The Pleistocene of North America / and its vertebrated animals from the states east of the Mississippi River and from the Canadian provinces east of longitude 95°

by Oliver Perry Hay

1. Neals, Alachua County.—Through the kindness of Dr. E. H. Sellards, State geologist of Florida, the writer has been permitted to examine various teeth (No. 1186, Florida Geological Survey) taken from the T. A. Thompson phosphate mines at Neals. Among these is a lower left milk molar of a tapir. The length of the crown is 21 mm., the width at the front lobe 14 mm., at the hinder lobe 12.5 mm. The buttresses are well developed. The tooth may be provisionally referred to Tapirus terrestris, yet living in Brazil. Although this tooth was found in phosphate materials, it seemed to Dr. Sellards more probable that it was an intrusion from Pleistocene deposits. The present writer refers the Alachua clays to the Nebraskan stage of the Pleistocene. Sellards has referred to this tooth in his Eighth Annual Report, 1916, p. 94.

2. Archer, Alachua County.—In 1884 (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1884, p. 119), Leidy briefly described a tooth of a tapir found by Dr. J. C. Neal, of Archer, Florida. This is now in the U. S. National Museum, No. 3329. The tooth is the third premolar of the left side, implanted in a fragment of maxilla. The crown is 23 mm. long and 27 mm. wide. Leidy stated that it differed neither in form nor size from the corresponding tooth of the living Tapirus americanus (T. terrestris); but in a specimen of this the corresponding tooth is only 18.5 mm. long and 25 mm. wide. The fossil agrees in size with the same tooth of T. haysii from the Port Kennedy Cave in Pennsylvania (Hay, Geol. Surv. Indiana, vol. XXIII, p. 593). With this tooth had been found teeth of a young mastodon, remains of several individuals of a species of rhinoceros, some foot-bones of a llama, a calcaneum which Leidy thought possibly belonged to the extinct Cervus americanus (Cervalces scotti), and vertebral centra of a small crocodile. The cervalces was afterwards dropped from the lists. These remains had been found in a bed of clay, occupying a ridge in a pine forest. The deposits are now known as the Alachua clays, and they, as well as the contained fossils, will be discussed on page [375]. The tapir remains are not included in Leidy’s list given in Bulletin 84 of the U. S. Geological Survey.

3. Dunnellon, Marion County.—The writer has examined a number of tapir teeth found in phosphate beds in Withlacoochee River, at Dunnellon. From the Florida geological survey an upper left second premolar (No. 1440) has been received which is considerably larger than the corresponding tooth of Tapirus terrestris and presents other peculiarities. It may have belonged to T. haysii. An upper second true molar (No. 1440) has the crown 23 mm. long, 27 mm. wide across the front lobe, and 23 mm. across the hinder lobe. The corresponding dimensions of a specimen of T. terrestris from Surinam are 24 mm., 25.5 mm., and 21.5 mm. A tooth (No. 1378) which appears to be the lower left second molar is 22.5 mm. long, 19 mm. wide in front, and 20 mm. wide behind. The corresponding measurements of T. terrestris are 22.5 mm., 18.5 mm., and 17.5 mm. The buttresses which descend from the outer ends of the crests of the fossil tooth are not so strongly developed as in T. terrestris. Probably these teeth belong to an undescribed species. An upper molar having a length of 23 mm. has been shown the writer by Dr. L. W. Stephenson; it was found in phosphate deposits at Dunnellon and sent to him by Sister M. Catherine, of St. Joseph’s Academy, at St. Augustine.

4. Near Ocala, Marion County.—Mr. J. D. Robertson, of Ocala, presented to the National Museum a tooth of a tapir, found in phosphate deposits a few miles from Ocala, section 5, township 15 south, range 23 east.

5. Tampa, Hillsboro County.—In the collection of fossils, at Vanderbilt University, made from the phosphate-producing beds in Hillsboro County, is part of the left ramus of a lower jaw of a tapir containing the first and second true molars. The first molar has a length of 24 mm. and a width of 20 mm. in front. This is smaller than the corresponding tooth of T. terrestris and near that supposed to belong to T. veroensis. The second molar has lost its hinder crest. Under the first molar the jaw is 54 mm. deep and 37 mm. thick.

The writer (Fossil Turtles of North America, p. 361) reported the finding of tapir teeth in Alafia River, in this county.

6. Vero, St. Lucie County.—At this important locality remains of tapirs have been found in the bed of sands known as No. 2, and likewise in the bed of muck mentioned in discussions of the locality as No. 3. From the latter have been secured parts of 2 lower jaws and a number of detached teeth (Sellards, 8th Ann. Rep., p. 149). One at least of these (No. 6943) appears to belong to Tapirus haysii. From No. 2 Dr. Sellards has obtained a nearly complete skull of a tapir, described (10th and 11th Ann. Rep. Fla. Geol. Surv., p. 57, plates I-IV) as Tapirus veroensis. From the same stratum he (8th Ann. Rep., p. 139) secured a part of a tooth which he referred with some doubt to T. haysii.

7. Arcadia, De Soto County.—Dr. Joseph Leidy (Trans. Wagner Free Inst., vol. II, p. 19) stated he had examined 3 crowns of upper molars and fragments of others. In no way did he find them differing from those of the South American tapir, T. americanus (T. terrestris). On page [380] will be found a list of the vertebrate fossils found in this vicinity.

MISSISSIPPI.

(Map [19].)