Fossil vertebrates of Vero, Florida

STATE OF FLORIDA
STATE BOARD OF CONSERVATION
DIVISION OF GEOLOGY

FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Robert 0. Vernon, Director

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10

FOSSIL VERTEBRATES OF YERO, FLORIDA

By
Robert D. Weigel

j~o~

No0.7v

TALLAHASSEE

1962

STATE OF FLORIDA
STATE BOARD OF CONSERVATION
DIVISION OF GEOLOGY

FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Robert 0. Vernon, Director

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10

FOSSIL VERTEBRATES OF VERO, FLORIDA

By
Robert D. Weigel

TALLAHASSEE

1962

/JJo /
AGRI-
CULTURAL
LIBRARY

Completed manuscript received
April 12, 1962
Printed by the Florida Geological Survey
Tallahassee

PREFACE

The finding of extinct vertebrates associated with human remains
at Vero Beach (formerly Vero), Indian River County, Florida, in 19'
occasioned considerable interest on the part of paleontologists, T
ogists, and archaeologists. Questions prompted by the nature o
bone beds, various estimates of their probable age, and inconsistr
in the faunal data have been widely discussed by many authors, mainly
on a conjectural basis, because little excavation has been done at this
important fossil site subsequent to its discovery 40 years ago.

The smaller vertebrates of Vero were heretofore little known, and
the taxonomic status of a number of species described from the site
was uncertain. In view of these facts, and because the rapid encroach-
ment of civilization may make further research at this important site
difficult or impossible, extensive field work was carried out during the
summers of 1956 and 1957. The following report presents the results
of this project.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The astute guidance, helpful suggestions, and inspiration afforded
by Dr. Pierce Brodkorb, who supervised the work, are deeply appreciated.
Doctors Coleman J. Goin, E. Lowe Pierce, Robert M. DeWitt, and Harold
K. Brooks critically read the manuscript in its original form, as submitted
to the Graduate School of the University of Florida, as partial fulfillment
for the Ph.D. degree.

Mr. John Beidler, director of the Indian River Mosquito Control
District, generously provided tools, trucks, and other facilities which
aided the work. Mr. Joe O'Neill, of Vero Beach, helped excavate the
site.

Dr. John M. Goggin, of the University of Florida Department of
Sociology, identified artifacts, and Doctors Rolland F. Hussey, Frank
N. Young, T. H. Hubbell, Kenneth Cooper, and Mr. Karl Krombein identified
insect specimens, and Dr. C. Lewis Gazin identified the cetacean teeth.
Dr. J. Alan Holman was especially helpful in checking the identification
of amphibian and reptile specimens.

The efforts of Mr. Stanley J. Olsen in making available the Florida
Geological Survey collections and checking the identification of some
of the mammals are gratefully appreciated.

Dr. Albert M. Laessle, of the University of Florida Department
of Biology, has generously supplied information on plant ecology, and
Doctors James N. Layne, Pierce Brodkorb, and J. Alan Holman have
graciously loaned comparative material.

Dr. Robert 0. Vernon and the Florida Geological Survey provided
financial assistance.

Without the generous help of the Exploration Department and
Geochemical Laboratory of the Humble Oil and Refining Company,
radiocarbon dates for this important site would not have been possible.

The many aids and help rendered by the above have contributed
immeasurably to the consummation of this study.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
Introduction ......................................... 1
Stratigraphy ......................................... 2
Age of the deposit ................................... 8
Methods of collection ................................. 12
Preservation of fossils .................................. 13
Annotated faunal list ................................. 15
Paleoecology ....................................... 42
Biogeography ....................................... 50
Summary .......................................... 53
Literature cited ...................................... 55

ILLUSTRATIONS

Figure
1 Aerial photograph of Vero site and surrounding area. Bone beds
lie between the railroad and spillway . . . . . . . . . 3

2 Map of the Vero fossil deposit with excavation locality numbers. 4

3 North bank of drainage canal at point of entrance of north
tributary stream .......... ....................... 5

4 East-west cross section through fossil deposit . . . . . . 6
5 West wall of locality 3a after completion of excavation. .. . . 7

6 Locality 3a during excavation . . . . . . . . .. . .. 13

Table
1 List of species for which Vero is the type locality .. . . . . 2

2 Vero radiocarbon dates ........................... 8

3 Percentage of extinct mammals in each of five levels of bed 2,
Locality 3a .................................... 10

4 Habitat of fossil plants from bed 3 at Vero . . . . . . ... 43
5 Habitat and abundance of insects and vertebrates at Vero . .. 44

FOSSIL VERTEBRATES OF VERO, FLORIDA

By
Robert D. Weigel

INTRODUCTION

The first New World discovery of human bones and artifacts which
is associated with extinct Pleistocene vertebrates occurred at Vero
through the digging of an east-west drainage canal by the Indian River
Farms Company. The first fossils were found in 1913, the first human
remains in 1915. The majority of the material was collected in 1915
and 1916 (Sellards, 1917a).

During the latter part of October 1916, E. H. Sellards, 0. P. Hay,
G. G. MacCurdy, A. Hrdlicka, T. W. Vaughan, and R. T. Chamberlin
held a field conference at the locality (Sellards, 1917a). A second
field conference was held in March 1917, with E. W. Berry, E. H. Sellards,
R. T. Chamberlin, and H. Gunter participating. A number of other workers
visited the locality subsequent to its discovery but only for brief periods.
A list of papers concerning Vero Beach and other Florida vertebrate
fossil localities has been compiled by Ray(1957).

A list of species described as new from Vero Beach is given in
table 1.

FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Table 1. List Of Species For Which Vero Is The Type Locality

Species

Chelydra laticarinata Hay 1916
Chelydro sculpt Hay 1916
Terropene innoxia Hay 1916
Terrapene antipex Hay 1916
Pseudemys floridana persimilis Hay 1
Testudo sellardsi Hay 1916
Testudo luciae Hay 1916
Gopherus pmecedens Hay 1916
Ardea sellardsi Shufeldt 1917
Jabiru weilisi Sellards 1916
Querquedula floridana Shufeldt 1917
Larus vero Shufeldt 1917
Canis ayersi Sellards 1916
Canis riviveronis Hay 1917
Vulpes palmaria Hay 1917
Tapirus veroensis Sellards 1913
Odocoileus sellardsiae Hay 1917

= C. serpentine
= C. serpentine
= T. carolina
= T. carolina
916= P. floridana
= Geochelone sellardsi
= Species inquirenda
= Species inquirenda
= Meleagris gallopavo
= Ciconia maltha
= Lophodytes cucullatus
= Nyctanassa violacea
=Valid species
= Canis latrans
=Species inquirenda
= Valid species
= O. virginianus

STRATIGRAPHY

The fossil-bearing deposit is located within the present limits
of the city of Vero Beach (fig. 1, 2). It lies in the center of the SE
sec. 35, T. 32 S., R. 39 E., and bears the State archeological number
IR9 (Rouse, 1951). The Florida East Coast Railroad and Vero Beach
Municipal Airport borders the site on the northwest. The North Relief
Canal (fig. 3) empties into the Indian River at a point where Royal
Palm Boulevard crosses the river. For a distance of about 1,500 feet,
the canal coincides with the former drainage pattern of Van Valkenburg
Creek, the present eastern remnant of which empties into the Indian
River about half a mile north of the canal discharge. The eastern remnant
of the creek is known locally as Mockingbird Creek. It is in this area,
between the spillway and the highway, that most of the fossils occur.

The fossil-bearing deposits at Vero consist of three distinct beds
of sedimentary materials, designated, from top to bottom, as beds 3, 2,
and 1 (stratum 3, 2, and 1 of Sellards, 1917a). Throughout most of the
deposit these beds are distinct and easily distinguished. They fill a
shallow but relatively wide basin whose width is about 300 feet (fig. 4).
The sediments have been referred to by Sellards (1917a) and Chamberlin

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10

A.

Figure 1. Aerial photograph of Vero site and surrounding area. Bone beds lie
between the railroad and spillway.

(1917a) as a stream-channel fill, the basin having been attributed to
erosion by a former stream. At the time the drainage canal was dug,
sluggish Van Valkenburg Creek flowed intermittently across the southern
edge of the deposit, passing over Locality 1 (Chamberlin, 1917b). This
creek was joined by two tributaries, one from the north, the other from the
south, each entering the main stream about 220 feet east of the present
spillway.

During the present study the extent of the basin was determined
by cutting sections along all tributary canals and by use of a soil auger.
Its limits agree with those of Chamberlin's map (1917a, fig. 2). The
northern boundary, in the region of Locality 3a, extends 157 feet north
of the present canal; the southern boundary has been obscured in most
places by the digging of the drainage canal; the western boundary is
160 feet east of the spillway. The eastern limit is more difficult to

FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

ascertain since the area east of the railroad and highway are under
settlement. However, test borings here indicate that the basin does not
extend east of the railroad. At the edge of the basin the beds thin out,
and in cross section the basin is saucer-shaped.

Bed 3, the uppermost bed, consists of loose white sands, muck,
vegetable debris, and bones. The top of bed 3 is mostly composed of a
layer of muck.

Figure 2. Map of the Vero fossil deposit with excavation locality numbers.

Bed 2, at its base, consists of white beach sands containing
horizontal bands of heavy minerals. The white sands grade upward into
a homogeneous mixture of coarse and fine brown stained sands which
become increasingly dark toward the top. This bed also contains verte-
brate fossils. The relatively. light colored sands of bed 3 contrast
strikingly with the dark brown upper part of bed 2 upon which bed 3
unconformably lies. The presence of fresh water vertebrates, the increas-
ingly dark brown stain due to vegetation, and the absence of crossbedding
throughout bed 2 suggest a pond or marsh deposit.

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10

Figure 3. North bank of drainage canal at point of entrance of north tributary
stream.

Underlying bed 2 and separated from it by an erosional surface
is a Pleistocene marine shell marl, designated bed 1 and referred to the
Anastasia Formation by Sellards (1916). The contact between beds 1
and 2 is not as distinct as that between 2 and 3, and the lower beach
sands contain inclusions of shell derived from bed 1. The abundance
of Donax, Arca, and other marine pelecypods in bed 1 and the beach
type sands with heavy minerals at the base of bed 2 indicate shore or
beach conditions during the initial stages of bed 2 deposition. No fresh
water or terrestrial fossils occur in bed 1.

The typical relationship between beds 2 and 3 is shown in figure 5,
which represents the west wall of Locality 3a following the completion of
excavation. The contact is relatively uniform and horizontal. That this
contact represents an interval ot erosion is indicated by the propor-
tionately larger amount of fossils at the contact and by the sharpness
of demarcation. At all localities presently investigated, except Locality 1,
no remains of extinct Pleistocene forms were found in bed 3. This is in
contrast to the original findings of Hay (1917a) and Sellards (1916).

FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Figure 4. East-west cross section through fossil deposit. (1) Anastasia Forma-
tion; (2) Bed 2; (3) Bed 3; (4) Silver Bluff dune; (5), (6), (7), (8) Pamlico
:sands. Bed 7 is hardpan.

The relationship between the two strata along the north and south
banks of the canal has been described by Sellards (1917a). The contact
line along the north bank is level and distinct, whereas the contact along
the south bank is locally irregular. It should be kept in mind that the
exposure on the south bank of Locality 1 coincides with the channel
of Van Valkenburg Creek. After the deposition of bed 3, the stream cut
through beds 2 and 3, in some places removing bed 2 entirely and gouging
into bed 1.

At Locality 3a, the profile is as follows:

1150 FT

... 7^

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10

Description

1 Spoil from drainage ditch containing mixed debris of under-
lying sediments .............................
2 Loose white sand and muck banded with decayed plant
remains; bed 3 of Sellards ......................
3 Dark beach sands, becoming white near base of bed, where
banded with heavy minerals; unit massive; bed 2 of Sellards .
4 Marine shell marl; bed 1 of Sellards . . . . . . . . .
(t

The stratigraphy of the area outside the deposit is distinct and
different. The typical profile is as follows:

led Description
1 Varying thickness of loose, fine, gray sands of Immokalee
or St. Johns soil type, commonly found at the surface through-
out the Vero region ..........................
2 Organic hardpan, rather firmly indurated . . . . . . .
3 Reddish brown sand grading below to orange and white
4 Fine buff sands . . .. ... .... .. ... .... ... .. .
5 Marine shell marl .............................

.4 ~
~
.1~~ -

Thickness
(feet)

0-2
2-3
2-3
2
4-?

4"1

Figure 5. West wall of Locality 3a after completion of excavation. From bottom
to top of section, top-of bed 1, bed 2, bed 3, spoil.

Thickness
(feet)

4-10

1.3-2.0

2.0-2.5
4.0-?
o water table)

FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

The sandy strata listed above represent the Pamlico terrace of
Cooke (1945) and MacNeil (1950).

The organic hardpan in the Pamlico is of special interest. It is
well indurated and does not disassociate readily when soaked in water.
Nodules and large lumps of this hardpon were observed in bed 2 by
Chamberlin (1917a) and the author. H. K. Brooks (personal communi-
cation), of the University of Florida Geology Department, states that he
also found such lumps at the contact between beds 1 and 2. The inclusion
of these lumps of hardpan in bed 2 can only be explained by assuming
an age younger than Pamlico for bed 2. The great width of the basin
contrasted with its shallow depth, the presence of beach type sands with
heavy minerals and the occurrence of whale teeth at the base, and the
imperceptible gradation from marine to fresh water conditions indicate
scouring of an inlet by tidal action of a sea at least 8 feet higher than
present.

AGE OF THE DEPOSIT

The results of radiocarbon assays for several samples taken from
the Vero beds have been made available through the courtesy of the
Exploration Department and Geochemical Laboratories of the Humble
Oil and Refining Company. They are reproduced in table 2.

Table 2. Vero Radiocarbon Dates

Run No. Sample description
1057 Yero Beach site, Vero Beach:
Charcoal sample from Vero Beach site, Indian River
County, Florida, from the basal part of bed 2. Sample
separated from medium coarse sand overlying a shell
marl. Vertebrate fossils, including Paramylodon
haorani, Megalonyx jeffersonii, Dasypus bellus,
Holmesina septentrionallis, Synaptomys australis,
Hydrochoerus sp., Canis ayersi, Smilodon sp., Mammut
sp., Mammuthus sp., Equus sp., Tapirus veroensis,
Mylohyus sp., Tanupolama mirifica, occur in the
stratum from which sample obtained. Collected by
Robert D. Weigel, Department of Biological Sciences,
Illinois State Normal University, Normal, Illinois, in
1958. Submitted by Robert D. Weigel. (Note: This
sample was much smaller than that usually considered
acceptable, and as a result, the statistical uncertainty
in age is abnormally large.)

Age, years
before present
>30,000

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Age, years
Run No. Description before present
1064 Vero Beach site, Vero Beach. Florida: 2,500 110
Charcoal from the basal part of bed 2 of the Vero
Beach site, Indian River County, Florida. Sample
presumably from the same bed as that of run 1057.
Collected by E. H. Sellards, Texas Memorial Museum,
Austin, Texas, in 1952. Submitted by E. H. Sellards.

1065 Vero Beach site. Vero Beach. Florida: 1,625 200
Wood fragments uncharredd) from the basal part of
bed 2 of the Vero Beach site, Indian River County,
Florida. Uncharred wood comprising this sample
separated from charcoal of run 1064. Collected by
E. H. Sellards, Texas Memorial Museum, Austin,
Texas, in 1952. Submitted by E. H. Sellards.

1112 Vero Beach site. Vero Beach, Florida: 3,550 + 120
Charcoal from top part of bed 2 of Vero Beach site,
Indian River County, Florida. Sample obtained from
a medium coarse sand somewhat above sea level.
Collected by E. H. Sellards, Texas Memorial Museum,
Austin, Texas, and Robert D. Weigel, Illinois State
Normal University, Normal, Illinois, December 29,
1959. Submitted by E. H. Sellards and Robert D.
Weigel.
1114 Vero Beach site. Vero Beach. Florida: 8,200 960
Carbonaceous material uncharredd) from basal part
of bed 2 of Vero Beach site, Indian River County,
Florida. Sample presumed to be equivalent to samples
of runs 1057, 1064, and 1065. Collected by E. H.
Sellards, Texas Memorial Museum, Austin, Texas, and
Robert D. Weigel, Illinois State Normal University,
Normal, Illinois, December 29, 1959. Submitted by
E. H. Sellards and Robert D. Weigel. (Note: This
sample was much smaller than that usually considered
acceptable, and as a result, the statistical uncertainty
in age is abnormally large).

1109 Vero Beach site, Vero Beach. Florida: >37,000
Marine shells from basal bed (Pleistocene) of the
Vero Beach site, Indian River County, Florida. This
bed consisting of various types of marine shells, is of
undetermined thickness and is barren of artifacts.
Collected by E. H. Sellards, Texas Memorial Museum,
Austin, Texas, and Robert D. Weigel, Illinois State
Normal University, Normal, Illinois, December 29,
1959. Submitted by E. H. Sellards and Robert D.
Weigel.

FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Evident inconsistencies among some of the dates require clarifi-
cation. In 1952 Dr. Sellards collected charcoal and wood samples from
sands supposed to be bed 2 at Locality 1, an area which is now known
to have suffered drastic alteration by stream action. It was here that
the stream mixed fossils from beds 2 and 3 with Recent animal remains
and Recent Indian artifacts. These samples were not assayed at the
time of collection because of suspected contamination (Sellards, personal
communication). For the above reasons dates for runs 1064 and 1065 are
not valid for any of the Vero beds. A similar situation exists regarding
the abnormal Recent date for a Seminole Field fauna at St. Petersburg,
Florida (Broecker, Kulp, and Tucek, 1956).

The dates >30,000 years and 8,200 + 960 years for bed 2 are note-
worthy. Material used in run 1057 was taken from the very bottom of
bed 2 at Locality 3a, and the carbonaceous material represented in
run 1114 came from the lower one-third of bed 2 about 20 feet north of
Locality 3a near the limits of the basin. Due to the saucer-shaped nature
of the basin, the lower and older portions of bed 2 thin out at the edge
of the basin and are absent at its extreme limits. This latter sample,
therefore, does not represent the oldest part of bed 2. Despite the
statistical uncertainty in age for run 1057, the sample is at least 30,000
years old; how much older is indeterminable. Deposition of bed 2 ceased
about 3,500 years ago.

The stratigraphic control employed at Locality 3a makes it possible
to determine the percentage of extinct mammalian species in each 6-inch
level of bed 2. As shown in table 3 the percentage of extinct forms in-
creases toward the bottom of bed 2. This bed clearly appears to represent
a period of continuous deposition from something over 30,000 years ago
until about 3,500 years ago and embraces that period during which many
Pleistocene forms become extinct in Florida.

Table 3. Percentage of Extinct Mammals in
Each of Five Levels of Bed 2, Locality 3a

Top 6" 5%
2nd 6" 19%
3rd 6" 33%
4th 6" 33%
5th 6" 50%

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10

The difficulties involved in establishing correlations of Florida
Pleistocene fossil deposits with stages of the Pleistocene were reviewed
by Bader (1957). The age of the Vero bone beds is relevant to these
problems and to the chronology of Florida Pleistocene shorelines. Two
of the shorelines, the Pamlico and Silver Bluff, are closely associated
with the Vero beds. The Pamlico shoreline lies about 25 miles west
of Vero and its terrace surrounds the bone beds. The Silver Bluff shore-
line lies a few feet east of the railway at Vero and shoreline features
indicate a sea level about 10 feet higher than present (MacNeil, 1950).
The contact between beds 2 and 3 is somewhat less than 10 feet above
present sea level; thus the deposit area was subject to tidal action of
the Silver Bluff sea.

As far as is known, there has been only one shoreline higher than
present since Pamlico time, namely the Silver Bluff. According to
MacNeil (op. cit.) it is post-Wisconsin in age. There has been general
agreement that the Silver Bluff resulted from the effects of the hypsi-
thermal interval (post-glacial maximum) which began, according to Deevey
and Flint (1957), about 9,000 years ago. Recent evidence, however,
suggests that a higher than present sea level during hypsithermal time
is improbable (Flint, 1957, p. 263). In view of this and the age of bed 2
the Silver Bluff must be older than was previously thought.

Based on paleotemperatures, a reasonably accurate chronology
of Pleistocene events seems fairly well established for at least the
1ist 100,000 years (Emiliani, 1955). A warm period occurred about
90,000 years ago and a moderate period about 45,000 years ago (Emiliani,
1956; Suess, 1955). The warm period 90,000 years ago has been cor-
related with the Sangamon interglacial stage by Emiliani (op. cit.).
Inasmuch as the scouring of the Vero basin occurred sometime before
30,000 years ago and the most recent moderate period older than the
hypsithermal occurred about 45,000 years ago, it was probably during
this latter period that sea level rose sufficiently to scour the inlet at
Vero.

MacNeil (1950) recognized four marine shorelines as follows:

Shoreline Altitude Age
Okefenokee 150 feet Yarmouth interglacial stage
Wicomico 100 feet Sangamon interglacial stage
Pamlico 25-35 feet Mid-Wisconsin glacial recession
Silver Bluff 8.10 feet Post-Wisconsin

FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Because conditions at Vero preclude a post-Wisconsin age for
the Silver Bluff, each shoreline should be moved back one stage. Based
on the above data, the following correlations are suggested:

Shoreline Altitude Age
Okefenokee 150 feet Aftonian interglacial stage
Wicomico 100 feet Yarmouth interglacial stage
Pamlico 25-35 feet Sangamon interglacial stage
Silver Bluff 8-10 feet Unnamed warm period

METHODS OF COLLECTION

As pointed out by Rouse (1951), much of the previous work at the
Vero site was carried out without stratigraphic control, nor were any of
the practiced methods of archaeology employed. Instead, bones and
artifacts were picked from the sides of the canal banks. The only exten-
sive removal of matrix was done at the original site at the south bank
of the canal about 500 feet west of the railway bridge. This site will
here be referred to as Locality 1. During the present work seven such
localities, noted in figure 2, were investigated at various places in the
fossil-bearing deposits. The most extensive excavation was made at
Locality 3a, 15 feet north of the main canal in the west bank of a small
drainage ditch which parallels the railway. Most of the collecting was
done in the summers of 1956 and 1957.

At Locality 3a, spoil from the drainage ditch was removed from
an area 9 by 9 feet, exposing the horizontal surface of bed 3. The plot
was divided into sections 3 feet square, the matrix being removed one
square at a time from the top downward in 6-inch levels (fig. 6). All of
the matrix was passed through a 1/8-inch mesh screen and the bones
from each squzre and level kept separate. Although the horizontal and
vertical distribution of specimens in each bed has not been noted for
species in the faunal list, this and all other pertinent information is on
file at the Florida Geological Survey in Tallahassee, should this be
useful to anyone in the future. For example, the assumption that a
single individual of the American bittern, Botaurus lentiginosus, as
represented in the deposit is based on the presence of several elements
in two contiguous squares of the same level. The fossil amphibians,
reptiles, and mammals are in the Florida Geological Survey collections
at Tallahassee and the birds are in the collection of Pierce Brodkorb,
University of Florida at Gainesville.

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10

Figure 6. Locality 3a during excavation.

PRESERVATION OF FOSSILS

Vertebrate remains, human artifacts, coprolites, insects, plants,
and fresh water and marine mollusks occur in the fossil beds at Vero.

Complete and articulated fossil skeletons are rare in Florida
deposits. This lack of completeness has often been attributed to re-
working and redeposition. Because of fragmentary and incomplete nature
of many of the Vero fossils, Chamberlin (1917a) and others first suggested
that they were secondarily deposited from another area. During his
second visit to Vero, Chamberlin searched the upland section for fossils
but could find none. The author also investigated the surrounding area
but no fossil-bearing deposits were in evidence from which the bones
might have been derived. On reconsideration, Chamberlin (1917b) agreed
with Sellards (1917b) that the fossils were primary in the deposit.

FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Ordinarily, bones do not preserve well in sandy matrix unless
the sands are saturated with or covered by water. This suggests that
the Vero fossils were deposited in an aquatic environment. Another
fact which argues for a primary aquatic deposition in shallow or marshy
water is the presence of coprolites or fossil excrement. Many of the
coprolites recovered from beds 2 and 3 are complete and uneroded, yet
they are fragile and easily broken when handled. It is doubtful that
they could have been transported any distance, either as fossils or in
the fresh condition.

Although not complete, articulated skeletons have been found
in place, several forms are represented by a number of elements from
single individuals recovered from one place. Sellards (1917c) noted
30 or more bones of 1 individual Canis ayersi, 6 elements of Ciconia
maltha representing 1 individual, a nearly complete skull of Tapirus
veroensis, and some complete turtle carapaces.

During the present study three teeth and numerous broken fragments
of postcranial elements of a mammoth were found associated at Locality
3a, and most of the small rodents are represented by nearly all identi-
fiable elements.

Several factors may explain the incompleteness of fossils. Brodkorb
(1955) has pointed out the scattered and disassociated condition of the
skeletons of birds which die in the Everglades rookeries. Many Florida
fossils occur in sandy matrix which may lie above shell beds as at Vero.
Solution of the shells could cause slight movement in the overlying sands
and thus tend to separate to some extent the elements of a skeleton.
This might also initiate shearing stresses on large bones causing them
to crack. Bones also become scattered or broken through the activities
of predators and scavengers or through the action of minor currents in
bodies of water.

Heizer and Cook (1952) state that the organic components of bone
tendalmost invariably to diminish with the age of the bones independently
of the chemical nature of the matrix in which the bones lay. For a number
of years paleontologists have used the "fire test" to determine roughly
whether or not bone fragments are of Recent origin. Fresh bone emits
an acrid odor when burned. Recently Quinn (1957) suggested that approxi-
mate age limits might be established if this test were applied to fossils
of known age. Because the Vero fossils represent different time periods,
the test was applied to some fossil fragments. Fossils from bed 2 did

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10

not char when heated. Bones from bed 3 char lightly and emit a slightly
pungent ammonia odor, but not that of Recent material. Some specimens
taken from Locality 1 near the bottom of bed 3 and resting almost on the
shell gave the characteristic odor of Recent bone. This was true of
several nearly complete unfossilized specimens of a Barred Owl. Also
present here were charred, broken long bones of deer. The presence of
bones, apparently younger in age than typical bed 3 material are found
associated with artifacts and remains of extinct forms which do not
appear in other localities at this horizon. This is further indication of
disturbance of the beds here. It is through this locality that Van Valken-
burg Creek flowed. The stream had obviously cut through both strata,
mixing bones from beds 2 and 3 with Recent artifacts and bone. The
pottery and charred bone suggest a fairly Recent Indian encampment
in close proximity to the main stream and its southern tributary.

LIST OF FOSSIL VERTEBRATES FROM VERO

CLASS CHONDRICHTHYES
Aetobatis narinari Spotted duckbill ray
CLASS OSTEICHTHYES
Lepisosteus platyrhincus Florida spotted gar
Amia calva Bowfin
Coranx hippos Common jack
CLASS AMPHIBIA
Siren lacertinc Greater siren
Ambystoma sp. Mole salamander
Amphiuma means Amphiuma
Scaphiopus holbrookii Eastern spadefoot toad
Bufo sp. Toad
cf. Rana pipiens Leopard frog
cf. Rana catesbeiana Bullfrog
CLASS REPTILIA
Chelydra serpentina Snapping turtle
Kinosternon baouri Striped mud turtle
Kinosternon subrubrum Mud turtle
Sternotherus odoratus Stinkpot
Sternotherus minor Musk turtle
Terrapene carolina Box turtle
Pseudemys script Pond slider
cf. Pseudemys floridana Coastal plain slider
Geochelone sellardsi Extinct land tortoise
Gopherus polyphemus Gopher tortoise
Chelonia mydas Atlantic green turtle
Caretta coretta Atlantic loggerhead
Alligator mississippiensis American alligator
Anolis carolinensis Green anole
Sceloperus undulatus Fence lizard
Ophisaurus compressus Glass lizard

16 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Eumeces sp. Skink
Natrix taxispilota Brown water snake
Natrix sipedon Water snake
Thamnophis sp. Garter snake
Farancia abacura Mud snake
Coluber sp. Racer
Drymarchon corals Indigo snake
Pituophis melanoleucus Pine snake
Lampropeltis getulus Kingsnake
Micrurus fulvius Coral snake
Crotalus adamanteus Eastern diamondback rattlesnake
CLASS AVES
Podilymbus podiceps Pied-billed grebe
Phalacrocorax auritus Double-crested cormorant
Ardea herodias Great blue heron
Casmerodius albus Common egret
Florida thula Snowy egret
Butorides virescens Green heron
Nyctanassa violacea Yellow-crowned night heron
Botaurus lentiginosus American bittern
Ciconia maltha Extinct stork
Anas fulvigula Mottled duck
Aix sponsa Wood duck
Aythya sp. Duck
Lophodytes cucullatus Hooded merganser
Cathartes aura Turkey vulture
Coragyps atratus Black vulture
Buteo jamaicensis Red-tailed hawk
Colinus virginianus Bobwhite
Meleagris gallopavo Turkey
cf. Rallus elegans King rail
Rallus limicola Virginia rail
Rallus sp. Rail
Porzana carolina Sora
Ectopistes migratorius Passenger pigeon
Tyto alba Barn owl
Otus asio Screech owl
Strix varia Barred owl
cf. Colaptes auratus Flicker
cf. Centurus carolinus Red-bellied woodpecker
Sphyrapicus various Yellow-bellied sapsucker
Cyanocitta cristata Blue jay
Turdus migratorius Robin
cf. Vermivora Warbler
cf. Geothlypis Warbler
Agelaius phoeniceus Red-winged blackbird
Quiscalus quiscala Common grackle
Cassidix mexicanus Boat-tailed grackle
Pipilo erythrophthalmus Towhee
CLASS MAMMALIA
Didelphis marsupialis Opossum
Blarina brevicauda Shorttail shrew
Cryptotis parva Least shrew
Scalopus aquaticus Mole
Myotis sp. Bat
Eptesicus sp. Bat
Lasiurus sp. Bat
Homo sapiens Man
Paramylodon harlani Harlan's ground sloth

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10

Megalonyx jeffersonii Jeffersonian ground sloth
Dasypus bellus Extinct armadillo
Holmesina septentrionalis Extinct armadillo
Sylvilagus palustris Marsh rabbit
Sciurus carolinensis Eastern gray squirrel
Geomys pinetis Pocket gopher
Oryzomys palustris Rice rat
cf. Reithrodontomys humulis Harvest mouse
Peromyscus gossypinus Cotton mouse
Peromyscus polionotus Oldfield mouse
Sigmodon hispidus Cotton rat
Neotoma floridana Eastern woodrat
Synaptomys australis Extinct bog lemming
Neofiber alleni Florida water rat
Pitymys pinetorum Pine vole
Hydrochoerus sp. Capybara
Odontoceti 2 species Toothed whales
cf. Canis niger Florida wolf
Canis ayersi Extinct wolf
Canis latrans Coyote
Vulpes palmaria Extinct fox
Urocyon cinereoargenteus Gray fox
Ursus americanus Black bear
Procyon lotor Raccoon
Spilogale ambarvalis Spotted skunk
Lutra canadensis River otter
Panthers augista Extinct jaguar
Smilodon sp. Saber-tooth cat
Lynx rufus Bobcat
Mammut sp. Mastodon
Mammuthus sp. Mammoth
Equus sp.
Tapirus veroensis Florida tapir
Mylohyus sp. Peccary
cf. Tanupolama mirifica Extinct camel
Odocoileus virginianus Virginia deer
Bison sp. Extinct bison

ANNOTATED FAUNAL LIST

CLASS CHONDRICHTHYES

Order Batoidei

Family Myliobatidae

Aetobatis narinari Euphrasen

Hay (1917a) referred a section of a tooth plate from bed 3 to this
species. Ray teeth are common in beds 2 and 3 but show considerable
erosion.

18 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

CLASS OSTEICHTHYES
Order Ginglymodi
Family Lepisosteidae
Lepisosteus platyrbincus Dekay

A right dentary from bed 3 was referred to this species by Hay
(1917a).

Order Protospondyli
Family Amiidae
Amia calva Linnaeus
Hay (1917a) reported this species from bed 3 on the basis of a
left articular and dentary.

Order Percomorphi
Family Carangidae
Caranx hippos (Linnaeus)
According to Hay (1917a), an "inflated bone belonging beneath
the clavicle" represents this species in bed 3.

CLASS AMPHIBIA
Order Urodela
Family Sirenidae
Siren lacertina Linnaeus
Bed 2: Locality 3a. Bed 3: Locality 3a, several hundred vertebrae.

Siren is almost as abundant as Amphiuma. Both are common at
Vero, having turned up in large numbers at all sites investigated. Siren
was reported from bed 3 by Hay (1917a) and by Goin and Auffenberg
(1955).

Family Ambystomidae

Ambystoma sp.

Bed 2: Locality 3a, a single thoracic vertebra.

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10

Although unquestionably an ambystomid salamander, specific
determination is impossible on the basis of this one specimen.

Family Amphiumidae
Amphiuma means Garden
Bed 2: Locality 3a. Bed 3: Locality 3a, several hundred vertebrae.

Amphiuma is one of the most abundant fossils in the Vero deposits.
Vertebrae were reported from bed 3 by Hay (1917a) and from both strata
by Brattstrom (1953).

Order Anura
Family Pelobatidae
Scaphiopus holbrookii (Harlan)
Bed 2: Locality 3a, two right and one left ilia. Bed 3: Locality
3a, left ilium.

Family Bufonidae
Bu/o sp.
Bed 2: Locality 3a, right ilium. Bed 3: Locality 3a, left ilium.

Diagnostic characters useful in separating species of Bufo from
other anurans have been discussed by Tihen (1951) and Auffenberg
(1956a, 1957). Because no cranial crests were found in the Vero de-
posits, specific determinations were not made. Brattstrom (1953) mis-
takenly referred a vertebra from bed 3 to Bufo woodhousei (Auffenberg,
1957).

Family Ranidae
Rana cf. Rana pipiens Schreber
Bed 2: Locality 3a. Bed 3: Locality 3a, several dozen ilia.

According to Auffenberg (1957) frogs of the R. pipiens may be
separated from those of the R. catesbeiana group by the shape and angle
of the dorsal crest of the ilium.
Rana cf. Rana catesbeiana Shaw
Bed 2: Locality 3a. Bed 3: Locality 3a, several dozen ilia.

FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Based on size and shape of dorsal crest these specimens belong
to the group containing R. catesbeiana, beckscheri, and grylio. Their
state of preservation does not permit more positive identification.

CLASS REPTILIA
Order Chelonia
Hay (1916) described, on inadequate and mainly undiagnostic
material, a number of supposed new turtles from Vero. In view of the
variability displayed in series of modern turtles it seems advisable to
consider the following as species inquirendae until such time as the
types can be studied in greater detail: Chelydra laticarinata, Chelydra
sculpta, Pseudemys floridana persimilis, Gopherus praecedens, and
Testudo luciae. In the following pages they are noted under the species
of which they are probable synonyms.

Family Chelydridae
Chelydra serpentina Linnaeus
Bed 2: Locality 3a, costal plate.

Hay (1916) described two new species of snapping turtles, Chelydra
laticarinata on a sixth left marginal (FGS 7094) from bed 2, and Chelydra
sculpta on a ninth right marginal (FGS 5510) from bed 3.

Family Kinosternidae
Kinosternon bauri Garman
Bed 2: Locality 3a, two left hypoplastra; Locality 3, left hypo-
plastron. Bed 3: Locality 3a, two left hypoplastra.

This is the first fossil record of this species.

Kinosternon subrubrum (Lacepede)

Bed 2: Locality 3a, right hypoplastron.

Sternotherus odoratus (Latreille)

Bed 3: Locality 3a, left hypoplastron, nuchal.

Sternotherus minor (Agassiz)

Bed 2: Locality 3, nuchal.

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10

Large numbers of indeterminable kinosternid carapace elements
were recovered from all levels of beds 2 and 3 so that Kinosternon and
Sternotherus are more abundant in the deposit than is indicated by the
referred specimens.

Family Emydidae
Terrapene carolina (Linnaeus)
Bed 2: Locality 2, right anterior marginals 1-2, left anterior mar-
ginals 3-5, costals, anterior end of carapace; Locality 3, posterior lobe
of plastron. Probably bed 3: Locality 1, complete carapace, anterior
carapace.

Two other species of Terrapene, T. innoxia and T. antipex, were
described from Vero by Hay (1916). These were synonomized with
T. canaliculata by Barbour and Stetson (1931). Auffenberg (1958)
synonomized all Florida Pleistocene specimens with T. carolina.

Pseudemys scripta (Schoepff)
Bed 2: Locality 3, nuchal; Locality 3a, nuchal.

Both of these nuchals are highly sculptured and are inseparable
from modern specimens of P. scripta.

Pseudemys cf. Pseudemys floridana (Le Conte)
A number of indeterminable carapace elements of Pseudemys were
found at nearly all levels of both beds.

Hay (1916) described an extinct subspecies, Pseudemys floridana
persimilis, from bed 3 on a pair of epiplastrals.

Family Testudinidae
Geochelone sellardsi (Hay)

The type, part of a xiphiplastron (FGS 1831) recovered from bed 2
at Vero, was described in 1916 by Hay. This large extinct land tortoise
has since turned up in a number of Florida Pleistocene localities. The
type of Testudo luciae Hay(1916), part of a right hypoplastral (FGS 1807),
was not found in place but is attributed to bed 2.

FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Gopherus polyphemus (Daudin)
Bed 2: Locality 3, costal plate.

Gopherus polyphemus was reported from bed 3 by Hay (1917a).
Gopherus praecedens Hay (1916) was based on FGS 5463, a left xiphi-
plastral thought to be from bed 2.

Family Chelonidae
Chelonia mydas (Linnaeus)

A humerus of Chelonia mydas is recorded from bed3 by Hay (1917a).
This and the following species were probably brought in by the Indians.

Caretta caretta (Linnaeus)
This species is represented from bed 3 by a right squamosal (Hay,
1917a).

Order Crocodilia
Family Crocodilidae
Alligator mississippiensis (Daudin)
Bed 2: Locality 3a. Bed 3: Locality 3a, numerous teeth, dermal
plates, and jaw fragments.

Hay (1917a) recorded this species from bed 3 on the basis of the
same elements as above. Sellards (1916) lists a nearly complete skeleton
of this species from bed 2.

Order Squamata
Suborder Lacertilia
Family Iguanidae
Anolis carolinensis Voigt
Bed 2: Locality 3a, very large right maxilla. Bed 3: Locality 3a,
two left dentaries, three right dentaries.

Sceloperus undulatus (Latreille)
Brattstrom (1953) recorded two dentaries from bed 3.

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10 23

Family Anguidae
Ophisaurus compressus Cope
Bed 2: Locality 3a, three vertebrae. Bed 3: Locality 3a, two
vertebrae.

An apparently reliable method for separating the species of
Ophisaurus is the length-width ratios of the centra (Auffenberg, 1955).
There is, however, an error in the legend of his graph (fig. 1, p. 134),
which should be corrected by adding 1.0 to each ratio (Etheridge, 1961).

Family Scincidae
Eumeces sp.
A dentary from bed 3 is recorded by Brattstrom (1953).

Suborder Serpentes
Family Colubridae
Natrix taxispilota (Holbrook)
Bed 2: Locality 3, two thoracic vertebrae.

Natrix sipedon (Linnaeus)
Bed 2: Locality 3a, two thoracic vertebrae. Bed 3: Locality 3a,
thoracic vertebrae.

Natrix sp.
Beds 2 and 3: Locality 3a, several dozen vertebrae.

The genus Natrix is represented throughout the deposit, but the
majority of the specimens lack those parts which permit specific deter-
mination. Brattstrom (1953) lists two vertebrae each from beds 2 and 3.

Thamnophis sp.

A number of Thamnophis vertebrae were recovered from beds 2 and
3. Because the species of this genus are difficult, if not impossible, to
separate (Auffenberg, 1956b, p. 212), no attempt was made to do so with
the Vero specimens.

Farancia abacura (Holbrook)
Beds 2 and 3: Locality 3a, several dozen thoracic vertebrae.

FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

As pointed out by Auffenberg (1956b), the vertebrae of Farancia
and Abastor are also difficult to separate. It is possible that both genera
were present at Vero. Hay (1917a) lists an articular of Farancia from
bed 3 but the specimen is missing (Brattstrom, 1953).

Coluber or Masticophis
Beds 2 and 3: Locality 3a, numerous vertebrae.

Vertebrae of these two genera are indistinguishable. Carr and Goin
(1955, p. 272) consider Coluber and Masticophis congeneric.

Drymarchon corais (Daudin)
Bed 2: Locality 3a. Bed 3: Locality 3a, numerous vertebrae.

Hay (1917a) lists several vertebrae from bed 3. Brattstrom (1953)
lists four vertebrae from bed 3.

Pituophis melanoleucus (Daudin)
Brattstrom (1953) recorded a vertebra from bed 3.

Lampropeltis getulus (Linnaeus)
Brattstrom (1953) recorded a vertebra from bed 3.

Family Elapidae
Micrurus fulvius (Linnaeus)
Bed 2: Locality 3a, two thoracic vertebrae.

Family Crotalidae
Crotalus adamanteus Beauvois
Bed 2: Locality 3a. Bed 3: Locality 3a, numerous vertebrae.

Hay (1917a) listed vertebrae from bed 3. Brattstrom (1953) recorded
vertebrae from beds 2 and 3 and later (Brattstrom, 1954) referred them
to an extinct subspecies, Crotalus adamanteus pleistofloridensis. Ac-
cording to Auffenberg (1956b) this race is not valid.

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10 25

CLASS AVES
Order Podicipediformes
Family Podicipedidae
Podilymbus podiceps (Linnaeus)
Bed 2: Locality 3a, distal end right ulna and distal end right
humerus.

This species was not previously found at Vero.

Order Pelecaniformes
Family Phalacrocoracidae
Phalacrocorax auritus (Lesson)

Wetmore (1931) records a humerus of the cormorant from bed 2.

Order Ciconiiformes
Family Ardeidae
Ardea herodias Linnaeus
Bed 3: Locality 3a, two cervical vertebrae. Bed 3: Locality 5,
distal end of left tarsometatarsus.

Casmerodius albus (Linnaeus)

Bed 3: Locality 1. FGS V2787 (6931), left proximal half tarso-
metatarsus. This bone, listed by Shufeldt (1917) as possibly belonging
to a common egret, was checked and found to be definitely that of the
above species.

Florida thula (Molina)

Bed 3: North bank, 380 feet west of railroad bridge, FGS V2797
(7552) nearly complete right humerus, lacking proximal tip.

Shufeldt (1917, p. 39-40) listed this element as possibly belonging
to some anserine form such as Dendrocygna. In the same paper (legend
to fig. 20, pl. 2), he describes it as possessing characters of a small
heron.
Butorides virescens (Linnaeus)
Bed 3: Locality 3a, right coracoid, two distal ends left coracoid,

FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

distal right coracoid, distal end right tarsometatarsus, distal end left
tibiotarsus. Recent: Locality 1, left humerus.

Not previously reported from Vero.

Nyctanassa violacea (Linnaeus)

Bed 3: FGS 6933 (USNM 8832) left carpometacarpus.

This specimen is the type of Larus vero Shufeldt (1917). It was
synonomized with N. violacea by Wetmore (1931).

Botaurus lentiginosus (Rackett)

Bed 2: Locality 3a, cervical vertebra, left coracoid, proximal
tip right humerus.

These specimens, found within a few feet of one another, probably
represent a single individual. Not previously reported from Vero.

Family Ciconiidae
Ciconia maltha Miller
Ciconia maltha was first described from Vero by Sellards (1916,
p. 146) as Jabiru weillsi. The type specimen is a right humerus, with
right and left carpometacarpals and the proximal end of a right coracoid
as paratypes. In his original description, Sellards noted that the meta-
carpi resembled Ciconia more than Jabiru. Wetmore (1928) questioned
the distinctness of J. weillsi from J. mycteria. Later the same author
(1930) stated that available material did not indicate any difference from
the living J. mycteria. Hildegard Howard (1942) referred all of the
eastern stork bones to Ciconia maltha, first described by Miller (1910,
p. 10) from the Quaternary asphalt deposits of Rancho La Brea. She
suggested that the name weillsi be retained to designate the slightly
larger eastern subspecies. With the exception of the recently extinct
passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) C. maltha now becomes the
only extinct bird from Vero, as all the supposed new species described
by Shufeldt have proved to be synonyms of modern forms.

Order Anseriformes
Family Anatidae
Anas fulvigula Ridgway
Probably bed 3: Locality 1, distal end left tarsometatarsus.

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10 27

Not previously reported from Vero.

Aix sponsa (Linnaeus)
Recent: Locality 1, left carpometacarpus.

Aythya sp.
Bed 3: Locality 1, proximal end left carpometacarpus.

Not previously reported from Vero.

Lophodytes cucullatus (Linnaeus)
Bed 2: Locality 7, distal moiety right humerus. Bed 3: Locality 3a,
proximal end right tibiotarsus.

Shufeldt (1917) described a supposed teal from bed under the name
Querquedula floridana. Brodkorb (1953) examined a cast of the type
(FGS 6773) and referred it to Lophodytes cucullatus. Wetmore (1955) re-
examined the type, agreeing with its reference to the genus Lophodytes,
but maintaining it as a distinct species, L. floridana. After carefully
studying the cast of the type and the additional material collected during
the present study, the writer concurs with Brodkorb that the Vero speci-
mensare identical with L. cucullatus.

Order Falconiformes
Family Cathartidae
Cathartes aura (Linnaeus)
Bed 2: Locality 2, proximal end of a right tibiotarsus. Probably
bed 3: south bank, west of bridge, FGS V3202, right tarsometatarsus.

The left ulna, reported by Shufeldt (1917), from bed 2, actually
came from bed 3 (Wetmore, 1940, p. 29). The specimen referred to above
is the only representative of C. aura from bed 2, and corresponds in size
to C. aura septentrionalis. Wetmore (1931, p. 23) has recorded the smaller
Cathartes a. aura from Seminole Field.

Coragyps atratus (Bechstein)
Bed 3: Locality 1, proximal end of a right coracoid.

This species has not previously been reported from Vero.

FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Family Accipitridae
Buteo jamaicensis (Gmelin)
Bed 3: Locality 3a, distal end of a right humerus.
Not previously reported from Vero.

Order Galliformes
Family Phasianidae
Colinus virginianus (Linnaeus)
Bed 2: Locality 3a, proximal end of a left coracoid, proximal end
of a tibiotarsus, distal end of a right humerus, distal end of a left humerus,
left ulna; west of bridge, FGS V2410, left humerus; Locality 1, probably
Recent, proximal end right tibiotarsus, distal end of a left humerus.

Not previously reported from Vero.

Family Meleagrididae
Meleagris gallopavo Linnaeus
Bed unknown: north of canal between Florida East Coast Railroad
and Dixie Highway (U.S. Highway 1), FGS V3909 distal part of left
tarsometatarsus, FGS V3908 right carpometacarpus, collected Decem-
ber 1, 1925.

The type of Ardea sellardsi Shufeldt, a distal third of a right
tibiotarsus FGS 7551, was found to represent Meleagris gallopavo (Wet-
more, 1931).

Order Gruiformes
Family Rallidae
Rallus cf. Rallus elegans Audubon
Bed 3: Locality 6, right scapula.

Rallus limicola Vieillot
Bed 3: Locality 3a, distal end of a left tarsometatarsus.

Not before reported from Vero.

Rallus sp.
Locality 1, Recent; proximal end right ulna.

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10

Porzana carolina (Linnaeus)
Bed 3: Locality 3, distal end left tarsometatarsus.

Not before reported from Vero.

Order Columbiformes
Family Columbidae
Ectopistes migratorius (Linnaeus)
Bed 3: Locality 3a, distal portion of a left carpometacarpus.

Although extinct, this species has been extirpated only in Recent
times. Not previously reported from Vero.

Order Strigiformes
Family Tytonidae
Tyto alba (Scopoli)
Bed 3: south bank, 460 feet west of railroad bridge, distal moiety
of a right tibiotarsus.

This is the same element reported by Shufeldt (1917).

Family Strigidae
Otus asio (Linnaeus)
Recent: Locality 1, proximal end of a left tibiotarsus.

Strix varia Barton
Bed 2: Locality 2, left quadrate. Bed 3: Locality 3a, proximal
part of a right ulna, proximal part of a right carpometacarpus. Recent:
Locality 1, left humerus, distal fourth left ulna, right ulna, part of sacrum,
phalanx 1 of digit II, both ends right radius.

Not previously listed for Vero.

Order Piciformes
Family Picidae
Colaptes cf. Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus)
Bed 3: Locality 3a, proximal half of left humerus.

Not previously reported from Vero.

FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Centurus cf. Centurus carolinus (Linnaeus)
Bed 2: Locality 3a, right coracoid.
Not previously reported from Vero.

Sphyrapicus various (Linnaeus)
Bed 3: Locality 3a, proximal end of a right humerus.
Not previously reported from Vero.

Order Passeriformes
Family Corvidae
Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus)
Bed 3: Locality 3a, distal part of a right tarsometatarsus; Locality
1, probably Recent, distal part of a left tibiotarsus.

Not previously reported from Vero.

Family Turdidae
Turdus migratorius Linnaeus
Bed 2: Locality 3o, distal part of a left tarsometatarsus, proximal
end of a left carpometacarpus.

First fossil record from Florida.

Family Parulidae
cf. Vermivora sp.
Bed 2: Locality 3a, distal part of a right humerus.

cf. Geothlypis sp.
Bed 3: Locality 3a, proximal end of a left humerus.

Family Icteridae
Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus)

Recent: Locality 1, right humerus.

Quiscalus quiscula (Linnaeus)
Bed 2: Locality 3a, distal end of a left tarsometatarsus.

Not recorded before from Vero.

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10

Cassidix mexicanus (Gmelin)
Probably Recent: Locality 1, proximal half of a right humerus.

Family Fringillidae
Pipilo erytbrophthalmus (Linnaeus)
Recent: Locality 1, nearly complete mandible.

CLASS MAMMALIA
Order Marsupialia
Family Didelphidae
Didelpbis marsupialis Linnaeus
Bed 2: Locality 3a, left M1, left M2, left and right M3, left and
right mandibles, supraoccipital, atlas, axis, five vertebrae, left in-
nominate. Bed 3: Locality 3a, right P2, one left M3, two right M3,
left and right M1, left M3, supraoccipital, frontal, four vertebrae, distal
epiphysis of right femur.

Recorded by Sellards (1916) from beds 2 and 3.

Order Insectivora
Family Soricidae
Blarina brevicauda (Say)
Bed 2: Locality 3a, left and six right mandibles, two left maxillae,
two right humeri, one left femur. Bed 3: Locality 3a, 11 left and 17 right
mandibles, one left and one right maxilla, three left and three right humeri,
two left and two right femora, one skull.

Sellards (1916) recorded a single jaw from bed 2.

Cryptotis parva (Say)
Bed 2: Locality 3a, four left and five right mandibles. Bed 3:
Locality 3a, five left and five right mandibles, one right maxilla, two
right humeri.
This species was also previously represented by only a single
lower jaw (Sellards, 1916).

32 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Family Talpidae
Scalopus aquaticus (Linnaeus)
Bed 2: Locality 3a, one left and four right mandibles, nine left and
ten right humeri, five left and five right radii, three left and two right
ulnae, one left and two right femora. Bed 3: Locality 3a, six left and
nine right mandibles, 21 left and 22 right humeri, six left and six right
radii, seven left and five right ulnae, five left and three right femora.

Previously represented by a single lower jaw from bed 3 (Sellards,
1916).

Order Chiroptera
Family Vespertilionidae
Myotis sp.
Bed 3: Locality 3a, right humerus.

Eptesicus sp.
Bed 2: Locality 3a, left mandible with M3.

Lasiurus sp.
Bed 3: Locality 3a, left femur, left humerus.

Order Primates
Family Hominidae
Homo sapiens Linnaeus
Bed 2: Locality 3a, several flint spawls. Bed unknown: portions
of two skeletons, numerous artifacts.

The human bones and artifacts were reported by Sellards (1916).

In point of discovery the Vero deposit is the first reported oc-
currence of man with extinct mammals in the New World. Considerable
controversy ensued regarding the interpretation of the find, since certain
anthropologists were reluctant to accept a Pleistocene Age for man in
the New World.

Several factors contributed to the confusion. (1) Hay (1917b)
argued for an early Pleistocene Age even for bed 3, largely on the basis
of a number of supposed extinct species which he and Shufeldt (1917)

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10

described as new in a flurry of misguided overenthusiasm. The difference
attributed to the supposed new species of bed 3 have, on further study,
proved to be imaginary, and the names are synonyms of living forms.
(2) Hrdlicka's bitter opposition to a great age for man in North America
led him to interpret the skull as that of a modern Indian (Hrdlicka, 1918).
Stewart (1946) has accurately reconstructed the skull and concludes
that it is paleo-lndian. (3) At the original site bones of extinct mammals
were found in association with preceramic artifacts and sherds. According
to Rouse (1951), pottery representing several cultural types and levels
occur, namely: Glades plain, Malabar I (St. Johns plain), and Malabar II
(St. Johns check-stamped). The chronology of these cultures has been
worked out by Goggin (1949, 1950). The present interpretation of the
preceramic age is previous to 1600 B.C. Glades plain represents the
period 400 B.C. to A.D. 25. Malabar I represents the period 400 B.C.
to A.D. 1150. Malabar II occurs between A.D. 1150-1650.

Sherds are never found in bed 2, although a number of flint spawls
were recovered well within the upper part of that bed during the present
excavations. According to Dr. Goggin, who kindly examined them, they
represent an Archaic or preceramic culture. At the original site, as
pointed out elsewhere, the occurrence of artifacts of various ages with
bones of extinct vertebrates is the result of reworking of the sediments
by Van Valkenburg Creek, and since sherds do not occur in areas where
bed 2 is undisturbed, their presence together need cause no further
concern.

Chemical analysis of human bones and those of extinct mammals
from Vero by Sellards (1916) indicates contemporaneity. At the similar
deposit at Melbourne, Florida, Heizer and Cook (1952) ran fluorine tests
on human, Pleistocene horse, and mammoth bones from bed 2 and state
that they are all of the same order of antiquity. In view of these facts,
it is not improbable that man and extinct Pleistocene vertebrates were
contemporaneous at Vero, at least during the closing phase of bed 2
deposition. Based on the radiocarbon date for the top of bed 2, man
must have inhabited this region as long as 4,000 years ago.

Order Edentata
Family Mylodontidae
Paramylodon barlani Owen
Bed 2: Locality 2, four anterior teeth.

FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

This species is listed by Hay (1923) for bed 2.

Family Megalonychidae
Megalonyx jeffersonii (Desmarest)
Sellards (1916) listed this species from bed 2 on the basis of a
part of a lower jaw, right upper canine, molar, hyoid, axis, astragalus,
and a median phalanx. It has never been attributed to bed 3.

Family Dasypodidae
Dasypus bellus (Simpson)
Bed 2: Locality 3a, numerous casque, anterior and posterior
buckler scutes.

Sellards (1916) lists Dasypus from beds 2 and 3, but the dermal
scutes attributed to bed 3 were derived from bed 2.

Holmesina septentrionalis (Leidy)
Bed 2: Locality 3a, two dermal scutes. Bed 2: Locality 7, ten
dermal scutes.

H. septentrionalis, as was the case with Dasypus, was erroneously
reported from beds 2 and 3 by Sellards (1916).

Order Lagomorpha
Family Leporidae
Sylvilagus palustris (Bachman)
Bed 2: Locality 3a, right acetabulum and part of innominate.

Sylvilagus sp.
Bed 2: Locality 3a, one right I1, one right P', five upper molars,
eight lower molars, two right maxillae, parts of three right mandibles,
left tibia, right astragalus. Bed 3: Locality 3a, six left and four right
II, left and right I1, four left and one right P', six upper molars, eight
lower molars, parts of four left humeri, part of a left mandible, a right
maxilla, left astragalus, and right ulna.

Although S. palustris and S. floridanus may be separated on the
basis of characters delineated by Holman (1959), none of the above

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10

specimens possessed the parts necessary for their specific determination.
M'.ny and possibly most of the above represent Sylvilagus palustris.

Order Rodentia
Family Sciuridae
Sciurus carolinensis Gmelin
Bed 2: Locality 3a, right and left 11, left MI, left M2. Bed 3:
Locality 3a, two right and one left I1, right M1.

Not previously found at Vero.

Family Geomyidae
Geomys pinetis Rafinesque
Bed 2: Locality 3a, numerous teeth, one left and two right humeri,
two left ulnae. Bed 3: Locality 3a, numerous teeth two left and two
right humeri, two left and one right ulnae, two left femora, one left and
one right innominate, two left and two right mandibles.

Not found before at Vero, but Gazin (1950) states this is the second
most abundant species at Melbourne.

Family Cricetidae
Oryzomys palustris (Harlan)
Bed 2: Locality 3, one left and two right mandibles; Locality 3a,
numerous teeth, left and right humeri, two right maxillae. Bed 3: Locality
3a, numerous teeth, two left mandibles, right maxilla, three right humeri,
one left femur, two left tibiae.

Until the p sent study, Oryzomys has been found only in bed 3.

cf. Reithrodontomys humulis (Audubon and Bachman)
Bed 2: Locality 3a, left I1.

Simpson (1930) reported Reithrodontomys humulis from bed 2 at
Vero, but Bader (1959), on re-examination of the jaw, referred it to
Peromyscus polionotus. This placed Reithrodontomys among the few
living mammalian species of Florida which have not been found fossil.
There is a possibility that the above mentioned incisor represents Zapus,

FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

however, incisors of these two genera are distinguishable and the bed 2
incisor corresponds exactly with those of modern R. humulis.

Peromyscus polionotus (Wagner)
Bed 2: Locality 3, right mandible; Locality 3a, left mandible.

Peromyscus gossypinus (Le Conte)
Bed 2: Locality 3a, right mandible. Bed 3: Locality 3a, right
mandible. Several other specifically indeterminate elements of Peromyscus
were recovered from beds 2 and 3.

Sigmodon hispidus Say and Ord
Bed 2: Locality 3a. Bed 3: Locality 3a, numerous teeth, mandi-
bles, and postcranial elements.

Sigmodon hispidus is one of the more common species in beds 2
and 3. Sellards (1916) recorded several teeth from bed 2 and a number
of teeth and jaws from bed 3.

Neotoma floridana (Ord)
Bed 2: Locality 3a, numerous teeth, one left mandible. Bed 3:
Locality 3a, numerous teeth, one left mandible, one left maxilla.

Sellards (1916) listed a mandible from bed 3.

Synaptomys australis Simpson
Bed 2: Locality 3a, right M1, right M1.

This species, first described from Saber-Tooth Cave by Simpson
(1928), has been found in the Pleistocene of Arredondo, Reddick, and
Melbourne (Bader, 1957; Brodkorb, 1957; Ray, 1958). It has not been
previously reported from Vero.

Neofiber alleni True
Bed 2: Locality 3a, numerous teeth, mandibles, and postcranial
elements. Bed 3: Locality 3a, numerous teeth, mandibles, and post-
cranial elements.

Heretofore Neofiber was represented in bed 3 by a number of jaws
and parts of skulls and in bed 2 by a few teeth (Sellards, 1916).

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10

Pitymys pinetorum (Le Conte)

Bed 2: Locality 3a, left mandible, right and left M one right
and seven left M1. Bed 3: Locality 3a, two right M1.

In size, these specimens correspond most closely with Recent
material of P. pinetorum from Illinois and are slightly larger than the
Florida form, Pitymys parvulus. The present known range of the genus
does not extend as far south as Vero. Not previously recorded from Vero.

Hydrochoerus sp.
Sellards (1916) records the presence of cheek teeth of a capybara,
not found in place but attributed to bed 2, and assigned to the genus
Hydrochoerus. Two species of capybara occur in the Florida Pleisto-
cene (Simpson, 1928, 1930).

Order Cetacea
Suborder Odontoceti
A large and small tooth, representing two different species of
toothed whale, were taken from the very bottom of bed 2 at Locality 7.
The material is too meagre to permit further classification. These are
the first cetacean specimens from Vero.

Order Carnivora
Family Canidae
Canis cf. Canis niger Bartram
Bed 2: Locality 3a, left Pl, Bed unknown: Locality 1, anterior
half of a left P4.

Once found in peninsular Florida, C. niger has become extinct here
in Recent times. The difficulty in separating C. niger and C. lupus was
discussed by Ray (1958). The material represented here is too meagre
to permit positive identification.

Canis ayersi Sellards
Bed 2: Locality 3a, left and ri ht C1, right 13, and a piece of
premaxilla. Bed 2: Locality 3, right I right C1, left M1, left P2, left
femur.

The type skull, FGS 7166, was collected by Frank Ayers and Isaac
Weills from bed 2 in the south bank of the drainage canal 100 feet west

FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

of the Florida East Coast Railroad bridge. In addition to the skull,
paratypes left premaxillary FGS 4389, left upper carnassial FGS 5146,
canine FGS 4410, left tibia FGS 5912, left femur FGS 5449, right ulna
FGS 5451, and right scapula FGS 5182, were also found (Sellards, 1916).

Canis latrans Say
Sellards (1916) referred a part of a right maxilla with P4 (FGS 7036)
to C. latrans. The specimen later became the typeof Canis riviveronis
Hay (1917a). It was found in bed 3 in the north bank of the canal, op-
posite the original site. The type locality was disturbed by Recent
stream action of the north tributary, and the specimen could have been
derived from bed 2. Hay (op. cit.) named this species after comparison
with four Recent specimens of C. latrans. The differences are not striking
and Ray has justifiably synonomized it with C. latrans.

Vulpes palmaria Hay

Sellards (1916) referred a part of a right dentary, including the P3
and P4, from bed 3 to Vulpes pennsylvanicus (Vulpes fulva). This
specimen later became the type of Vulpes palmaria Hay (1917a). Com-
parison of the description of the fossil with 13 Recent specimens of
Vulpes fulva bears out Hay's description, however, the differences
between the two are not striking. As suggested by Ray (1958) the Vero
specimen may merely represent a larger Pleistocene subspecies of V.
fulva. The type may have been derived from bed 2.

Urocyon cinereoargenteus (Schreber)

Bed 2: Locality 3a, left M2.

Not previously found at Vero.

Family Ursidae
Ursus americanus Pallus
Bed 2: Locality 7, left M3, right P4.

In the original collections made at Vero, Ursus americanus was
represented in bed 3 only.

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 19

Family Procyonidae
Procyon lotor (Linnaeus)
Bed 2: Locality 7, left P4, right MI; Locality 3a, left M1, left P3.
Bed 3: Locality 5, right P4.

Sellards (1916) lists this species from beds 2 and 3.

Family Mustelidae
Spilogale ambarvalis Bangs
Bed 2: Locality 3a, right C1. Bed 3: Locality 3a, left M3, right
P3; Locality 5, left mandible.
Not previously found at Vero.

Lutra canadensis (Schreber)
Bed 2: Locality 3a, right 13, left CI, right P1, left P2, left and
right P3, left M1; Localit 3, left P4, right mandible with P3 and M1.
Bed 3: Locality 3a, right I right 12, left P4, left mandible without teeth.

Recorded from beds 2 and 3 by Sellards (1916).

Family Felidae
Panthera augusta (Leidy)

While visiting Vero in October, 1917, Hay (1919) collected a left
P of a cat from bed 2, which he described as a new species, Felis
veronis. This has been synonomized with Panthera augusta by McCrady,
Kirby-Smith, and Templeton (1951).

Smilodon sp.

Sellards (1916) referred a canine and upper carnassial from bed 2
to the genus Smilodon. Hay (1919) examined the carnassial and made
the specific determination Trucifelis floridanus (Leidy). Trucifelis is
now a synonym of Smilodon (Simpson, 1945) and it seems best to leave
the Vero specimens as Smilodon sp. until additional material is avail-
able for study.

Lynx rufus (Schreber)
Bed 2: FGS V1878 distal end of a left radius; Locality 3a, anterior
part of p2.

FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

The radius had been tentatively identified as a bird bone and
although slightly smaller than typical L. ru/us, it does not differ from
corresponding Recent specimens. Simpson (1929a) mentions a small
Lynx from Seminole Field which is not morphologically different from
L. rufus. Hay (1917a) listed Lynx rufus from bed 3 on a left mandible
and right tibia.

Order Proboscidea
Family Mammutidae
Mammut sp. (= Mastodon)
Bed 2: Locality 2, left M3.

Partial teeth have been found throughout bed 2 at Locality 3a.
Sellards (1916) described Mammut from bed 2 on a lower jaw, teeth, and
parts of the skull. Specimens of this species and other extinct forms
previously attributed to bed 3 were derived from bed 2.

Family Elephantidae
Mammuthus sp.

Bed 2: Locality 3, two upper and one lower molar.

The three molars and fragments of limb bones were found together
and probably represent a single individual.

Sellards (1916) records this as a common species in bed 2. The
records from bed 3 based on tooth fragments (Hay, 1917a) are accidental
to this horizon.

Order Perissodactyla
Family Equidae
Equus sp.
Bed 2: Locality 3, left MI, right M2, right M3; Locality 2, left
femur; Locality 7, right femur.

Although Hay (1923) lists three species of Equus from bed 2, the
present status of Pleistocene horses is too confused to permit specific
determinations of these few specimens.

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10

Family Tapiridae
Tapirus veroensis Sellards
Bed 2: Locality 3, left M2, deciduous right P3; Locality 7, decid-
uous right P2, right M right P4.

In Sellards' original list (1916) of mammals from bed 2, several
detached teeth and parts of two lower jaws were referred to Tapirus
haysii. Later, Sellards (1918) described a new species of tapir, Tapirus
veroensis, from bed 2 at Vero, and this is probably the only species which
occurs in Florida (Bader, 1957).

Order Artiodactyla
Family Tayassuidae
Mylohyus sp.
Bed 2: Locality 7, unworn left P4, unworn left MI, worn left P4,
worn left M1.

Hay (1917a, 1923) referred several peccary teeth from beds 2 and 3
to Mylohyus lenis. The above specimens may represent Mylohyus gidleyi
Simpson.

Family Camelidae
Tanupolama cf. Tanupolama .nirifica Simpson
Bed 2: Locality 3, fragmental upper molar, left calcaneum, left
astragal us.

The indeterminable camelid remains mentioned by Sellards (1916)
probably belong to the above species.

Family Cervidae
Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmerman)
Bed 2: Locality 3a, two left 12, right P1 pieces of antler. Bed 3:
Locality 3a, two left P1, right P two left P right P2, left P3, right
P1, right P3, left Mi, right M', pieces of antler.

Hay (1917a, p. 50) described a new species of deer, Odocoileus
sellardsiae from bed 3, the type being a 5th cervical vertebra (FGS7923).
In view of the fact that no other extinct forms belong to bed 3 and no
additional Odocoileus material has proved to be distinct from 0. vir-
ginianus, it is likely that 0. sellardsiae is merely a variant of the latter

FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

species. Joseph T. Gregory informed Rouse (1951) that Hay's description
of 0. sellardsiae was unconvincing. Ray (1958) agrees with this view.

Family Bovidae
Bison sp.

Bed 2: Locality 7, right P3; Locality 3a, left P2, right P4, right M2.

The upper premolar, attributed to bed 3 by Hay (1917a), was found
at the original site and undoubtedly has been reworked from the underlying
bed 2.

PAL EOECOLOGY

Since the deposit is of relatively Recent origin, the present physio-
graphic features at Vero were probably about the same during deposition
as they are now, although there were undoubtedly changes in the height
of the water table, reflecting fluctuations in sea level. In evaluating
the paleoecology, therefore, some use can be made of the habitats avail-
able in the immediate vicinity of the deposit at the time the drainage
canal was dug. The area is now practically devoid of native vegetation,
but fortunately Sellards (1917a) gives a brief description of the site as
it was at the time the canal was dug. The inlet or basin, cut by the
Silver Bluff sea, is surrounded on the north, south, and west by the beach
ridge which runs parallel with the Florida East Coast Railroad. The
drainage is, therefore, from the higher ground of shoreline origin and
the flatwood to the west, into the basin.

The beach ridge supported a growth of spruce pine (Pinus clausa)
and evergreen shrubs (Sellards, 1917a). The area to the west of the
ridge, drained by the two tributary streams, was flatwood consisting
of a scattered growth of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) with an under-
growth of saw palmetto (Serenoa repens). The basin area itself was
a hammock of deciduous hardwood and cabbage palm (Sabal palmetto).
The results of a study of fossil plants made by Berry (1917) are sum-
marized in table 4. All of the plants, except Benzoin and Zizyphus
are found in peninsular Florida at present. The presence of Taxodium
indicates that the area contained a cypress pond, at least during the
period bed 3 was deposited. Three of the plants, Pistia, Anona, and
Brasenia, are obligate pond forms. Pistia was recorded on the basis of
a leaf. It is doubtful that a leaf from an aauatic plant could be trans-
ported far without its identifiable characteristics being altered. A number

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10

Table 4. Habitat of Fossil Plants from Bed 3 at Vero

Species

Pinus taeda
Pinus caribaea
Taxodium distichum
Carex sp.
Pistia spathulata
Serenoa serrulata
Sabal palmetto
Cerothamnus ceriferus
Leitneria floridana
Quercus virginiana
Quercus laurifolia
Quercus cinereo
Quercus chapman
Polygonum sp.
Magnolia, virginia
Anona glabra
Brasenia purpurea
Ilex glabra
Acer rubrum
Zizyphus sp.
Vitis rotundifolia
Benzoin cf. B. melissaefolium
Viburnum nudum
Xanthium sp.

Principal habitat

Mesic situations
Flatwoods
Fresh water shores or swamps
Widespread
Free floating in still water
Unflooded soil
Widespread
Mesic or hydric woods
Swamps
Xeric to mesic hammock
Mesic hammock (also in bed 2)
Sandhills
Scrubby flatwoods and scrub
Swamp and marshes (emergent)
Bayheads, swamps
Pond margins, swamps
Ponds
Mesic hammock
Swamp
?
Widespread
Swamps, pond margins
Swamps
Waste places

of the other plants have aquatic tendencies and the remainder can be
accounted for by the habitats existing before the canal was dug. On
the basis of the fossil plants, bed 3 must have been pond-marsh habitat,
developing into a hammock as the basin became filled.

The habitat areas should be reflected in the fauna. Sellards
(1916) listed 29 species of fresh water and land invertebrates from bed 2.
Marshy conditions for bed 2 are indicated also by the three species of
Paratettix collected from the base of bed 2 during the present study.
These grasshoppers, of which one form is no longer found in Florida,
often gather in marshy or moist places. The principal habitats of the
vertebrates and of the insects collected by the author and those studied
by Wickham (1919) are given in table 5.

Of the vertebrates from bed 2, 53 percent of the reptiles and amphi-
bians are fresh water aquatic forms while 42 percent of the birds are
found in fresh water habitats and of the mammals whose habitat is known,
58 percent are fresh water or swamp forms. In bed 3, 50 percent of the
reptiles and amphibians, 59 percent of the birds, and 28 percent of the

FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Table 5. Habitat and Abundance of Insects and Vertebrates at Vero

Species

CLASS INSECTA
Order Orthoptera
Paratettix rugosus
Paratettix mexicanus
Paratettix toltecus
Anisomorpha buprestoides

Order Homoptera
Cicadid

Order Hymenoptera
Halictus ligatus
Cerceria sp.

Order Coleoptera
Galerucella notulata
Griburius larvatus
Cryptocephalus sp.
Rhynchophorus cruentatus

Order Hemiptera
Podisus cf. P. sagitta
Camirus cf. C. porosus

CLASS CHONDRICHTHYES
Order Batoidei
Aetobatis narinari

CLASS OSTEICHTHYES
Order Ginglymodi
Lepisosteus platyrhincus

Order Protospondyli
Amia calva

Order Percomorphi
Coranx hippos

CLASS AMPHIBIA
Order Urodela
Ambystome sp.

Bed 2 Bed 3 Habitat

common
rare
rare
rare

rare

rare

rare

adventitious

rare

rare

marsh
marsh
marsh
widespread

widespread

widespread
widespread

widespread
widespread
widespread
Sabal palmetto

widespread
widespread

marine

fresh water

fresh water

adventitious marine

rare

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10 45

Table 5. (Continued)

Species

Amphiuma means
Siren lacertina

Order Anura
Scaphiopus holbrookii
Bufo sp.
Rana cf. R. pipiens
Rana cf. R. catesbeiana

CLASS REPTILIA
Order Chelonia
Chelydra serpentina
Kinosternon bauri
Kinosternon subrubrum
Sternotherus odoratus
Sternotherus minor
Terropene carolina
Pseudemys script
Pseudemys cf. P. floridana
Geochelone sellardsi
Gopherus polyphemus
Chelonia mvdas
Coretta caretto

Order Crocodilia
Alligator mississippiensis

Order Squamata
Anolis carolinensis
Sceloperus undulatus
Ophisaurus compressus
Eumeces sp.
Natrix taxispilota
Natrix sipedon
Thamnophis sp.
Farancia abacura
Coluber or Masticophis
Drymarchon corais
Pituophis melanoleucus
Lampropeltis getulus

Bed 2

abundant
abundant'

rare
rare
abundant
abundant

rare
common
common
common
rare
common
common
rare
rare
rare

common

rare

rare

common
common
common
abundant
common
common

Bed 3

abundant
abundant

rare
rare
abundant
abundant

Habitat

fresh water
fresh water

hammock
open woods
fresh water
fresh water

fresh water
common fresh water
common fresh water
rare fresh water
fresh water
common woodland
fresh water
fresh water
?

high pine, dunes
adventitious marine
adventitious marine

common fresh water

common
rare
rare
rare

common
common
abundant
common
common
rare
rare

arboreal
open woods
costal dunes, flatwoods
open woods
fresh water
fresh water
near water
marsh
widespread
hammock
high pine
hammock near water

46 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Table 5. (Continued)

Species

Micrurus fulvius
Crotalus adamanteus

CLASS AVES
Order Podicipediformes
Podilymbus podiceps

Order Pelecaniformes
Phalacrocorax ouritlis

Order Ciconiiformes
Ardea herodias
Casmerodius albus
Florida thula
Butorides virescens
Nyctanassa violacea
Botaurus lentiginosus
Ciconia maltha

Order Anseriformes
Anas fulvigula
Aix sponsa
Aythya sp.
Lophodytes cucullatus

Order Falconiformes
Cathartes aura
Coragyps atratus
Buteo jamaicensis
Falco sparverius

Order Galliformes
Colinus virginioanus
Meleagris gallopavo

Order Gruiformes
Rallus cf. R. elegans
Rallus limicola
Porzana carolina

Bed 2

rare
common

rare

rare

rare

rare

Bed 3 Habitat

hammock, woodland
common prairie

ponds, lakes

marsh, swamp, lake

rare aquatic
rare aquatic
rare aquatic
rare aquatic
rare aquatic
marsh
?

rare ponds, marsh
rare wooded swamp
rare aquatic
rare wooded ponds

widespread
widespread
widespread
woods

rare

woods, prairie
hammock

marsh
marsh
marsh

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10 47

Table 5. (Continued)

Species Bed 2

Order Columbiformes
Ectopistes migratorius

Order Strigiformes
Tyto albo
Otus asio
Strix varia

Order Piciformes
Colaoptes cf. C. ouratus
Centurus cf. C. carolinus
Sphyrapicus various

Order Passeriformes
Cyanocitto cristaota
Turdus migratorius
ch Vermivora sp.
cf. Geothlypis sp.
Agelaius phoeniceus
Quiscalus quiscula
Cassidix mexicanus
Pipilo erythrophthalmus

CLASS MAMMALIA
Order Marsupialia
Didelphis marsupialis

Order Insectivora
Blarina brevicauda
Cryptotis parva
Scolopus aquaticus

Order Chiroptera
Myotis sp.
Eptesicus sp.
Losiurus sp.

Order Primates
Homo sapiens

rare

rare

Bed 3 Habitat

woods

hammock, prairie
woods
woods

rare

rare

rare

rare

rare

abundant
cor non
abundant

rare

rare

abundant
common
abundant

rare

rare

woods
woods
woods

woods
woods
woods
marsh, thickets
marsh
pond border, streams
marsh
thickets

woods, swamp

damp woods
damp woods
woods, meadow

widespread
widespread
widespread

rare rare

widespread

FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Table 5. (Continued)

Species

Order Edentata
Paramylodon harlani
Megalonyx jefferson ii
Dasypus bellus
Holmesina septentrionalis

Order Lagomorpha
Sylvilagus palustris

Bed 2 Bed 3 Habitat

rare ?
rare ?
rare ?
rare ?

common common swampy woods, thickets

Order Rodentia
Sciurus carolinensis rare
Geomys pinetis common
Oryzomys palustris common
cf. Reithrodontomys humulis rare
Peromyscus polionotus rare
Peromyscus gossypinus rare
Sigmodon hispidus abundant
Neotoma floridana common
Synaptomys australis rare
Neofiber alleni abundant
Pitymys pinetorum common
Hydrochoerus sp. rare

Order Cetacea
Odontoceti species 1 adventitious
Odontoceti species 2 adventitious

Order Carnivora
Canis cf. C. niger rare
Canis ayersi rare
Canis latrans
Vulpes palmaria ?
Urocyon cinereoargenteus rare
Ursus americanus rare
Procyon lotor rare
Spilogale ambarvalis rare
Lutra canadensis rare
Panthera augusta rare

rare
common
common

rare
abundant
rare

arboreal
open pine woods
marsh
bottomland, thickets
beach, sandy fields
hammock, swamp
woods, swamp
swamp, hammock
?

abundant ponds, marsh
rare mesic hammock
fresh water

marine
marine

widespread
widespread
rare widespread
rare ?
swamp, woods
swamps
swamps
rare fields, hammock
rare lakes, marsh
?

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10 4Y

Tabte 5. (Continued)

Species Bed 2 Bed 3 Habitat

Smilodon sp. rare ?
Lynx rufus rare ?

Odor Proboscidea
Mammut sp. rare (marsh, meadows?)
Mammuthus sp. rare ?

Order Perissodactyla
Equus sp. rare ?
Tapirus veroensis rare ?

Order Artiodactyla
Mylohyus sp. rare ?
Tanupolama cf. T. mirifica rare ?
Odocoileus virginianus rare rare woods, swamp
Bison sp. rare ?

mammals are fresh water forms. The two most abundant salamanders
from beds 2 and 3, Amphiuma and Siren, are animals which require fresh
water, as is also the Alligator found in both beds. One of the most
abundant mammals in beds 2 and 3, both in regard to the number of
individuals and specimens collected, is Neofiber alleni, which is re-
stricted to aquatic habitats. Sigmodon, Scalopus, and Blarina, which
live in moist situations, are also very numerous in both beds. The
presence of Lutra and Synaptomys further indicate an aquatic environ-
ment. The proximal habitat, or that in which the remains are deposited,
should be represented by the largest number of individuals and species.
The fauna supports this supposition.

Ophisaurus compressus, which inhabits coastal dunes and islands,
must have lived along the beach ridge, while Bufo, Sceloperus, Terrapene,
Eumeces, Gopherus, and Pituophis, lived in the flatwoods to the west.
Bats flew over the pond and marsh in search of insects while hawks and
owls were attracted by the abundance of small mammals in and about the
marsh. The wood duck (Aix sponsa) and hooded merganser (Lophodytes
cucullatus) found refuge in the cypress swamps. Such a fauna, abundant
in small mammals, attracted the predatory bear, dire wolf, fox, skunk,

FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

wildcat, saber-tooth, and jaguar. A variety of habitats have contributed
to the fossil fauna in proportion to their proximity to the site of deposition.
This variety of habitat is reflected in the large fossil fauna at Vero.

BIOGEOGRAPHY

Many of the extinct animals from Vero have living representatives
in other parts of the world. The edentates, Paramylodon, Dasypus,
Holmesina, and Megalonyx, and the capybara, Hydrochoerus, have neo-
tropical affinities and migrated into North America during the late
Pliocene or early Pleistocene. Living species of Hydrochoerus occur
in South America. Apparently Dasypus bellus differed little except in
size from the extant D. novemcinctus found in Texas and recently intro-
duced into Florida. It appears in the Pleistocene of Oklahoma and
Missouri (Taylor and Hibbards, 1955).

Mammut, Mammuthus, and Bison were Eurasian immigrants and
were common in the Pleistocene of North America. According to Simpson
(1930) the Florida Bison was probably Bison latifrons. This species
had a wide distribution in the Pleistocene, ranging from California to
Florida (Hibbard, 1955).

Equus, Tapirus, Mylohyus, Tanupolama, and the carnivores originated
in North America. Equus became extinct in North America at the end of
the Pleistocene but has living representatives in Europe, Asia, and
Africa. Tapirs are now found only in the Oriental and neotropical regions.
Peccaries occur today in southwestern United States and the neotropical
region. Camels are restricted to the Andes, northern Asia, and the Sahara.
Canis niger is at present only found in Texas and Oklahoma. A close
relative of Canis ayersi, Canis dirus, was widely distributed in North
America during the Pleistocene. Vulpes does not occur in Florida at
present but living species are found in the north and west. Panthers
augusta occurs widely in the Pleistocene of North America, where it
subsequently became extinct. Closely related species are common in
Mexico and Central and South America.

Ciconia maltha had a wide distribution in the late Pleistocene,
occurring in Idaho, California, Florida, and Cuba (Wetmore, 1956; Brod-
korb, 1958). Living species of Ciconia now occur in Europe, Asia, and
Africa.

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10

Modern relatives of the giant tortoise, Geochelone sellardsi, now
inhabit the Mascarene and Galapagos Islands. Terrapene carolina occurs
in the Pleistocene of Florida and Texas.

Of particular interest are the three species of grasshoppers found
at the very bottom of bed 2, with undisturbed bed 3 above. Dr. T. H.
Hubbell, who identified the orthopterans, has sent notes on the ranges
of these forms. Paratettix rugosus is restricted to peninsular Florida
and southern coastal Georgia. The range of P. mexicanus extends from
Florida along the Gulf States to California and from Mexico through
Central America. P. toltecus is restricted to the coastal plain of Texas
and eastern Mexico. This latter species is extinct in Florida although
it was present here during early bed 2 time.

The only North American relative of the extinct plant, Zizyphus,
found at Vero, now occurs from Texas to Arizona.

It thus appears that many of the immigrants from South America
may have entered the United States by way of Texas and spread east-
ward across the gulf to Florida.

In the fossil deposits at Vero there occur only four species which
may be considered survivors of glacial maxima. These are the spicebush
(Benzoin), the pond turtle (Pseudemys scripta, the pine mouse (Pitymys
pinetorum), and the bog lemming (Synaptomys). The present southern
limits of these forms lie to the north of Vero, namely: 200 miles for
P. scripta, 250 miles for P. pinetorum, 350 miles for Benzoin, and 700
miles for the genus Synaptomys.

The presence of Synaptomys australis in Florida is interesting.
Its modern relatives are found no farther south than Tennessee and North
Carolina. It was present in the Sangamon interglacial fauna of Kansas
(Hibbard, 1955) and had reached Florida even earlier, during the Illinoian
glacial stage (Bader, 1957; Brodkorb, 1957; Olsen, 1958). The presence
of this species in Kansas during an interglacial stage and its arrival in
Florida during a glacial stage suggests that the modified climate of a
glacial advance regulated the distributional pattern of Synaptomys. The
rare occurrence of Synaptomys in bed 2, its absence from bed 3, and the
relatively Recent age of the deposit suggest the last stages of extinction
of a formerly widespread species.

The fossil assemblages of four Florida localities, because of their
similarity and completeness, have been termed test faunas by Simpson

FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

(1929b). They are: Seminole Field, Saber-Tooth Cave, Melbourne, and
Vero. With a few exceptions their faunas are remarkably alike. Most of
the species are still present in Florida or had warm climate preferences.
Vero and Melbourne are unique in that at both localities man and extinct
Pleistocene forms have been found in association. These faunas may
best be compared by considering their differences. At Melbourne, the
only form having boreal affinities is an unidentifiable species of elk
(Cervus). The extinct stork, Ciconia maltha, is the only extinct bird
from Melbourne and Vero, and among the four localities it is absent
only from Saber-Tooth Cave. The porcupine, Erithizon dorsatum, found
only at Seminole Field, is a northern species. The genus Thomomys,
peculiar to the Saber-Tooth Cave deposits, occurs only in the west at
present. Several birds found only at Seminole Field have southern or
western affinities. Gymnogyps is now restricted to California, and both
it and the extinct Teratornis merriami occur fossil in Florida and Cali-
fornia. The neotropical genus Aramides is recorded only from Seminole
Field. Each of these test faunas, then, is composed largely of warm
climate animals and each possesses one or two characteristically cool
climate elements. The similarity of these test faunas is indicative of
their contemporaneity; the few cool climate elements were probably
remnants of earlier glacial stage faunas.

There has been a feeling among some that the extinction of Pleisto-
cene forms was accelerated by the presence of man. In this regard it
is interesting that man was present at Vero and Melbourne during the
final stages of extinction of typically Pleistocene animals. With the
exception of Synaptomys, all of the extinct forms at Vero were large and
as such would have been easy targets for predation by man.

Only a remnant of the once rich fauna of Vero remains today, and
the present fauna has not been augmented by additions from other major
geographic areas. Of the mammals from bed 2, 40 percent are extinct,
yet 82 percent of the nonflying mammals living in the area today are
represented by fossils in bed 2. The other vertebrate classes have
suffered less severely. Only 3 percent of the reptiles and amphibians
(Geochelone sellardsi) and 8 percent of the birds (Ciconia maltha) from
bed 2 are extinct. With the exception of the recently exterminated pas-
senger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) and Florida wolf (Canis niger)
no extinct species appear in bed 3, since Vulpes palmaria, if a valid
species, probably belongs to bed 2.

Osteologically, the Recent fauna differs in no way from its fossil
ancestry. Thus the characteristic difference between the fossil and

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10

modern fauna is the marked extinction of mammals which occurred during
bed 2 time.

SUMMARY

Three distinct fossil-bearing beds occur at Vero. The lowest and
oldest is a marine shell marl (bed 1) of Sangamon Age and contains no
fresh water or terrestrial vertebrates. Upon this rests bed 2, a bed of
organically stained sands containing vertebrate fossils. The youngest
and uppermost bed, bed 3, is composed of loose sands, muck, and verte-
brate remains and is separated from bed 2 by a distinct erosional uncon-
formity. Extinct Pleistocene forms are confined to bed 2, in contrast to
the findings of earlier workers. Bed 2 was deposited in a shallow,
saucer-shaped, fresh water basin.

The Pamlico terrace surrounds the basin. A large portion of the
terrace consists of well indurated organic hardpan, lumps of which have
been found near the contact of beds 1 and 2. This demonstrates an age
younger than Pamlico for the bone beds. The basin was scoured out by
tidal action of the Silver Bluff sea, whose rise is attributed to the effects
of a warm period which occurred about 45,000 years before present. A
radiocarbon date for the base of bed 2 indicates that deposition began
something over 30,000 years before present; thus bed 2 is Wisconsin in
age.

The vertebrate fauna consists of 122 species, including 4 species
of fishes, 7 species of amphibians, 27 species of reptiles, 37 species of
birds, and 47 species of mammals. Of these, 4 species of amphibians,
11 species of reptiles, 29 species of birds, and 14 species of mammals
have not been previously recorded from Vero.

Of the 17 species and subspecies which were described as new
from Vero, only 3 are now considered valid, namely: Geochelone sellardsi,
Canis ayersi, and Tapirus veroensis. The following are now considered
synonyms or species inquirendae: Chelydra laticarinata, Chelydra sculpta,
Terrapene innoxia, Terrapene antipex, Pseudemys floridana persimilis,
Testudo luciae, Gopherus praecedens, Ardea sellardsi, Jabiru weillsi,
Querquedula floridana, Larus vero, Canis riviveronis, Vulpes palmaria,
and Odocoileus sellardsiae.

The vertebrate fauna of the bone beds is composed principally
of fresh water species, supporting the conclusion arrived at from geo-
logical evidence that the deposit was formed in a shallow, fresh water

FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

pond or marsh. Species from other habitats contributed to the fossil
assemblage in proportion to their proximity to the site of deposition.

Marked similarities occur in the fossil plants and animals of Vero
and those of Texas and the southwest. An extinct plant of the genus
Zizyphus is now represented in North America by a single species oc-
curring from Texas to Arizona. Although the grasshopper, Paratettix
toltecus, is extinct in Florida, this species still lives in the coastal
plain of Texas and eastern Mexico. Canis niger, now extinct in Florida,
survives in Texas and Oklahoma. Dasypus bellus differs little from
the smaller D. novemcinctus, currently found in Texas and adjacent
states.

It is probable that Vero man and the extinct Pleistocene verte-
brates were contemporaneous. Thus the possibility that man may have
contributed to the extinction of larger forms in late Pleistocene or sub-
Recent times is not precluded.

Comparison of the late Pleistocene Vero fauna with three other
test faunas of Simpson, namely, Seminole Field, Melbourne, and Saber-
Tooth Cave, demonstrates that they all have a large number of warm
climate species in common, showing a southwestern influence. Each
contains one or two cool climate elements, possibly relicts of earlier
glacial stage faunas.

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10 55

LITERATURE CITED

Auffenberg, Walter (also see Goin, Coleman J.)
1955 Glass lizards (Ophisaurus) in the Pleistocene and Pliocene of
Florida: Herpetologica, v. 11, p. 133-136.

1956a Remarks on some Miocene anurans from Florida, with a descrip-
tion of a new species of Hyla: Harvard College Mus. Comp.
Zoology Breviora, no. 52, p. 1-11.
1956b A study of the fossil snakes of Florida: Doctoral dissertation,
Univ. Florida, p. 1-268.

1957 A new species of Bufo from the Pliocene of Florida: Florida
Acad. Sci. Quart. Jour., v. 20, p. 14-19.
1958 Fossil turtles of the genus Terrapene in Florida: Florida State
Mus. Bull., v. 3, p. 53-92.

Bader, Robert S.
1957 Two Pleistocene mammalian faunas from Alachua County, Florida:
Florida State Mus. Bull., v. 2, p. 52-75.
1959 The reported occurrence of Reithrodontomys in the Pleistocene
of Florida: Jour. Paleontology, v. 33, p. 968.

Barbour, Thomas
1931 (and Stetson, H. C.) A revision of the Pleistocene species of
Terropene of Florida: Harvard College Mus. Comp. Zoology
Bull., v. 72, p. 295-299.

Berry, Edward W.
1917 The fossil plants from Vero, Florida: Jour. Geology, v. 25,
p. 661-666.

Brattstrom, B. H.
1953 Records of Pleistocene reptiles and amphibians from Florida.
Florida Acad. Sci. Quart. Jour., v. 16, p. 243-248.
1954 The fossil pit vipers (Reptilia Crotalidae) of North America.
San Diego Soc. Nat. History Trans., v. 12, p. 31-46.
Brodkorb, Pierce
1953 A Pliocene gull from Florida. Wilson Bull., v. 65, p. 94-98.
1955 The avifauna of the Bone Valley formation. Florida Geol.Survey
Rept. Inv. 14, p. 1-57.
1957 New passerine birds from the Pleistocene of Reddick, Florida:
Jour. Paleontology, v. 31, p. 129-138.
1958 Fossil birds from Idaho. Wilson Bull., v. 70, p. 237-242.
Broecker, W. S.
1956 (and Kulp, J. L., and Tucek, C. S.) Lamont natural radiocarbon
measurements III: Science, v. 124, p. 154-165.
Carr, Archie
1955 (and Gain, Coleman J.) Guide to the reptiles, amphibians, and
fresh water fishes of Florida. University of Florida Press,
Gainesville, 341 p.

FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Chamberlin, R. T.
1917a Interpretation of the formations containing human bones at Vero,
Florida: Jour. Geology, v. 25, p. 25-39.

1917b Further studies at Vero, Florida: Jour. Geology, v. 25, p. 667-683.

Cooke, C. W.
1945 Geology of Florida: Florida Geol. Survey Bull. 29, p. 1-339.
Cook, Sherbourne F. (see Heizer, Robert F.)
Deevey, Edward S.
1957 (and Flint, Richard Foster) Postglacial hypsithermal interval:
Science, v. 125, p. 182-184.

Emiliani, Cesare
1955 Pleistocene temperatures: Jour. Geology, v. 63, p. 538-578.

1956 Note on absolute chronology of human evolution: Science, v. 123,
p. 924.926.

Ethridge, Richard
1961 Late Cenozoic glass lizards (Ophisourus) from the southern Great
Plains: Herpetologica,v. 17, p. 179-186.

Flint, Richard Foster (also see Deevey, Edward S.)
1957 Glacial and Pleistocene geology: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.,
New York, 553 p.

Gazin, Charles L.
1950 Annotated list of fossil mammalia associated with human remains
at Melbourne, Florida: Washington Acad. Sci. Jour., v. 40, p. 397-
404.

Goggin, John M.
1949 Cultural traditions in Florida prehistory, p. 13-44, in J. W. Griffin
(ed.), The Florida Indian and his neighbors. Winter Park.
1950 Florida archeology 1950: Florida Anthropology, v. 3 (1-2), p. 9-20.

Goin, Coleman J. (also see Carr, Archie)
1955 (and Auffenberg, Walter) The fossil -salamanders of the family
Sirenidae: Harvard College Mus. Comp. Zool. Bull., v. 113,
p. 497.514.
Hay, Oliver P.
1916 Descriptions of some Floridian fossil vertebrates belonging mostly
to the Pleistocene: Florida Geol. Survey 8th Ann. Rept., p. 39-76.
1917a Vertebratata mostly from Stratum No. 3 at Vero, Florida, together
with descriptions of new species: Florida Geol. Survey 9th Ann.
Rept. p. 43-68.
1917b The Quaternary deposits at Vero, Florida, and the vertebrate
remains contained therein: Jour. Geology, v. 25, p. 52-55.
1919 Descriptions of some mammalian and fish remains from Florida of
probable Pleistocene age: U. S. Nat. Mus. Proc., v. 56, p. 103-112.
1923 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 : Carnegie Inst. Washington
Pub. 322, p. 1-499.

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10 57
Heiser, Robert F.
1952 (and Cook, Sherbourne F.) Fluorine and other chemical tests of
some North American human and fossil bones: Am. Jour. Physical
Anthropology, v. 10, p. 289-304.
Hibbard, Claude W. (also see Taylor, Dwight W.)
1955 The Jinglebob interglacial (Sangamon?) fauna from Kansas and its
climatic significance: Michigan Univ., Mus. Paleontology, Contr.,
v. 12, p. 179-228.

Holman, J. Alan
1959 Birds and mammals from the Pleistocene of Williston, Florida:
Florida State Mus. Bull. 5, p. 1-24.

Howard, Hildegarde
1942 A review of the American fossil storks: Carnegie Inst. Washiogton
Pub. 530, p. 187-203.

Hrdlicka, Ales
1918 Recent discoveries attributed to early man in America: Bur. Am.
Ethnology, Bull. 66, p. 1-67.

Kirby-Smith, H. T. (see McGrady, E. H.)

Kulp, J. L. (see Broecker, W. S.)

MacNeil, Stearns
1950 Pleistocene shorelines in Florida and Georgia: U. S. Geol. Survey
Prof. Paper 221-F, p. 95-107.

McGrady, E. H.
1951 (and Kirby-Smith, H. T., and Templeton, Harvey) New finds of
Pleistocene jaguar skeletons from Tennessee caves: U. S. Nat.
Mus. Proc., v. 101, p. 251-266.

Miller, L. H.
1910 Wading birds from the Quaternary asphalt beds of Rancho LaBrea:
Univ. California Pub., Dept. Geol., Bull. 5, p. 439-448.

Olsen, Stanley J.
1958 The bog lemming from the Pleistocene of Florida: Jour. Mam-
mology, v. 39, p. 537-540.

Quinn, James H.
1957 Note on distinguishing recent and fossil bone by burning: Soc.
Vertebrate Paleontology News Bull. 50, p. 18-19.

Ray, Clayton E.
1957 A list, bibliography, and index of the fossil vertebrates of Florida:
Florida Geol. Survey Spec. Pub. 3, p. 1-175.

1958 Additions to the Pleistocene mammalian fauna from Melbourne,
Florida: Mus. Comp. Zool. Bull. 119,.p. 421-451.
Rouse, Irving
1951 A survey of Indian River archeology, Florida: Yale Univ. Pub.
Anthropology, no. 44, p. .1-292.
Sellards, Elias H.
1916 Human remains and associated fossils from the Pleistocene of
Florida: Florida Geol. Survey 8th Ann. Rept., p. 121-160.
1917a On the association of human remains and extinct vertebrates at
Vero, Florida: Jour. Geology, v. 25, p. 4-24.

58 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

1917b Note on the deposits containing human remains and artifacts at
Vero, Florida: Jour. Geology, v. 25, p. 659-660.

1917c Review of the evidence on which the human remains found at Vero,
Florida, are referred to the Pleistocene: Florida Geol. Survey 9th
Ann. Rept., p. 69-82.

1918 The skull of a Pleistocene tapir including descriptions of a new
species and a note on the associated fauna and flora: Florida Geol.
Survey 10th Ann. Rept., p. 57-70.

Shufeldt, Robert W.
1917 Fossil birds found at Vero, Florida, with descriptions of new
species: Florida Geol. Survey 9th Ann. Rept., p. 35-42.

Simpson, G. G.
1928 Pleistocene mammals from a cave in Citrus County, Florida: Am.
Mus. Novitates, no. 328, p. 1-16.

1929a Pleistocene mammalian fauna of the Seminole Field, Pinellas
County, Florida: Am. Mus. Nat. History Bull., v. 56, p. 561-599.

1929b The extinct land mammals of Florida: Florida Geol. Survey 20th
Ann. Rept., p. 229-279.

1930 Additions to the Pleistocene of Florida: Am. Mus. Novitates,
no. 406, p. 1-14.

1945 The principles of classification and a classification of mammals:
Am. Mus. Nat. History Bull., v. 85, p. 1-350.

Stetson, H. C. (see Barbour, Thomas)

Stewart, T. Dale
1946 A re-examination of the fossil human remains from Melbourne,
Florida, with further data on the Vero skull: Smithsonian Misc.
Coll., v. 106, no. 10, p. 1-28.

Suess, Hans E.
1955 Absolute chronology of the last glaciation: Science, v. 123,
p. 355-357.

Taylor, Dwight W.
1955 (and Hibbard, Claude W.) A new Pleistocene fauna from Harper
County, Oklahoma: Oklahoma Geol. Survey Circ. 37, p. 1-23.

Templeton, Harvey (see McGrady, E. H.)

Tihen, J. A.
1951 Anuran remains from the Miocene of Florida, with the description
of a new species of Bufo: Copeia, no. 3, p. 230-235.

Tucek, C. S. (see Broecker, W. S.)

Wetmore, Alexander
1928 Bones of birds from the Ciego Montero deposit of Cuba: Am. Mus.
Novitates, no. 301, p. 1-5.

1930 The Pleistocene avifauna of Florida: 8th Internat. Ornith. Cong.
Proc., p. 479-483.
1931 The Pleistocene avifauna of Florida: Smithsonian Misc. Coll.,
v. 85, no. 2, p. 1-41.

SPECIAL PUBLICATION NO. 10 59

1940 A checklist of the fossil birds of North America: Smithsonian Misc.
Coll., v. 99, no. 4, p. 1-81.
1955 The genus Lophodytes in the Pleistocene of Florida: Condor, v. 57,
p. 189.

1956 A checklist of the fossil and prehistoric birds of North America and
the West Indies: Smithsonian Misc. Coll., v. 131, no. 5, p. 1-105.

Wickham, Henry F.
1919 Fossil beetles from Vero, Florida: Am. Jour. Sci., v. 47, p. 355-357.

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	Front Cover
	Title Page
	Preface
	Acknowledgement
	Table of Contents
	Introduction
	Stratigraphy
	Age of the deposit
	Methods of collection
	Preservation of fossils
	Annotated faunal list
	Paleoecology
	Biogeography
	Summary
	Literature cited
	Back Cover