Edisto Island Fossil Vertebrates 
7 
SYSTEMATIC PALEONTOLOGY 
Many of the species discussed below occurred widely in North 
America during the Late Pleistocene. A complete listing of their oc- 
currences and distributions is beyond the scope of this paper. We will, in 
general, limit our comments to known distributional records in the 
Southeast. 
Descriptions of the geological ranges and comments regarding 
habitat preferences for the following species are provided in Table 1. 
Class Reptilia 
Order Chelonia 
Family Chelydridae 
Chelydra serpentina (Linnaeus) — snapping turtle 
Material. — ChM.GPV1528, ChM.GPV1530-1531, ChM.GPV1533- 
1536, seven peripheral scutes; ChM.GPV1529, ChM.GPV1532, two 
costal scutes. 
Family Kinosternidae 
Kinosternon (Spix) sp. indet. — mud turtles 
Material . — ChM.GPV 1554, pygal bone. 
Family Emydidae 
Chrysemys scripta cf. petrolei (Leidy) — pond slider 
Material. — ChM.GPV2093, carapacial fragment. 
Remarks. — Chrysemys scripta petrolei is distinguished from Recent C. 
scripta by more rugose surficial sculpturing of the carapace and by its 
larger size (Weaver 1967). 
Chrysemys floridana (LeConte) — Florida cooter 
Material . — ChM.GPV622-623, two carapacial fragments. 
Chrysemys floridana or Chrysemys concinna (LeConte) — cooters 
Material. — ChM.GPV 1461-1463, ChM.GPV 1465- 1470, nine 
carapacial fragments. 
Remarks . — Both species range from the Pliocene to the Holocene and 
now occur in aquatic habitats in eastern coastal states. Additional 
Chrysemys material from Edisto Island has recently been reported 
elsewhere (Dobie and Jackson 1979) and is not considered here. 
Terrapene Carolina putnami (Hay) — giant box turtle 
Material. — ChM.GPV2094-2095, two carapacial fragments. 
Remarks. —Terrapene Carolina putnami is distinguished from living T. 
c. Carolina on the basis of greater size and increased curvature of the 
peripheral scutes. Fossil localities occur from Florida to New Mexico 
and at least as far north as Kansas. 
