Come Explore Georgia's Natural History
  • Home: Georgias Fossils
  • 1: Georgia's Oldest Fossils; Archaeocyathids, At 513 Million Years Old
  • 2: Trilobites; 500 Million Years Ago
    • 2A; Murray County Stromatolites
    • 2B; A Trilobite Nest in Georgia
  • 3: Geologic Time
  • 4: Georgia's Oldest Vertebrate?
  • 5: Georgia Before the Dinosaurs
    • 5A; Georgia’s Pennsylvanian Plant Fossils
    • 5B: Carpentertypus durhami, Georgia’s Giant Insect, 315 Million Years Ago
    • 5C: Mississippian Trilobites in Northwest Georgia Describing the New Species Australosutura georgiana
    • 5D: Crinoids & Blastoids Of Northwest Georgia
    • 5E; Fossils of Northwest Georgia
  • *New* 5F: Pennsylvanian Plant Fossils of NW Georgia
  • 6: 200 Million Years Ago
  • 6A: Birth of the Atlantic Ocean
  • 7: Cretaceous Georgia, Dinosaurs & more
    • 7A: Georgias Pterosaur
    • 7B: So Many Sharks
    • 7C: Coelecanths
    • 7D: Xiphactinus vetus
    • 7E: Side-necked turtles
    • 7F: Marine Reptiles
    • 7G: Dinosaurs in Georgia
    • 7H: Deinosuchus schwimmeri in Recognition of Dr. David Schwimmer
    • 7I; The Blufftown Formation
    • 7J: New Species of Cretaceous Flowers Reported From Crawford County
    • 7K: Field Trip, Chattahoochee River Valley 1980
    • 7L: The Eutaw Formation
    • 7M: The Pio Nono Formation
    • 7N: Plant Fossils of Crawford County, GA
    • 7O; 1914 Report Georgia Plant Fossils From the Upper Cretaceous
    • 7P: Bill Montante's Mega "Gator" Tooth Discovery
  • 8: Suwannee Current, Gulf Trough, & Bridgeboro Limestone
  • 9: 60 million years ago, The Paleocene's Clayton Formation, A Report; By Hank Josey
    • 9A: The Georgia Turtle
    • 9B; Sassafras Hill Quarry Huber Formation Plant Fossils in Kaolin
  • 10: The Eocene; Georgia's Oldest Mammals
    • 10A: The Origins of Whales
  • 11: A Whale For Georgia
  • 12: Basilosaurids; The First Modern Whales
    • 12A: Basilosaurus cetoides
    • 12B: Basilotritus
    • 12C: Cynthiacetus (Revised)
    • 12D: Chrysocetus
    • 12E: The Redmond Mandible of Albany Ga
    • 12F: Houston County's Famous Great Whale Goes to the Smithsonian
  • 13: Ziggy and The Museum of Arts & Sciences, Macon, GA
  • 14: Late Eocene
    • 14A: Eocene Fossils & Stratigraphy
    • 14B; Fossils, Impacts, & Tektites Dating the Clinchfield Formation
    • 14C: The Tivola Limestone
    • 14C1: Oldest Oreodont in the Southeast & Georgia's first!
    • 14D: Twiggs Clay Vertebrates
    • 14E: Ocmulgee Formation Vertebrates
    • 14F; Sandersville Limestone, By Hank Josey
    • 14I: Dating Late Eocene Sediments
    • 14J: Georgia's Tektites; Georgiaites
    • 14K; Shell Bluff; Georgia's Most Historic Paleontology Site
    • 14L; Taylors Bluff, Paleo Paddling the Ocmulgee River
    • 14M; Eocene Terrestrial Mammals From Gordon, GA
    • 14N: Fossil Ridge, A Stratigraphic Study in Oaky Woods Wildlife Management Area
    • 14O; Georgia's First Entelodont
    • 14P: Historic Rich Hill
    • 14Q; Bibb County's Christy Hill, Clinchfield Formation Hilltop
    • 14R: Browns Mount, The Fall Line, Elevations, Uplifts, & Native Middle Georgians
  • 15: Early Oligocene
    • 15A: The Marianna Limestone
    • 15B; The Glendon Limestone
    • 15C: Undiffereniated Oligocene Residuum
    • 15D; Brissus bridgeboroensis; A New Echinoid Species From Georgia’s Bridgeboro Limestone
    • 15E: The Curious Steinkern Sea Biscuits of Red Dog Farm Road
    • 15F: Early Oligocene Gordian Knot
  • 16: Bonaire GA Entelodont
  • 17: The Whale Eating Shark
  • 18: Miocene Epoch; 23.3 to 5.3 Million Years Ago
    • 18A; Miocene Terrestrial Vertebrates
    • 18B; Paul Fell, Rockhouse Cave
    • 18C: The Marks Head Formation
    • 18D: Miocene Terrestrial Vertebrates of the Marks Head Formation
    • 18E: The Statenville Formation
    • 18F: Georgia’s 13 Million Year Old Dugong Metaxytherium calvertense
    • 18G: Gastropod Gulch, Julia Gardner, & Miocene Invertebrates In Decatur County
    • 18H; Bony Bluff, Rocky Ford, Echols County In Southernmost Georgia
  • 19: Pliocene Epoch; 5.3 to 2.5 Million years Ago
    • 19A: Two Small Primitive Horses from Taylor County Advance the Science of Georgia Geology
  • 20: The Pleistocene & Holocene Epochs, The Ice Ages
    • 20A; Clark Quarry's Mammoths & Bison
    • 20B: Pleistocene Vertebrate List
    • 20C: Georgia’s Eolian Dunes
    • 20D: Georgia’s Carolina Bays
    • 20E: Late Pleistocene Significant Events
    • 20F: Southeastern Thermal Enclave
    • 20G; Diamond Back Terrapins
    • 20H; A Kaolin Mine Beaver Dam
    • 20I; Pleistocene Vertebrate Fossils On Georgia’s Piedmont
    • 20J; Watkins Quarry Pleistocene Vertebrates, Glynn County, GA
    • 20K: Pleistocene Vertebrates from Coastal Georgia
    • 20L; Sandy Run Creek Core, Warner Robins, Houston County, GA
    • 20M: Bone Bed, Pleistocene, Coastal Georgia
    • 20N: Caribou & Elk Fossils from Georgia & Alabama
    • 20O; Tapir Veroensis, Walker County, Late Pleistocene
    • 20P; Ladds Pleistocene Vertebrates, Bartow County, GA
  • 21: Humans in Georgia
  • 22: Geology of the Coastal Plain, 1911
    • 22A: 1911 Cretaceous Fossil Locations
    • 22B: 1911 Eocene Fossil Locations
  • 23: GA County Localities, Houston County
  • 24: Science: Natural History & Geology
    • 24A; Podcast; The Tivola Whale of Houston County
    • 24B: Coastal Plain Correlation Chart
    • 24C: Presentation; Oaky Woods Stratigraphy
    • 24D: Physiographic Map of Georgia
    • 24E: Fossils of Oaky Woods
    • 24F: Collections & Stewardship of Georgia’s Fossils
    • 24G: I, Periarchus (A Fossil's Tale)
    • 24H: The Tivola Whales (April 2023 talk to the Mid-Georgia Gem & Mineral Society)
    • 24L: Needed; The Georgia Geologic Survey
    • 24M: Georgiacetus Presentation; A Whale for Georgia
    • 24N: Paul F. Huddlestun PhD, Georgia Coastal Plain Field Investigator >
      • 24N1: Late Eocene & Older... Coastal Plain Stratigraphy
      • 24N2: Gulf Trough Cores, Colquitt County, by Paul Huddlestun
      • 24N3; Washington County Core Logs By Paul Huddlestun
      • 24N4: Coastal Plain Core Logs by Paul F. Huddlestun
      • 24N5: Colquitt Core #6 By Paul Huddlestun
      • 24N6: Colquitt 10 & 7 Core
      • 24N7: Wayne County Core, Manningtown
      • 24N8: Gulf Trough Cores >
        • 24N8-1: Chatham County, Tybee Island Core
        • 24N8-2: Gulf Trough, USGS, Claxton, Evans County Core
        • 24N8-3: Blue Springs Landing Core, Screven County
        • 24N8-4: Toombs County Core, Baxley
    • 24O: Echinoids of Georgia, Cenozoic Era (Sand Dollars & Urchins) >
      • 24O1: Echinoids of Georgia, Cenozoic, By County
    • 24P; Exploring the Paleontology of Southernmost Georgia >
      • 24P1; Seminole County
      • 24P2: Decatur County Fossils & Natural History
      • 24P3: Grady County Blowing Caves, Forest Falls, Fossils & Natural History
  • 25: Education Material
    • 25A: My Field Kit; What You Need In The Field
    • 25B: Meet Crassostrea gigantissima, Georgia's Historic Giant Oyster
    • 25C: The Natural History & Fossils Record of Houston County, GA
    • 25D: Evidence for Evolution in Georgia's Fossil Record... A look at Teeth
    • 25E: Georgia's State Fossil; Shark Teeth
    • 25F: Georgia's Paleontology For Georgia's Classrooms
    • 25G: Library & School Presentations
    • 25H; An Introduction To Fossils; Presentation
  • 26: Georgia's Meteorites
    • 26A: Did I Find A Meteorite?
    • 26B: Georgia's Lost Meteorite
    • 26C: Georgia's Witnessed Meteorite Falls
    • 26D: The Sardis Iron, Georgia's Largest Meteorite

​
​20K: Pleistocene Vertebrates
from Coastal Georgia
 
By Thomas Thurman
17/December/2022

Picture
In 1998 Richard Hulbert and Ann Pratt published a report on vertebrates they’d found during research on Coastal Georgia. Both were at Georgia Southern in Statesboro at the time. The list of Georgia’s coastal vertebrates, and our knowledge about the environments which they knew in life has grown a bit since 1998, thanks in large part to this foundation work. We need to look at it in detail.
 
Both Richard Hulbert and Ann Pratt later left Georgia for other opportunities. My understanding is that Ann Pratt left paleontology decades ago, got married and moved to South Florida. I hope her life has prospered.
 
Richard Hulbert went to the Florida Museum of Natural History (University of Florida) in Gainesville where he stood as Vertebrate Paleontology Collections Manager until his recent retirement. But he’ll tell that he’s still working nearly daily in the museum’s auxiliary warehouse. That’s an interesting fact for many paleontologist, their love of knowledge and the geo sciences is so deep that they spend a career with fossils, then retire to continue their studies in fossils.

But the fossils Hulbert & Pratt reported in 1998 are still held in Georgia Southerns research collections.
Picture
In their 1998 Hulbert & Pratt reported finding
      103 vertebrate taxa
                                     12 cartilaginous fishes like sharks (chondrichthyans)
                                     25 ray-finned or bony fish (actinopterygians)
                                     7 amphibians
                                     20 reptiles
                                     4 birds
                                     35 mammals
Sites Reported in 1998
Isle of Hope
Mayfair
Jones Girls
Porters Pit
 
Accessibility
Neither the Porters Pit nor Mayfair sites were still accessible at the time of the 1998 publication.
 
At that time the Isle of Hope site was located on both sides of a sharp, tidal channel meander, through the salt marsh that separates the Isle of Hope from the mainland. Many specimens from the Isle of Hope were discovered and collected during the construction of a boat pier on the outer bank of the meander or directly from the channel during exceptionally low tides. At completion of the pier the exposed sediments were covered with rip rap to prevent erosion.
 
Specimens from the Porters Pit and Mayfair sites were collected an amateur, by Mr. John Heard of Savannah, in the 1980s and donated to the Georgia Southern Museum. Likewise, many of the specimens from the Isle of Hope site were collected by John Heard and the landowners and donated to the university’s museum.     
 
The Jones Girls site is located in two shallow ponds excavated in 1995 and 1996 on the southwestern edge of Skidaway. Vertebrate fossils are uncommon though it produced a diverse, well-preserved estuarine, shallow marine mollusk fauna. The vertebrate fauna was predominately marine and included cartilaginous fish (sharks & rays), ray finned fish and cetaceans (whale) fossils. Only a rodent heel bone and a snake vertebra represented terrestrial vertebrates.
Picture
​Approximate ages & conditions
By marine fossil populations the Isle of Hope, Mayfair, & Jones Girls all represent a coastal, shallow water, barrier island environment on the continental shelf influenced by the Savannah River draining into the Atlantic. The less common terrestrial vertebrate material was either introduced by Savannah River drainage or tidal action from the Atlantic. In other words, it is entirely possible that river floods and tidal currents exposed and disturbed older fossils while depositing fresh bone and teeth directly on top of them.
 
Sea levels were near, or perhaps slightly higher, than modern sea levels. Timeline would be the Sangamonian Stage 125,000 to 75,000 years ago (last interglacial or glacial minimum).
 
The Porters Pit site is different, it is a fluvial channel lag deposit of mixed Miocene, Pliocene and Pleistocene fossils. “Fluvial” mean river related. “Channel lag” means accumulated residual material deposited and left behind in a low spot. So fluvial channel lag mean material was rolled along by river currents until it dropped into a spot where the currents couldn’t reach it. This happened during global low stand of sea levels. The mixed nature of the fossils make it difficult to accurately date.
Picture
Dating Deposits With Sloths?
Observation by the authors (edited for popular clarity)…
“There is an additional factor which may provide some chronologic information. Eremotherium laurillardi (Giant ground sloth) is the numerically dominant ground sloth in the Savannah region and other coastal sites in Georgia. Florida has a much greater number of Pleistocene vertebrate sites than Georgia, with better chronologic control, thus allowing more precise resolution of the distribution of certain taxa. Eremotherium was common in Florida up through the last interglacial 75,000 years ago, but thereafter became very rare and is generally absent at most sites. Megalonyx (large ground sloth) is the typical latest Pleistocene ground sloth in Florida. Assuming that this was also the case in Georgia, abundant Eremotherium at sites would suggest a minimum age of about 75 ,000 (end of Stage 5) for these localities.
 
Picture
​Non-Mammalian Pleistocene Vertebrates from Chatham County
Previous to the work by Hulbert & Pratt the published record of Pleistocene fish, amphibians, reptiles, and birds from the Savannah region is very sparse. This was surprising considering their local abundance in modern times and likely reflects a bias in favor of mammals by past investigators.
 
Prior records include those of unspecified sharks by Hurst in 1957, Henry and Hoyt in 1965, and Markewich in 1992. The description of a new species of box turtle, Terrapene canaliculata, by Hay in 1907 which was overturned by Auffenberg in 1958, Milstead in 1969, and Holman in 1995. (Terrapene canaliculate is now classified as Terrapene Carolina the eastern box turtle.)
Picture
​Though many cartilaginous (shark clan) and ray finned fish were identified from the Isle of Hope and Mayfair sites. There were a large number of fragmentary or undiagnostic vertebrae and teeth which couldn’t be identified beyond the order or family level. Otoliths are also present at the Isle of Hope and Jones Girls sites but have not been identified.
 
Excluding such obvious older species, the only taxon from Porters Pit not listed in Table 3 is the sturgeon Acipenser sp. This record is based on four osteoderms, GSM 93. Only a part of the matrix from the Jones Girls Site has been fully processed, and the fish specimens have not yet been studied. Most are teeth or vertebrae of small species. Only the presence of Rhizoprionodon, Carcharius taurus, rays (Dasyatidae and Myliobatidae), Lepisosteus, and a diodontid can now be confirmed from this locality. Several aspects of the Pleistocene ichthyofauna from these coastal sites are worthy of discussion.
Terrestrial Mammals
Scientific name                       Common name        Hope  Mayfair  Fossil  Porter  Savan  Bruns  Watki  Turtle 
Didelphis virginiana             Opossum                     X                                                                               X                                                        Dasypus bellus                       Extinct Armadillo     X             X                                                                X
Holmesina septentrionalis  Extinct Armadillo                     X                                                                            X
Eremotherium laurillardi   Giant Ground Sloth  X                         X           X           X           X          X         X
Paramylodon harlani          Large Ground Sloth  X                         X                                       X
Megalonyx sp?                      Large Ground Sloth                                                          X
Blarina brevicauda              N. Short Tail Shrew   X
Blarina carolinensis             S. Short Tail Shrew   X
Scalopus aquaticus               Eastern Mole              X
Ursidae                                    Bear Family                 X
Procyon lotor                         Racoon                         X            X
Lutra canadensis                  N.A. River Otter         X
Leopardis sp?                        Genus, Wildcat           X
Lynx rufus                              Bobcat                          X
Glaucomys Volans                Flying Squirrel           X
Sciurus carolinensis             East Grey Squirrel     X
Spermophilus sp?                 Ground Squirrel                                                                                                        X
Castor canadensis                Beaver                           X            X     
Castoroides ohioensis          Giant Beaver                                                                      X            X
Oryzomys palustris             Marsh Rice Rat            X
Sigmodon hispidus              Hispid Cotton Rat       X
Neotoma floridana              Eastern Wood Rat      X
Peromyscus polionotus       Oldfield Mouse           ?
Geomys pinetis                     Pocket G0pher                                                                                                            X
Neofiber alleni                      Muskrat                        X                                                                                             X
Synaptomys australis         Fl Bog Lemming         X
Microtus pennsylvanicus   Meadow Vole               X
Microtus pinetorum             Woodland Vole           X
Neochoerus pinckneyi         Extinct Capybara                    ?                           ?           X
Hydrochaeris holmesi         Extinct Capabara                                                              X                X                    X
Sylvilagus floridanus           Cottontail Rabbit        X         ?                                                                                  ?
Sylvilagus palustris             Marsh Rabbit               X
Mylohyus fossilis                  Long-Nose Peccary    X                                                                                              ?
Palaeolama mirifica            Extinct Llama                         X                                                                                  X
Bison sp?                                 Gernus, Bison             X                        X                                        X                        X   
Odocoileus virginianus       White Tailed Deer      X         X                          X           X            X         X   
Tapirus veroensis                 Extinct Vero Tapir     X         X                                        X            X         X                   
Equus sp?                                Horse                           X         X            X            X          X             X        X            X
Mammut Americanum        Mastodon                    X         X            X            X          X             X                       X
​Mammuthus columbi           Colum. Mammoth                 X            X            X          X             X                       X
Total Terrestrial Mammals                              31       12          6           6          10          10       7          13
Picture
​Wildcat
A Partial mandible to a smaller wildcat was recovered from the Isle of Hope site. Specimen GSM 300 belongs to a small felid, close in size to the smaller members of the genus Leopardus such as the margay (Leopardus wiedii) and the jaguarundi, (Leopardus yagouaroundi). GSM 300 shares various combinations of character states with each of these, but also differs from each in other features. With the limitations of having but one specimen and no indication of individual variation within the former population, the specific identification of GSM 300 remains un-resolved.
Picture
​Identifiable Pleistocene Fish from Eastern Chatham County
Shark Relatives (cartilaginous or chondrichthyans)
& Bony Fish (Ray finned or actinopterygians)
Scientific                                              Common                              Hope                     Mayfair
Name                                                    Name                                    Quantity              Quantity
Ginglymostoma cirratum Nurse Shark                                      1                              0
Carcharias taurus                             Sand Tiger Shark              3                              12
Galeocerdo cuvier                            Tiger Shark                         2                              1
Carcharhinus leucas                       Bull Shark                            8                             5
Carcharhinus obscurus                  Dusky Shark                       3                              3
Carcharhinus sp?                             Family; Requiem Shark  23                           9
Negaprion brevirostris                  Lemon Shark                      34                           14
Rhizoprionodon terraenovae       Sharpnose Shark               201                         2
Sphyrna tiburo                                 Bonnethead shark            32                           0
Dasyatidae                                         Whiptail Stingray             191                          0
Aetobatus narinari                          Spotted Eagle Ray            1                              4
Myliobatida                                        Family; Eagle Ray            67                           34
Lepisosteus sp.                                  Gar                                       20                           2
Elops saurus                                      Ladyfish                               2                              0
Muraenidae                                        Moray Eel                            27                           0
Alosa (?) sp.                                       Herring                                1                              0
Clupeida                                              Family; Herring                14                            0
Arius felis                                            Hardhead Catfish             2                              0
Synodus sp?                                       Genus; Lizardfish             3                              1
Opsanus sp?                                       Genus; Toadfish                13                            0
Batrachoididae                                 Family; Toadfish               7                              0
Fundulus sp?                                     Genus; Killifishes             107                         0
Prionotus sp?                                     Genus; Searobins             6                              7             
Trichiurus sp.                                    Genus; Cutlassfish           32                           0
Lagodon rhomboides                      Pinfish                                 13                            0
Archosargus probatocephalus    Sheepshead                           9                             0
Pogonias cromis                               Black Drum                        23                           1
Scianops ocellata                              Red Drum                           0                             5
Mugil sp?                                            Mullet                                  4                              0
Sphyraena sp.                                   Barracuda                           34                            0
Bothidae                                              Flounder                              9                             0
Balistes sp?                                         Genus; Triggerfish             1                             0
Lactophrys sp?                                  Genus; Boxfish                    1                              0
Scombridae (?)                                  Family; Mackerel                0                             1
Tetraodontida                                   Family; Blowfish                  1                              0
Diodontidae                                       family; Porcupinefish         6                              0
Porter’s Pit produced 4 osteoderms (bony scales) from a member of the genus Acipenser (Sturgeon) but no other fish are reported from that site as it was difficult or impossible to distinguish between Pleistocene and older fossils except for those whose chronologic ranges do not include the Pleistocene, such as Otodus megalodon.
Picture
Late Pleistocene Amphibians & Reptiles from Eastern Chatham County, Georgia
Scientific name                                 Common name                  Hope                     Qty         Mayfair               Qty
Siren intermedia (?)                       Siren, Salamander           Vertebra                  8             None                    0
Notophthalmus viridescens         Eastern Newt                     Vertebra                 4              None                   0
Amphiuma means                          Salamander                        Dentary                 15            None                    0
Ambystoma maculatum (?)         Spotted Salamander        Vertebra                 1              None                    0
Bufo sp?                                            Genus, Toad                       Ilium                      1              None                    0
Pseudacris ornata                          Ornate Chorus Frog         Ilium                      1              None                    0
Rana catesbeiana                           American Bullfrog            Articular               2              None                    0
Chelydra serpentina                      Snapping Turtle                Nuchal                  2              Peripheral           3
Kinosternon sp?                              Genus, Mud Turtles         Nuchal                  10           Nuchal                  1
Sternotherus sp?                             Genus, Musk Turtles       Plastron                3              Hypoplastron    1
Kinosternidae                                  Family, Small Turtles      Misc.                     60           Uncatagorized   10
Apalone ferox                                  Florida Softshell Turtle  None                      0             Hypoplastron    4
Terrapene Carolina                       Eastern Box Turtle           Nuchal                  40           Carapace              13
Deirochelys reticularia                 Chicken Turtle                   Neural                  3              Neural                  3
Pseudemys concinna (?)               River Cooter Turtle          Peripheral            11            None                     0
Trachemys scripta                         Pond Slider Turtle            None                     0             Nuchal                  16
Gopherus polyphemus                  Gopher Tortoise                Costal                    2              None                     0
Hesperotestudo incisa*                Giant-Dwarf  Tortoise     Epiplastron           7              Epiplastron         4
Hesperotestudo crassiscutata*  Giant Tortoise                    Shell Frags           2              None                     0
Coluber constrictor                       Eastern Racer Snake        Vertebra                5              None                     0
Pituophis melanoleucas               Pine Snake                         Vertebra                2              None                     0
Nerodia fasciata                            Banded Water Snake       Vertebra                1              None                     0
Regina sp?                                      Genus, Crawfish Snakes Vertebra                 1              None                     0
Thamnophis sirtalis                     Common Garter Snake   Vertebra                 2              None                     0
Heterodon sp?                               Genus, Hognose Snakes Vertebra                  1              None                     0            
Agkistrodon piscivorus               Florida Cottonmouth      Vertebra                  4              None                     0
Crotalus sp?                                   Genus, Pit Vipers              Vertebra                 4              None                     0
Serpentes (uncategorized)          Suborder, Snakes             Vertebra                  50           Vertebra               6
Alligator mississippiensis           Alligator                              Osteoderm             2              Osteoderm          8
        (?) Uncertain identification
        (sp?) Only identified to the level of Genus, species is unknown.
        (*) Extinct species
Picture
Marine Mollusks Present at Three Localities in Eastern Chatham County
Note: All taxa present at either the Isle of Hope Site or Mayfair Site (or both) are listed; the much more
diverse molluscan fauna of the Jones Girls Site is not listed in its entirety.
Scientific Names                               Common Names                               Hope                     Mayfair                 Jones
Gastropods
Busycon carica                                 Knobbed Whelk                                 X                             -                              X
Crepidula fornicate                         Slipper Snail                                       -                              X                             X
Epitonium rupicola                         Brown-band Wentletrap                  X                             -                              X
Eupleura caudata                            Murex Family                                    X                             -                              X
Melongena corona                           Florida Crown Conch                      -                              X                             -
Oliva sayana                                     Lettered Olive Snail                         X                             X                             X
Polinices duplicatus                        Moon Snail                                         X                             X                             X
Terebra dislocata                             Eastern Auger Snail                         X                             X                             X
Bivalves
Abra aequalis                                    Extinct Clam                                      X                             -                              X
Anadara brasiliana                         Arc Clam                                             X                             -                              X
Anadara ovalis                                 Blood Arc Clam                                 X                             -                              X
Anadara transversa                        Traverse Arc Clam                            X                             -                              X
Anomia simplex                                Jingle Shell                                         X                             -                              X
Divaricella quadrisulcat                Cross-Hatched Lucine Clam           X                             -                              X
Donax variabilis                               Blood Arc Clam                                 X                             X                             X
Mulinia lateralis                               Dwarf Surf Clam                               X                             X                             X
Noetia ponderosa                             Ponderous Arc Clam                        X                                                             X
Nucula proxima                                Atlantic Nut Clam                             X                                                             X
Pleuromeris tridentata                   Three-Toothed Cardita                     X                                                             X

Picture
​Turtle Fossils as Climate Indicators
Turtle carapace and plastron fragments were the most common reptilian fossils observed by Hulbert and Pratt at the Isle of Hope and the Mayfair sites. The carapace is the top of the turtle shell. The plastron is the underside.
 
The team reported that emydids (terrapins, pond & marsh turtles) and kinosternids (mud & musk turtles) were particularly abundant. The Isle of Hope site produced large Pseudemys (freshwater cooters). The Mayfair site has Trachemys scripta (pond slider) instead. 
​All recovered specimens of the genus Terrapene (box turtle) represented very large individuals, much larger than modern animal in the region.
 
In addition to the modern gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus), two extinct species of tortoises were present in the late Pleistocene of the southeastern Coastal Plain, the relatively small Hesperotestudo incisa and the giant Hesperotestudo crassiscutata. All three are apparently present in the Isle of Hope fauna, although H. crassiscutata is only represented by fragmentary specimens. Both the Mayfair and Isle of Hope sites produced specimens of the diagnostic, relatively thick epiplastron of H. incisa. An incomplete plastron element of a large Hesperotestudo was also recovered from the Porters Pit Site. It could represent the Pleistocene H. crassiscutata or the Mio-Pliocene H. hayi. The presence of tortoises at Pleistocene sites is usually considered an indicator of higher winter minimum temperatures than at present.
Picture
​Snakes
Nine taxa of snakes have been identified from the Isle of Hope Site on the basis of vertebrae. None are abundant and all are common taxa now living in coastal Georgia. Four vertebrae are from Agkistrodon piscivorous (cottonmouth) individuals.The remaining four viperid vertebrae lack these deep pits, and more resemble those of large Crotalus adamanteus (eastern diamondback) but due to their partial nature confirmed identification is impossible.
 
The snake vertebra from the Jones Girls site belongs to a medium sized natricine snake but is too poorly preserved for more precise identification. 
​Birds (Avian)
Avian fossils are relatively rare in our coastal Chatham County Pleistocene sites, with only five specimens representing four taxa. A single specimen, an incomplete coracoid (GSM 612), is known from the Isle of Hope Site. It is from either Anas rubripes (American black duck) or Anas platyrhinchos (mallard) but its fragmentary nature prevents more exact identification. The remaining bird fossils are from the Mayfair Site and represent  a Meleagris gallopavo (wild turkey), a of Cygnus columbianus (tundra swan), and two coracoids of Anas americana (American wigeon). All of these bird are known today from coastal Georgia.
Picture
The Isle of Hope site includes 10 taxa that became extinct by the end of the Pleistocene in North America; Eremotherium laurillardi (giant ground sloth), Paramylodon harlani (large ground sloth), Dasypus bellus (beautiful armadillo), Tapirus veroensis (vero tapir), Equus sp. (horse), Mylohyus fossilis (long nose peccary), Mammut Americanum (mastodon), Hesperotestudo crassiscutata (southeastern giant tortoise), and Hesperotestudo incisa (dwarf giant tortoise). These provide a minimum age of about 10 to 11 ka for the site. With the exception of the two species of Hesperotestudo, the remainder of the herpetofauna and the entire ichthyofauna all belong to extant taxa and do not directly provide any chronologic information other than suggesting a relatively young (Quaternary) age.
Picture
​Many of the species present are common and wide-ranging either geographically, chronologically, or both. The absence in any of the Savannah region sites of most of the large mammalian carnivores that must have been present in the area (e.g., Canis, Smilodon, Panthera) remains a mystery. Among the smaller carnivores, the presence of Leopardus is notable, especially as it appears not to be the relatively well-known, latest Pleistocene species L. amnicola. Their morphologic differences may be related to the older geologic age of the Isle of Hope dentary relative to most specimens of L. amnicola, interglacial versus latest Rancholabrean. Alternatively, it may be a true indication that a close relative of Leopardus yagouaroundi was at one time an inhabitant of the southeastern United States, just as there were once ocelots and margays. Only recovery of additional fossils and a better understanding of the evolutionary history of Leopardus will solve this problem.
Picture
​References
  1. Hulbert, Richard C. & Pratt, Ann E.; New Pleistocene (Racnchlabrean) Verebrate Faunas From Coastal Georgia, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Vol. 18, No. 2, 15/June/1998, Society of Vertebrate Paleontology