52 Timothy S. Young and Joshua Laerm 



Carolina, T. c. putnami, is represented in the St. Marks River fauna 

 by a number of elements. It was probably limited to the Coastal 

 Plain and Savannah habitats (Auffenberg 1958) and is represented in 

 many late Pleistocene sites in Florida. Other aquatic turtles recovered 

 include one chelydrid, C. serpentina, and a number of unreferrable 

 kinosternid fragments. Terrestrial testudinoid turtles present at the site 

 are Geochelone incisa, Geochelone sp., and Gopherus polyphemus. 

 Geochelone incisa represents a definite late Pleistocene species, as 

 does Terrapene Carolina putnami. Gopherus polyphemus occurs in the 

 area today. 



Only two snakes, Nerodia sp. and Elaphe obsoleta, were 

 identified from the 1987 collection. Both snakes occur in the area 

 today. No lizards were identified from any of the fossil collections. 

 Two amphibians were recovered, one caudate and one anuran, neither 

 of which could be identified to species. 



With the exception of the two late Pleistocene components, the 

 herpetofauna is representative of the modern regional fauna and 

 includes both lower Coastal Plain riverine and marshland species, 

 as well as terrestrial forms. 



Fishes — The fish fauna described includes both freshwater and 

 marine forms. Ariopsis felis, Morone saxatilis, Archosargus 

 probatocephalus, Sciaenops ocellata, and Mugil sp. although 

 typically marine are also estuarine tolerant. The freshwater fishes 

 include Pylodictis cf. P. olivaris, Lepisosteus sp., Esox sp., and Amia 

 calva. Of these, Lepisosteus sp., Esox sp., and A. calva tolerate 

 estuarine, but not marine, conditions (Hoese and Moore 1977). 



In conclusion, the aquatic community suggests a mixed freshwater 

 and marine, or more likely an estuarine environment, similar to the 

 lower half of the St. Marks River drainage today. The terrestrial 

 fauna indicates a wooded riparian environment also similar to that 

 found in the St. Marks River drainage today. However, the presence 

 of Hemiauchenia, Bison, Equus sp., and Mammumthus coupled with 

 Geomys, Geochelone, and Gopherus suggests that more open, semi- 

 forested savannah habitats were also represented. This is consistent 

 with other late Pleistocene (Rancholabrean) faunas from the 

 panhandle of Florida, some of which are considered below. 



Faunal Comparison 



The Chipola River sites (IA and HA) — This is a river deposit 

 similar to the St. Marks River and contains similar species including 

 Didelphis virginiana, Holmesina septentrionalis, Castor canadensis, 

 Procyon lotor, Bison sp., Equus sp., Mammut americanum, 

 Odocoileus virginianus, and Hemiauchenia macrocephala (Webb 



