4. Darlington, Darlington County.—In 1850 (Proc. Amer. Assoc. Adv. Sci., vol. III, p. 67), Gibbes showed before the Association several specimens of horse-teeth, referred to Equus americanus (E. complicatus), found in supposed Pliocene at Darlington. They were reported as having been discovered associated with bones of a mastodon, presumably of Mammut americanum. No additional information was furnished. Darlington is situated on a branch of Black Creek, an affluent of Great Pedee River. The teeth were probably found in a Pleistocene terrace deposit.
GEORGIA.
(Map [17].)
Apparently remains of extinct horses have been found in Georgia in only two places, as follows:
1. Brunswick, Glynn County.—During the construction (in 1838–39) of a canal which connected Altamaha and Turtle Rivers, remains of various fossil vertebrates were discovered. A list of these will be given on page [370]. Among the remains was a lower left last premolar or first molar of an extinct horse, described by Leidy in 1847 (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1847, p. 266) and again in 1860 (Holmes’s Post-Pleiocene Foss. South Carolina, p. 104, plate XVI, fig. 23). In the first publication he referred the tooth to his species Equus americanus (=E. complicatus); but in 1860 he referred it to his Equus fraternus (=E. leidyi). The size of the tooth appears to justify his later conclusion.
Lyell, in his “Second Visit to the United States,” made in 1845 (ed. 2, vol. 1, p. 348), stated that remains of Equus had been found in the Brunswick Canal. He referred it to Equus curvidens, and stated that this species had the upper teeth more curved than any living horse.
On page 436 of Bulletin No. 26 of the Geological Survey of Georgia, J. W. Gidley furnished a list of vertebrates dredged up somewhere near Brunswick. Among the species are 3 horses, Equus fraternus (=E. leidyi), E. complicatus, and E. tau (probably E. littoralis). Through the liberality of Professor S. W. McCallie, State Geologist of Georgia, the writer has been permitted to study these teeth. There is one damaged upper molar which belongs to E. complicatus; 4 upper and 1 lower grinders belong to E. leidyi; 2 upper left molars are certainly those of E. littoralis; one having a height of 72 mm., a crown-length of 23 mm., and a width of 22 mm. The length is slightly greater than that of the type of the species.
In the collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia the writer has examined an equine tibia presented by J. H. Couper, probably found in the Brunswick Canal with the other remains presented by Mr. Couper. It is compared in size with a tibia of the horse Edwin Forrest, with that of a draft horse in the U. S. National Museum, and with that of E. scotti, No. 10628, in the American Museum of Natural History.
| Measurements of tibiæ of horses, in millimeters. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brunswick horse. | Edwin Forrest. | Draft horse. | E. scotti. | |
| Total length of tibia | 455 | 365 | 420 | 370 |
| Side-to-side diameter at middle of length | 65 | 42 | 50 | 49 |
The Brunswick horse was evidently a very large one, but it may have been an unusually large specimen of Equus complicatus.