The bones occurred likewise in the blue mud, and such were especially well preserved. Leidy (Holmes’s Post-Pl. Foss. S. C., p. 102) recounts his observations at this locality; nevertheless, the only vertebrate fossil that the writer finds credited by Leidy to this locality is a tooth of Equus fraternus (=E. leidyi), which he figured (plate XV, fig. 8).
Dredging for phosphate rock has been carried on extensively in Cooper River; but of Pleistocene vertebrate fossils secured here the writer has record of only Megatherium, mirabile. This is represented in the Charleston Museum by a portion of a lower jaw.
Wando River is situated northeast of Charleston, runs parallel with the coast, and empties into Cooper River. From this have (according to the writer’s knowledge) been secured only Equus complicatus and a part of a tusk of Odobenus. The latter is in the Charleston Museum. In most cases no record has been kept of the origin of the specimens in collections.
The Pleistocene bed along Ashley River is famous for the number of fossil vertebrates which it has furnished. It has been described by F. S. Holmes in various publications, especially in the Introduction to his Post-Pleiocene Fossils of South Carolina, 1860, pages I-XII. In the same work, on pages 99–100, Dr. Leidy briefly described the geological character of the beds; and on subsequent pages he described the vertebrate species found there. The principal beds were located on Ashley River, about 10 miles above Charleston. According to Pugh (“Pleistocene Deposits of South Carolina,” p. 34), the fossiliferous deposits rest on Miocene marls. At the top are 4 feet of yellow sands with bands of clay; below, is a foot or more of blue mud lying on the Miocene. The bones are more numerous and best preserved in the blue mud. The Pleistocene bed is elevated only a few feet above tide-level. Inasmuch as nearly all the species of Pleistocene vertebrates which have been found along the South Carolina coast have been secured along the Ashley River, the few found elsewhere will be included in the following list. Some of those marked found somewhere about Charleston may have been collected in or along Ashley River. In this list the contractions following the names signify as follows: A, Ashley River; B, the region about Beaufort; C, somewhere around Charleston; C. r., Cooper River; E, Edisto River; G. c., Goose Creek; J. i., John’s Island; S. r., Stone River; W. r., Wando River; Y., Yonge’s or Young Island. The species preceded by the dagger are extinct.
- Odobenus rosmarus A., W. r. (p. [29]).
- Lynx ruff us C.
- †Canis sp. indet. C.
- Procyon lotor A.
- †Arctodus pristinus A.
- Ursus americanus C.
- Sylvilagus floridanus? A.
- †Hydrochœrus æsopi A.
- †Hydrochœrus pinckneyi C. (p. [365]).
- †Castoroides ohioensis A. (p. [279]).
- Castor canadensis A.
- Ondatra zibethica A.
- †Elephas imperator C. (p. [162]).
- †Elephas columbi A., B. (p. [155]).
- †Mammut americanum A., B. (p. [118]).
- Mammut progenium (p. [118]).
- †Bison latifrons? A. (p. [260]).
- †Bison sp. indet. A. (p. [260]).
- †Alces runnymedensis C. (p. [364]).
- Cervus canadensis A. (p. [242]).
- Odocoileus virginianus? A. (p. [231]).
- Camelops sp. indet.
- †Tagassu lenis A. (p. [222]).
- †Tagassu sp. indet.? A. (p. [222]).
- †Tapirus haysii A. (p. [204]).
- †Tapirus sp. indet. A. (p. [205]).
- †Equus complicatus A., W. r., B. (p. [192]).
- †Equus leidyi A., J. i., G. c., S. r., B. (p. [192]).
- †Equus littoralis C. (p. [193]).
- †Hipparion venustum A.
- †Physeter vetus A.
- †Trichechus antiquus A.
- †Megatherium mirabile A., C. r., S. r. (p. [35]).
- †Mylodon harlani A. (p. [35]).
- †Megalonyx jeffersonii B. (p. [35]).
- †Didelphis virginiana J. i.
- †Alligator mississippiensis A.
- †Pseudemys sp. indet. A.
- †Testudo crassiscutata? A.
- Trichiurus lepturus Y.
- †Istiophorus robustus Y.
- †Ischyrhiza mira? A.
- Lepisosteus osseus A.
- Dasyatis hastata? Y.
Besides the species enumerated, the early collectors found remains which were identified as belonging to such domestic animals as the dog, ox, sheep, and hog. Leidy rejected these as Pleistocene species, while Holmes and Agassiz accepted them as such. Possibly the supposed dog was in reality a wolf and the supposed ox a bison. Small teeth like those of cows are fossilized as are the teeth of extinct animals. At Bee’s Ferry on Ashley River the fossiliferous bed has a thickness of 3.5 feet and is at about high-water mark. It is overlain by from 15 to 20 feet of loose sands.
By far the most of the species have been entered in the list on the authority of Joseph Leidy. Only F. S. Holmes reported the elk (Cervus canadensis), and the writer has seen two teeth of the species at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia credited to Charleston. Holmes also reported Glyptodon, but that is not included in the list. Lynx ruffus, Ursus americanus, Hydrochœrus pinckneyi, Elephas imperator, Bison latifrons, Alces runnymedensis, Camelops sp., and Equus littoralis are included on the evidence of specimens seen by the writer in the Charleston Museum or in some of the other collections made on the coast of South Carolina. Loomis has recently (Amer. Jour. Sci., vol. XLV, 1918, p. 438) described a specimen of Mammut progenium (as Mastodon americanus) from near Charleston and another from near Beaufort.
Alces runnymedensis was first briefly referred to in Year Book No. 14 of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1915 (1916), page 387. The name is based on an upper right hindermost milk molar in the Charleston Museum (No. 13534). It is the property of Mr. Charles C. Pinckney. Where the tooth was found is not known, but it was somewhere near Charleston, in the phosphate-bearing area. The specific name is that of the estate of the owner. The tooth closely resembles the corresponding one of Alces americanus, but is larger and has a flatter crown. Only the crown of the tooth is preserved, and of this a part of the enamel of the inner anterior cone is broken off; otherwise it is in fine condition. The color is very black. The following measurements are given of this tooth and of the corresponding one of Alces americanus, No. 117055 of the U. S. Biological Survey. The two teeth are only slightly worn.
| Measurements of milk molars of Alces, in millimeters. | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions taken. | A. americanum. | A. runnymedensis. |
| Length of tooth near outer border | 24.0 | 25.5 |
| Length of tooth at middle width | 21.5 | 23.0 |
| Width of tooth along front border | 23.0 | 23.0 |
| Width of tooth from median style to base of inner hinder cone | 21.0 | 24.0 |
The angle between the outer and inner faces of the hinder half of the tooth is 54° in the tooth of the existing species, 64° in the fossil tooth. On the grinding-surface the fossettes are wider than in the tooth of the existing moose.