OHIO.
1. Nashport, Muskingum County.—In 1836 (Amer. Jour. Sci., ser. 3, vol. XXXI, pp. 79–83), S. P. Hildreth, in an unsigned article, gave an account of the finding of remains of the type specimen of the giant beaver, in association with remains of mastodon and of a supposed fossil sheep, at a point 2 miles north of Nashport. A canal, now abandoned, was being constructed, which followed two small streams, one of which flowed into Licking River, the other into Wakitomika Creek. The land traversed was flat and swampy. The distance from Nashport to Wakitomika Creek is nearly 4 miles, so that in saying that the spot was on this creek Hildreth spoke in general terms. The bones of the mastodon and the right halves of the lower jaws of two giant beavers were found resting on a bed of gravel at a depth of 14 feet. Foster (2d Ann. Rep. Geol. Surv. Ohio, 1838, p. 80) stated that a molar and a tusk of an elephant had also been found here. Hildreth concluded that the jaws and teeth were perhaps those of an animal of the beaver family; “or, from the grooved outer surfaces of the incisors, a marine animal of the walrus or seal race, and a borderer of the ancient ocean.” It was afterwards described by J. W. Foster (2d Ann. Rep. Geol. Surv. Ohio, 1837, p. 80, figs.) under the name of Castoroides ohioensis. The remains described consisted of the front end of one side of a lower jaw with its incisor, an upper incisor, and a radius. They showed signs of some attrition; but in a region like that they could not have been transported any considerable distance.
In the mud in which the canal at this point was cut, there were found three skulls of a species of sheep, which Hildreth thought were different from those of the domestic sheep and to which he gave the name of Ovis mamillaris. They are said to have been discovered at a depth of 8 feet. It seems quite possible that they had been lying on or near the surface and had made their way to the side of the canal by the flow of the mud, which gave much trouble by filling up the canal during the night. Most, if not all, of the differences thought to separate these skulls from the domestic sheep disappear on comparison. The specimens of both Castoroides and of the sheep have probably been lost. They appear not to be at Zanesville. On page 82 of the article above cited, Hildreth stated that he had received, from some point on Wills Creek, a portion of a tooth similar to the one found at Nashport; the place was said to be about 40 miles east, apparently, of Zanesville. This would seem to be in Noble County. The tooth was described as being embedded in dark-colored carbonate of lime and as having fallen from a calcareous rock which lies near the tops of the hills, 150 feet above the bed of the creek. It is very probable that this was not a tooth of Castoroides. It may have been the spine of a palæozoic shark.
2. Wilmington, Clinton County.—From Professor W. C. Mills, of the Ohio State University, the writer in 1913 obtained information that a fine skull of Castoroides, without the lower jaw, had been found on the farm of Mr. J. M. Richardson, on the western border of Wilmington. Nothing more has been learned about the discovery. The locality is north of the Hartwell moraine, and the animal must have lived there after the withdrawal of the ice-sheet from that region.
3. Germantown, Montgomery County.—One mile east of Germantown, Edward Orton, State geologist of Ohio, found along Twin Creek a large tooth which (Amer. Jour. Sci., ser. 2, vol. L, 1870, p. 54) he compared with the tusk of a hog. It was later identified by J. S. Newberry (Proc. Lyc. Nat. Hist. New York, vol. I, 1870, p. 83) as belonging to Castoroides. It was found in a bed of peat which is overlain by from 50 to 100 feet of glacial drift. One might conclude that the animal had lived there at some time between the Illinoian and Wisconsin stages. However, opinions have differed.
The geology along Twin Creek has been studied by Orton, Wright, and Leverett. The last named published his views in 1902 (Monogr. U. S. Geol. Surv., XLI, pp. 363–365, plate XIV, fig. 1). He states (p. [365]) that there seem to be good reasons for believing that the peat-bed indicates the lapse of a considerable interval of deglaciation. Whether the interval preceded or followed the formation of the early Wisconsin moraine is yet to be determined. That seems to mean that the interval may be mid-Wisconsin or pre-Wisconsin. Wright thought that but a few hundred years had elapsed between the deposit of the till below the peat and that above. Orton’s description of the locality was published in 1870 (Amer. Jour. Sci., ser. 2, vol. L, p. 54).
4. West Sonora, Preble County.—In 1893 (Amer. Geologist, vol. XII, p. 73), Professor Joseph Moore reported that a fragment of an upper incisor of Castoroides had been found at West Sonora. It was associated with remains of a mastodon. West Sonora is on the Englewood moraine.
5. Greenville, Darke County.—In 1883 (Jour. Cin. Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. VI, p. 238), F. W. Langdon described a tooth of Castoroides, found at a depth of 4 feet, in a swampy locality near Greenville. In 1893 (Amer. Geol., vol. XII, p. 73), Joseph Moore stated that this tooth belonged to Dr. J. W. Jay, of Richmond. It may now possibly be in the collection of Earlham College. Moore said that it had been found associated with mastodon.
In the public library at Greenville is a fragment of an upper incisor of Castoroides, found in making a ditch along Bridge Creek, in 1889, by Mr. Leo Katzenberger, who writes that the place is in the northwest corner of section 1, township 11, range 2 west, 1.5 miles southwest of Greenville. These animals likewise lived on or near the Sidney moraine.
6 New Knoxville, Auglaize County.—In C. W. Williamson’s “History of Ohio and Auglaize County,” 1905, on page 338, with a figure, is an account of the finding of a skull of Castoroides ohioensis in section 29 of Washington Township, which is in township 6 south, range 5 east, and near New Knoxville. The discovery had been made that beneath a bed of humus there was a stratum of gravel of a quality for road making. In removing the upper peaty layer, the head of the giant beaver was discovered, near the south margin of the pond. Williamson stated that the house of the animal was uncovered. It was between 3 and 4 feet high and about 8 feet square; the poles of which it was constructed were about 3 indies in diameter and were laid after the manner of the houses of modern beavers. Apparently the beaver died in the house, and it was thought that after the death of the beaver wolves or other carnivorous animals had inhabited the house, since bones of deer and other animals were strewn over the floor. It is to be regretted that the house, if such it was, was not taken up in a way that it might have been accurately reconstructed. Williamson’s account is reproduced in Bulletin 16, Geological Survey of Ohio, 4th series, 1912, page 39.
In Heidelberg University, Tiffin, Ohio, the writer has seen a very large skull of Castoroides, labeled as found at Wapakoneta, but it is quite certainly the one found at New Knoxville. Both incisors are broken off close to their insertion in the skull. Williamson’s figure represents at least the left one present.