24 
Janet A. Roth and Joshua Laerm 
at Edisto may indicate individuals wandering beyond the normal range 
or a more extended range during the Pleistocene, possibly as a result of a 
cooler climate. 
In the absence of any stratigraphic control there is no evidence that 
the Edisto fauna is unified. On the contrary, it appears almost certainly 
heterochronous. Thus, inferences regarding the paleoclimatic conditions 
cannot be made with any degree of certainty. In general, however, the 
assemblage appears to reflect a predominantly warm, moist climate 
similar to or warmer than that of today. 
AGE AND RELATIONS OF THE EDISTO VERTEBRATES 
The age of the Edisto Island fauna may be established only on the 
basis of previously recorded biostratigraphic occurrence of the species 
present. 
The most definitive species are Neochoerus pinckneyi (restricted to 
the Wisconsin), Bison cf. antiquus, Dasypus bellus, Glyptotherium 
floridanus, and Canis dims, which are Sangamonian to Wisconsinian in 
age. Chrysemys scripta petrolei also is limited to the Sangamonian and 
Wisconsinian. Although the total span of deposition at Edisto Island cer- 
tainly may extend well beyond these temporal limits, much of the deposi- 
tion probably occurred during the Rancholabrean. 
The problem of a mixed fauna cannot wholly be resolved. Because of 
apparent rapid mineralization at Edisto Island, the separation of 
Pleistocene and Holocene material remains in question. Neill (1957) 
noted that rapid permineralization may create the illusion that Recent 
material is of an older age, and cautioned against interpreting all per- 
mineralized material as fossils. O’Kelley (1976) dated mammalian fossils, 
which were eroding out of a marsh clay deposit on the beach and ex- 
hibited the characteristic dark color and degree of mineralization of 
“fossils,” but found them to be of Holocene age. 
At this point only a partial solution to the problem may be offered. 
The Edisto Island fauna is composed primarily of species limited to the 
Pleistocene. Extant species in the fauna are included in the Pleistocene 
fauna recorded here and are acceptable Pleistocene species, but they must 
remain suspect as possibly representing a mixture of Holocene and 
Pleistocene material. Furthermore, the late Tertiary age for Gav- 
ialosuchus cannot be discounted. 
Failure to recover microvertebrates, even after extensive screening, 
suggests that the absence of the more fragile groups such as small mam- 
mals, amphibians, birds and some reptiles is due to transport or possible 
surf grinding. However, larger vertebrates are well represented. Of a 
possible 1 1 mammalian orders, 9 appear in the faunal list. 
With the exception of small vertebrates, which are absent from the 
fauna, the Edisto Island species list is similar to those of several coastal 
Florida sites of Rancholabrean age. In particular, Edisto Island and 
