Survey. Papers on the
subject may be found also in the Journal of Geology for January 1917 and
for October 1917; also in the American Anthropologist for the first and
second quarters of 1918. Besides the large number of species of
vertebrates found here, the interest is heightened by the fact that,
associated with these, are human bones and objects of human manufacture.
Through the valley of an insignificant stream was dug a large drainage
canal, the construction of which brought to light vertebrate bones and
teeth. Three beds of Pleistocene materials were exposed. At the bottom
is found a bed of marl filled with marine mollusks and which is the
geological equivalent of the coquina rock at St. Augustine. The same
deposit is found in various places along the coast and has received from
Dr. Sellards the name Anastasia formation. Above this lies a stratum
composed mostly of sand, but containing also some muck. In the
discussion of the locality this bed is designated as No. 2, the marl
being No. 1. No. 2 has a thickness of about 2 feet. It in turn is
overlain by No. 3, which consists mostly of vegetable matter and sand.
It is called also the muck-bed. In places the muck is replaced by a bed
of marl, which here and there may become pretty firmly consolidated. The
thickness of No. 3 is about 2 or 3 feet. Vertebrate fossils are found in
both No. 2 and No. 3. It is the purpose of the author first to present
lists of the fossils which have been found in each of the upper beds,
beginning with the stream of sand, No. 2.
_List of fossil vertebrates found at Vero in stratum No. 2._
Trucifelis floridanus.
Felis veronis.
Ænocyon ayersi.
Vulpes palmaria.
Lutra canadensis.
Procyon lotor.
Cryptotis floridana.
Blarina brevicauda peninsulæ.
Sylvilagus sp. indet.
Neofiber alleni.
Hydrochœrus robustus.
Sigmodon sp. indet.
Elephas columbi (p. 159).
Mammut americanum (p. 122).
Bison sp. indet. (p. 263).
Odocoileus osceola? (p. 233).
Camelops? sp. indet. (p. 235).
Tagassu lenis (p. 222).
Tapirus haysii? (p. 208).
T. veroensis (p. 208).
Equus complicatus (p. 199).
E. leidyi (p. 199).
E. littoralis (p. 199).
Dasypus sp. indet. (p. 38).
Chlamytherium septentrionale (p. 38).
Megalonyx jeffersonii (p. 38).
Mylodon harlani (p. 39).
Didelphis virginiana.
Jabiru weillsi.
Cathartes aura.
Querquedula floridana.
Herodias egretta.
Alligator mississippiensis.
Testudo sellardsi.
Terrapene innoxia.
Chelydra laticarinata.
_List of fossil vertebrates found at Vero, in stratum No. 3._
Lynx ruffus floridanus.
Canis riviveronis.
Canis sp. indet.
Vulpes palmaria.
Lutra canadensis.
Ursus floridanus.
Procyon lotor.
Scalopus aquaticus australis.
Sylvilagus palustris.
Neofiber alleni.
Neotoma floridana.
Sigmodon hispidus.
Oryzomys palustris.
Elephas columbi (p. 159).
Mammut americanum (p. 122).
Odocoileus osceola? (p. 233).
O. sellardsiæ (p. 233).
Bison sp. indet. (p. 263).
Tagassu lenis (p. 222).
Tapirus haysii? (p. 208).
Equus littoralis? (p. 199).
E. leidyi? (p. 199).
Chlamytherium septentrionale (p. 38).
Dasypus sp. indet. (p. 38).
Didelphis virginiana.
Ardea sellardsi.
A. herodias.
Ardea? sp. indet.
Herodias egretta?
Aluco pratincola.
Cathartes aura septentrionalis.
Larus vero.
Larus? sp. indet.
Mycteria americana?
Alligator mississippiensis.
Crotalus adamanteus.
Farancia abacura.
Drymarchon corais couperi.
Gopherus polyphemus.
Terrapene antipex.
T. innoxia.
Pseudemys floridanus persimilis.
Trachemys? nuchocarinatus.
Chelydra sculpta.
Chelonia mydas.
Caretta caretta.
Siren lacertina.
Amphiuma means.
Caranx hippos.
Caranx sp. indet.
Amiatus calvus.
Lepisosteus platystomus.
Aëtobatis narinari.
Besides those remains which are to be assigned with certainty to one or
the other or both of the strata, there are a few others about whose
place in the deposit there is uncertainty:
Testudo luciæ.
Gopherus præcedens.
Trachemys bisornata.
T. sculpta.
At a point about 3 miles west of Vero, a lower jaw of _Elephas
imperator_ (p. 163) was found in the bank of the drainage canal. It was
embedded in a matrix of brown sand which rests upon the stratum of
marine shell marl.
The list of mammals found in stratum No. 2 shows that there are 29
species and that 21 of these are extinct. This high proportion of
species no longer existing is of itself enough to show that the deposit
is an old one. Again, such species as _Elephas imperator_ and camels
occur in the glaciated region only in Aftonian beds, and outside of the
glaciated region only in those which are quite certainly of
approximately the same age.
In the list of species found in stratum No. 3 there are 25 mammals, of
which 12 species are extinct. These form, therefore, 48 per cent of the
whole, indicating apparently a more recent geological time, perhaps
about the Sangamon stage. It is true that the geologists hold that there
has been continuous deposition and that no interval elapsed between the
laying down of No. 2 and No. 3. In a region so near to the level of the
sea, where the streams are small and short and have little fall,
deposition must have gone on with extreme slowness; hence there may have
been no period when deposition ceased. Apparently, too, there was a time
when the region was somewhat lower than at present and salt water came
up the stream as far as the locality where the fossils are found. The
presence of _Chelonia mydas_, _Caretta caretta_, the two species of
_Caranx_ and _Aëtobatis narinari_ may thus be explained.
The fresh-water and terrestrial mollusks of stratum No. 2 were submitted
to Dr. Paul Bartsch, of the U. S. National Museum, who has reported on
them (Rep. Florida Geol. Surv., vol. VIII, p. 144). He lists 29 species,
all living.
The marine mollusks found in the stratum called No. 1, and which the
writer refers to the first glacial stage, have been studied by Mr. W. C.
Mansfield, of the U. S. Geological Survey (Rep. Florida Geol. Surv.,
vol. IX, pp. 78–80). Seventy-four species are specifically determined,
and of these 61 are identical with living forms. Three or four species
are possibly extinct. There is no question that the deposit belongs to
the Pleistocene.
Nearly all of the plants were found in the bed designated as No. 3, the
upper or muck-bed. These were studied by Dr. Edward W. Berry, of the
Maryland Geological Survey. His report, published in 1917 (Rep. Florida
Geol. Surv., vol. IX, pp. 19–33), states his conclusion that the plants
belong to the late Pleistocene, either the Peorian or the Late
Wisconsin. It may be stated that Dr. Berry adopts the theory that the
terraces supposed to be found along the Atlantic Coast were formed
during stages of submergence beneath the sea, the lowest one late in
Pleistocene time.
_Lee County._—The whole of Lee County is occupied by Pleistocene
deposits which form a part of the Pensacola terrace. Naturally the
Pleistocene is overlain, generally, at least, by accumulations of Recent
materials, and it may not always be easy to distinguish the one from the
other. So far as the writer knows, all the vertebrate fossils discovered
in this county have been collected along Caloosahatchee River above Fort
Myers. The geology of this river has been described by Heilprin (Trans.
Wagner Inst., vol. I), Dall (Bull. 84, U. S. Geol. Surv., pp. 142–145),
Matson and Sanford (Water Supply Paper 319, pp. 134–138), Sellards (2d
Ann. Rep. Florida Geol. Surv., p. 123, 6th Ann. Rep. Florida Geol.
Surv., pp. 41–46). The Pleistocene is underlain by Pliocene marls and
hard and soft limestones and consists of beds of muck, marl, and sand of
little thickness. At Labelle it is said (Sellards, 2d Ann. Rep., p. 126)
that there is a fossiliferous Pleistocene marl covered by 3 feet of
sandy loam. The following seem to be the species which have been found
in the Pleistocene in this region:
Elephas imperator (p. 163).
Equus leidyi (p. 199).
E. sp. indet. (p. 199).
Bison latifrons (p. 264).
Mylodon harlani (p. 40).
Testudo obtusa?.
Trachemys bisornata.
T. sculpta.
The presence of _Elephas imperator_ is an indication that the deposits
belong to the early part of the Pleistocene. None of the species appear
to indicate an older stage than the Aftonian.
_Dade County._—Sellards (8th Ann. Rep., p. 106) records that some
fragmentary remains of a proboscidean had been found in Miami River,
Dade County.
_Palm Beach County._—On page 105 of the report just cited, Sellards
stated that _Elephas columbi_ (p. 160), _Mammut americanum_ (p. 123),
_Equus complicatus_ (p. 200), and _Bison_ sp. indet. (p. 264) had been
found in the Palm Beach Canal, constructed to drain the Everglades.
At some unknown point in the Everglades, possibly in Lee County, there
was found many years ago a tooth of an elephant which the writer
believes belonged to _Elephas imperator_, already mentioned on page 163.
It was formerly reported as _E. columbi_.
ALABAMA.
An account of the Quaternary formations of Alabama may be found in
Eugene A. Smith’s “Report on the Geology of the Coastal Plain of
Alabama.” This was published in 1894, and the part pertaining to the
Pleistocene is found on pages 28 to 65. Along the coast Smith recognized
the presence of a formation which he called the Biloxi. The upper part
of this was regarded as belonging to the Recent, while the lower portion
was thought to be the equivalent of Hilgard’s Port Hudson, those
deposits numbered 1 to 4 in the section shown on page 387, under Geology
of Mississippi. The thickness of the Port Hudson is given as about 100
feet. Borings revealed the presence of shells and lignitized wood.
Along the rivers which traverse the Coastal Plain are found three
terraces. The first or lowest is that which is subject to annual
overflow. The second terrace, “the second bottom,” occurs along most of
even the smaller streams of the Coastal Plain. It may be as much as a
mile wide. The height above low water may vary from 10 to 15 feet in the
lower courses of the rivers to 60 feet farther up stream. Near
water-level a blue clay is frequently found which contains stumps,
roots, and other remains of vegetation, often well preserved. Smith
concluded that this second terrace was the substantial equivalence in
time to the Port Hudson.
Smith presents a geological section taken along Black Warrior River, in
Hale County, 150 miles above Mobile. The section included about 50 feet.
As caving went on, stumps and logs were frequently brought into view.
Similar sections were found on Coosa River, above Montgomery, and on
Alabama River, 50 miles above Mobile.
The third terrace is found at elevations of from 50 to 100 feet above
the second. It is sometimes 3 miles or more in width.
In his paper on the Citronelle formation (Prof. Paper U. S. Geol. Surv.,
98, pp. 167–208), Matson discusses briefly (pp. 189–190) the Pleistocene
of the area studied by him. This extends from the western end of Florida
to Mississippi River. Here he recognized four terraces, from the
youngest to the oldest, the Pensacola, the Hammond, the Port Hickey, and
the St. Elmo. The St. Elmo merges into the Natchez formation, which
Matson, quoting Chamberlin and Salisbury, regarded as sub-Aftonian. The
Port Hickey terrace is stated to take its name from a locality on the
Mississippi River where the typical materials of the Port Hudson
formation are exposed. The Port Hickey terrace may, as suggested by
Matson, be of post-Iowan age. Naturally, these correlations require
confirmation.
Berry has described fossil plants (Amer. Naturalist, vol. XLI, pp.
689–697; Amer. Jour. Sci., ser. 4, vol. XXIX, pp. 387–398) which were
found along Chattahoochee River, not far below Columbus, Georgia; on
Warrior River, up to 356 miles above Mobile. Pleistocene deposits must
occur along all the larger streams still farther north, and these
deposits will yield in time bones and teeth of vertebrated animals.
Notwithstanding the considerable area of Pleistocene deposits discovered
in Alabama, the number of species of vertebrates met with is remarkably
small. On page 40 is recorded the finding of _Megalonyx jeffersonii_
somewhere about Tuscumbia. At Newbern, Hale County, have been found an
incisor tooth of a horse (p. 200) and a molar of a bison (p. 264). At
Bogue Chitto, Dallas County, have been collected _Equus leidyi_ (p.
200), _Mammut americanum_, and _Elephas imperator_. The last species
indicates that the deposits probably belong in the Aftonian. The writer
knows of no other localities in the State where vertebrate fossils of
the Pleistocene have been obtained.
MISSISSIPPI.
(Text-figure 22.)