Thomas Farm Site

thumb|right|200px|Gilchrist County, Florida and Miocene shoreline based on the Florida Geologic Survey. thumb|right|200px|Florida during the Miocene The '''Thomas Farm site''' is an Early Miocene, Hemingfordian assemblage of vertebrate fossils located in Gilchrist County, northern Florida.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-03-28|title=Thomas Farm|url=https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/florida-vertebrate-fossils/sites/thomas-farm/|access-date=2021-09-06|website=Florida Museum|language=en-US}}</ref>

The Thomas Farm site is one of the richest terrestrial deposits of Miocene vertebrates in the 18 Ma range found in eastern North America according to the Florida Museum of Natural History.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hulbert Jr. |first=Richard C. |date=January 30, 2009 |title=Thomas Farm |url=https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/florida-vertebrate-fossils/sites/thomas-farm/ |access-date=2024-11-08 |website=Florida Vertebrate Fossils |language=en-US}}</ref> The site was discovered in 1931 by Florida Geological Survey (FGS) staff member Clarence Simpson.<ref>[http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fossilhall/flpaleo/thomasfarm/thomasfarm.htm Florida Museum of Natural History: Thomas Farm site]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Livingston |first=Stephenie |date=2015-07-14 |title=Thomas Farm: a prehistoric treasure |url=https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/thomas-farm-a-prehistoric-treasure/ |access-date=2025-02-06 |website=Research News |language=en-US}}</ref> Specimens include: amphibians, reptiles, birds, small rodents,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pratt |first=Ann E. |last2=Morgan |first2=Gary S. |date=1989 |title=New Sciuridae (Mammalia: Rodentia) from the Early Miocene Thomas Farm Local Fauna, Florida |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4523240 |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=89–100 |issn=0272-4634}}</ref> bats,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Czaplewski |first=Nicholas J. |last2=Morgan |first2=Gary S. |date=2001 |title=A New Vespertilionid Bat (Mammalia: Chiroptera) from the Early Miocene (Hemingfordian) of Florida, USA |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4524153 |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=20 |issue=4 |pages=736–742 |issn=0272-4634}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Morgan |first=Gary S. |last2=Czaplewski |first2=Nicholas J. |date=2003 |title=A New Bat (Chiroptera: Natalidae) from the Early Miocene of Florida, with Comments on Natalid Phylogeny |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1383917 |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=84 |issue=2 |pages=729–752 |issn=0022-2372}}</ref> rhinoceroses, three species of three-toed horses,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hulbert |first=Richard C. |date=1984 |title=Paleoecology and Population Dynamics of the Early Miocene (Hemingfordian) Horse Parahippus Leonensis from the Thomas Farm Site, Florida |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4523015 |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=4 |issue=4 |pages=547–558 |issn=0272-4634}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=O'sullivan |first=Jay A. |date=2003 |title=A New Species of Archaeohippus (Mammalia, Equidae) from the Arikareean of Central Florida |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4524389 |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=877–885 |issn=0272-4634}}</ref> several artiodactyls (including camels, peccary, deer-like species and other extinct forms), as well as dogs, bears, and bear-dogs.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lloyd|first=Robin|title=An Inside Look at an 18 Million-year-old Fossil Dig Site in Florida|url=https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/an-inside-look-at-an-18-million-year-old-fossil-dig-site-in-florida/|access-date=2021-09-06|website=Scientific American Blog Network|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Martin|first=Robert A.|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.39853|title=Fossil mammals of the coleman ILA local fauna, Sumter County, Florida.|date=1969|publisher=[s.n.]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Olsen |first=S. J. |date=1962 |title=The Thomas Farm Fossil Quarry |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24314821 |journal=Quarterly Journal of the Florida Academy of Sciences |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=142–146 |issn=0015-3850}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Romer |first=Alfred Sherwood |date=1947 |title=The Fossil Mammals of Thomas Farm, Gilchrist County, Florida |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24313335 |journal=Quarterly Journal of the Florida Academy of Sciences |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=1–11 |issn=0015-3850}}</ref>

== Specimens ==

===Reptilia=== *Pseudemys sp. *Testudo ''(T. tedwhitei)'' *Promilio ''(P. epileus)'' *Promilio ''(P. brodkorbi)'' *Proictinia ''(P. floridana)'' *Alligator ''(A. olseni)'' *Paraoxybelis ''(P. floridanus)'' *Pseudocemophora ''(P. antiqua)'' *Anilioides ''(A. minuatus)'' *Pseudoepicrates ''(P. stanolseni)'' *Ogmophis ''(O. pauperrimus'' *Calamagras ''(C. floridanus)''

===Birds===

==== Phalacrocoracidae ====

* Phalacrocorax ''(P. subvolans)''

====Columbidae==== *''Arenicolumba prattae''

===Mammals===

====Rhinocerotidae==== *Diceratherium ''(D. barbouri)'' *Floridaceras (''F. whitei'')

==== Equidae ==== *Parahippus ''(P. leonensis)'' *Anchitherium ''(A. clarencei)''

====Amphicyonidae==== *Daphoenus ''(D. caroniavorus'' *Amphicyon ''(A. longiramus)'' *Cynelos ''(C. caroniavorus)''

====Ursidae==== *Phoberocyon ''(johnhenryi)''

====Mustelidae==== *Mephitaxus ''(M. ancipidens)'' *Miomustela *Zodiolestes ''(Z. freundi)'' *Oligobunis ''(O. floridanus)''

====Canidae==== *''Osbornodon iamonensis'' *Euoplocyon ''(E. spissidens)'' *Metatomarctus ''(M. canavus)'' *Aelurodon ''(A. johnhenryi)'' *Aelurocyon ''(A. spissidens'') *Phlaocyon sp.

====Chiroptera==== *Chiroptera sp. *Primonatalus ''(P. prattae)'' *Karstala ''(K. silva)'' *Miomyotis ''(M. floridanus)'' *Svaptenos ''(S. whitei)''

====Artiodactyla==== *Floridachoerus ''(F. olseni)'' *Machaeromeryx ''(M. gilchristensis)'' *Parablastomeryx ''(P. floridanus)'' *Merycoidodon sp. *Syndyoceras ''(S. australis)'' *Floridatragulus ''(F. dolichanthereus)'' *Oxydactylus ''(O. floridanus)'' *Nothokemas ''(N. floridanus)''

====Soricidae==== *Limnoecus sp.

====Rodentia==== *Cricetidae *Proheteromys ''(P. magnus)'' *Proheteromys ''P. floridanus)'' *Miospermophilus *Nototamias ''(N. hulberti)'' *Petauristodon ''(P. pattersoni)'' *Mesogaulus *Mylagaulidae

===Amphibians=== *Proacris ''(P. mintoni)'' *Proacris mintoni

==References== {{reflist}} *[http://paleobackup.nceas.ucsb.edu:8110/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?action=displayCollResults&collection_list=18597 Paleobiology Database: Thomas Farm collection]

Category:Paleontological sites of Florida Category:Geography of Gilchrist County, Florida Category:Neogene Florida Category:Miocene United States Category:Miocene paleontological sites of North America Category:1931 in paleontology