Gilchrist County Florida exploding 600px

The Thomas Farm site is an

Early Miocene The Early Miocene (also known as Lower Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages: the Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages. The sub-epoch lasted from 23.03 ± 0.05 Ma to 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma (million years ago). It was prece ...

Hemingfordian The Hemingfordian on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology (NALMA), typically set from 20,600,000 to 16,300,000 years BP. It is usually considered to overlap the lates ...

assemblage of

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, ...

fossils located in Gilchrist County, northern

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. The Thomas Farm site is one of the richest terrestrial deposits of Miocene vertebrates in the 18 Ma range found in eastern

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

according to the

Florida Museum of Natural History The Florida Museum of Natural History (FLMNH) is Florida's official state-sponsored and chartered natural-history museum. Its main facilities are located at 3215 Hull Road on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville. The main pub ...

. The site was discovered in 1931 by Florida Geological Survey (FGS) staff member Clarence Simpson. Specimens include: amphibians, reptiles, birds, small rodents, bats, rhinoceroses, three species of three-toed horses, several

artiodactyl The even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla , ) are ungulates—hoofed animals—which bear weight equally on two (an even number) of their five toes: the third and fourth. The other three toes are either present, absent, vestigial, or pointing poster ...

s (including camels, peccary, deer-like species and other extinct forms), as well as dogs, bears, and

bear-dog Amphicyonidae is an extinct family of terrestrial carnivorans belonging to the suborder Caniformia. They first appeared in North America in the middle Eocene (around 45 mya), spread to Europe by the late Eocene (35 mya), and appear in Asia, an ...

Specimens

Reptilia

Pseudemys ''Pseudemys'' is a genus of large, herbivorous, freshwater turtles of the eastern United States and adjacent northeast Mexico. They are often referred to as cooters, which stems from ''kuta'', the word for turtle in the Bambara and Malinké lang ...

sp. * Testudo ''(T. tedwhitei)'' * Promilio ''(P. epileus)'' * Promilio ''(P. brodkorbi)'' * Proictinia ''(P. floridana)'' *

Alligator An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...

''(A. olseni)'' * Paraoxybelis ''(P. floridanus)'' * Pseudocemophora ''(P. antiqua)'' * Anilioides ''(A. minuatus)'' * Pseudoepicrates ''(P. stanolseni)'' * Ogmophis ''(O. pauperrimus'' * Calamagras ''(C. floridanus)''

Birds

Phalacrocoracidae

Phalacrocorax ''Phalacrocorax'' is a genus of fish-eating birds in the cormorant family Phalacrocoracidae. Members of this genus are also known as the Old World cormorants. Taxonomy The genus ''Phalacrocorax'' was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin ...

''(P. subvolans)''

Columbidae

*'' Arenicolumba prattae''

Mammals

Rhinocerotidae

Diceratherium ''Diceratherium'' (meaning "two horned beast") is an extinct genus of rhinoceros endemic to North America, Europe, and Asia during the Oligocene through Miocene living from 33.9 to 11.6 mya, existing for approximately . Mass estimates for the ...

''(D. barbouri)'' *

Floridaceras ''Floridaceras'' is an extinct genus of Rhinocerotidae (rhinoceros) of the Miocene epoch (early Hemingfordian), endemic to North America, living from around ~20.6–16.3 Annum, Ma, existing for approximately . Taxonomy ''Floridaceras'' was named ...

(''F. whitei'')

Equidae

Parahippus ''Parahippus'' ("near to horse"), is an extinct equid, a relative of modern horses, Donkey, asses and zebras. It lived from 24 to 17 million years ago, during the Miocene epoch. It was very similar to ''Miohippus'', but slightly larger, at around ...

''(P. leonensis)'' *

Anchitherium ''Anchitherium'' (meaning ''near beast'') was a fossil horse with a three- toed hoof. ''Anchitherium'' was a browsing (leaf eating) horse that originated in the early Miocene of North America and subsequently dispersed to Europe and Asia,(in C ...

''(A. clarencei)''

Amphicyonidae

Daphoenus ''Daphoenus'' is an extinct genus of bear dogs. ''Daphoenus'' inhabited North America from the Middle Eocene to the Middle Miocene, 37.2—16.0 Mya, existing for approximately . Species ''D. hartshornianus'' fossils found in Oligocene Orellan ...

''(D. caroniavorus'' *

Amphicyon ''Amphicyon'' ("ambiguous dog") is an extinct genus of large carnivorous bone-crushing mammals, popularly known as bear dogs, of the family Amphicyonidae, subfamily Amphicyoninae, from the Burdigalian Epoch until the late Pliocene, with the creat ...

''(A. longiramus)'' *

Cynelos '' Cynelos'' is a large extinct genus of bear dogs which inhabited North America, Europe, and Africa from the Early Miocene subepoch to the Late Miocene The Late Miocene (also known as Upper Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up ...

''(C. caroniavorus)''

Ursidae

Aelurodon ''Aelurodon'' is an extinct canid genus of the subfamily Borophaginae which lived from the Barstovian land mammal age () of the middle Miocene to the late Miocene epoch ().Phoberocyon ''Phoberocyon'' is a large extinct genus of hemicyonine bear, found primarily in North America during the Miocene. It lived from 28.4 to 13.7 mya, existing for approximately . One species, ''P. hispanicus'', is known from Miocene Spain , im ...

''(johnhenryi)''

Mustelidae

* Mephitaxus ''(M. ancipidens)'' * Miomustela *

Zodiolestes ''Zodiolestes'' is a genus of mustelids, now extinct, which existed during the Miocene period. The genus was first described in 1942, by E. S. Riggs, who identified the sister genus ''Promartes'' at the same time, and assigned to the family P ...

''(Z. freundi)'' *

Oligobunis ''Oligobunis'' is an extinct genus of mustelids, which existed during the Miocene epoch. The genus was first described by E. D. Cope in 1881. Cope assigned the genus to the family Mustelidae, and J. A. Baskin assigned it to the subfamily Oligo ...

''(O. floridanus)''

Canidae

*''

Osbornodon iamonensis ''Osbornodon iamonensis'' is an extinct species of hesperocyonine, a predecessor of modern dogs that were endemic to North America and which lived from the Oligocene to Early Miocene epoch 23.6—16.3 Ma and existed for approximately . It was n ...

'' * Euoplocyon ''(E. spissidens)'' * Metatomarctus ''(M. canavus)'' * Aelurocyon ''(A. spissidens'') *

Phlaocyon ''Phlaocyon'' (from Greek ''phlao'', "eat greedily" and ''cyon'', "dog") is an extinct genus of the Borophaginae subfamily of canids native to North America. It lives from the Early Oligocene to the Early Miocene epoch 33.3–16.3 Annum, Mya, exi ...

sp.

Chiroptera

Chiroptera Bats are mammals of the Order (biology), order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in fli ...

sp. *

Primonatalus ''Primonatalus prattae'' is a fossil bat species from the family of the Natalidae which lived in the early Miocene in Florida. This animal, the only species of the genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological cla ...

''(P. prattae)'' * Karstala ''(K. silva)'' * Miomyotis ''(M. floridanus)'' * Svaptenos ''(S. whitei)''

Artiodactyla

Floridachoerus ''Floridachoerus olseni'' is an extinct peccary that lived during the Hemingfordian age of the Early Miocene, and was endemic to North America. ''F. olseni'' was in existence for approximately . Remains of this extinct mammal were located at the ...

''(F. olseni)'' * Machaeromeryx ''(M. gilchristensis)'' * Parablastomeryx ''(P. floridanus)'' *

Merycoidodon ''Merycoidodon'' ("ruminating teeth") is an extinct genus of herbivorous artiodactyl of the family Merycoidodontidae, more popularly known by the name ''Oreodon'' ("hillock teeth"). It was endemic to North America during the Middle Eocene to Mid ...

sp. * Syndyoceras ''(S. australis)'' * Floridatragulus ''(F. dolichanthereus)'' *

Oxydactylus ''Oxydactylus'' is an extinct genus of camelid endemic to North America. It lived from the Late Oligocene to the Middle Miocene (28.4–13.7 mya), existing for approximately . The name is from the Ancient Greek οξύς (oxys, "sharp")and δ ...

''(O. floridanus)'' *

Nothokemas ''Nothokemas'' is an extinct genus of camelid endemic to North America. It lived from the Late Oligocene to the Early Miocene 24.8— 16.0 mya, existing for approximately . Fossils have been found along the Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida ...

''(N. floridanus)''

Soricidae

* Limnoecus sp.

Rodentia

Cricetidae The Cricetidae are a family of rodents in the large and complex superfamily Muroidea. It includes true hamsters, voles, lemmings, muskrats, and New World rats and mice. At almost 608 species, it is the second-largest family of mammals, and has m ...

* Proheteromys ''(P. magnus)'' * Proheteromys ''P. floridanus)'' * Miospermophilus *

Nototamias ''Nototamias'' is a genus of fossil ground squirrels from the Miocene of North America. Species include ''Nototamias hulberti'' Pratt and Morgan, 1989; ''Nototamias ateles'' (Hall, 1930); and ''Nototamias complicatus'' Korth, 1992. Although the ...

''(N. hulberti)'' * Petauristodon ''(P. pattersoni)'' * Mesogaulus *

Mylagaulidae The Mylagaulidae or mylagaulids are an extinct clade of sciuromorph rodents nested within the family Aplodontiidae. They are known from the Neogene of North America and China. The oldest member is the Late Oligocene '' Trilaccogaulus montan ...

Amphibians

* Proacris ''(P. mintoni)'' *Proacris mintoni

References

Paleobiology Database: Thomas Farm collection
{{coord missing, Florida Paleontological sites of Florida Geography of Gilchrist County, Florida Neogene Florida Miocene United States Miocene paleontological sites of North America 1931 in paleontology