Alachua Formation Explained

Alachua Formation
Type:	Formation
Age:	Early-Late Miocene (Hemingfordian-Hemphillian) ~
Period:	Miocene
Prilithology:	Claystone, sandstone
Otherlithology:	Phosphorite
Namedfor:	Alachua, Florida
Region:	Florida
Coordinates:	29.7°N -82.6°W
Paleocoordinates:	29.8°N -80.9°W

The Alachua Formation is a Miocene geologic formation in Florida. The claystones, sandstones and phosphorites of the formation preserve many fossils of mammals, birds, reptiles and fish, among others megalodon.

Fossil content

The formation has provided the following fossils.^[1]

Mammals

Rodents

• Harrymys magnus
• Nototamias hulberti
• Petauristodon pattersoni
• Proheteromys floridanus
• cf. Miospermophilus sp.
• Mylagaulus kinseyi
• cf. Texomys sp.
• Lagomorpha indet.
• Mylagaulidae indet.

Carnivora

• Amphicyon longiramus
• Borophagus orc
• B. pugnator
• Cynelos caroniavorus
• Enhydritherium terraenovae
• Epicyon haydeni
• E. saevus
• Eucyon davisi
• Euoplocyon spissidens
• Leptarctus ancipidens
• Metatomarctus canavus
• Oligobunis floridanus
• Osbornodon iamonensis
• Phoberocyon johnhenryi
• Zodiolestes freundi
• Borophagus sp.
• Phlaocyon sp.
• Sthenictis sp.
• Felidae indet.
• Mustelinae indet.

Ground sloths

• Pliometanastes protistus
• Thinobadistes segnis

Gomphotheres

• Amebelodon (Konobelodon) britti
• Amebelodon sp.

Artiodactyls

• Aepycamelus major
• Diabolocornis simonsi
• Floridachoerus olseni
• Floridameryx floridanus
• Floridatragulus dolichanthereus
• Hemiauchenia minima
• Machaeromeryx gilchristensis
• Nothokemas floridanus
• Parablastomeryx floridanus
• Pediomeryx hemphillensis
• Prosynthetoceras texanus
• Synthetoceras australis
• S. cf. tricornatus
• Yumaceras hamiltoni
• Aepycamelus sp.
• Hemiauchenia sp.
• Merycoidodon sp.
• Antilocapridae indet.
• Camelidae indet.
• Ruminantia indet.
• Tayassuidae indet.
• Tayassuinae indet.

Soricomorpha

• Karstala silva
• Miomyotis floridanus
• Primonatalus prattae
• Suaptenos whitei
• Limnoecus sp.
• Chiroptera indet.

Perissodactyls

• Anchitherium clarencei
• Aphelops malacorhinus
• A. mutilus
• Archaeohippus blackbergi
• Calippus elachistus
• Calippus hondurensis
• Calippus maccartyi
• Cormohipparion emsliei
• C. ingenuum
• C. plicatile
• Floridaceras whitei
• Menoceras barbouri
• Nannippus aztecus
• N. morgani
• N. westoni
• Neohipparion trampasense
• Parahippus leonensis
• Protohippus gidleyi
• Pseudhipparion skinneri
• Tapirus webbi
• Teleoceras proterum
• Hipparion cf. tehonense
• cf. Astrohippus sp.
• Dinohippus sp.

Sirenians

• Metaxytherium cf. floridanum

Lipotyphla

• Talpidae indet.

Theriiformes

• Vespertilionidae indet.

Birds

• Anhinga grandis
• A. subvolans
• Boreortalis laesslei
• Ereunetes rayi
• Jacana farrandi
• Nycticorax fidens
• Phalacrocorax wetmorei
• Promilio brodkorbi
• P. epileus
• P. floridanus
• Rhegminornis calobates
• Thomasococcyx philohippus
• Anatidae indet.
• Cuculidae indet.

Reptiles

Turtles

• Floridemys nana
• Hesperotestudo turgida
• Macrochelys auffenbergi
• Pseudemys caelata
• P. carri
• P. williamsi
• Testudo tedwhitei
• Apalone sp.
• Deirochelys sp.
• Pseudemys sp.
• Trachemys sp.

Crocodiles

• Alligator mississippiensis
• A. olseni
• Thecachampsa sericodon
• Alligator sp.

Snakes

• Anilioides minuatus
• Boa constrictor
• Calamagras floridanus
• Ogmophis pauperrimus
• Paraoxybelis floridanus
• Pseudocemophora antiqua
• Pterygoboa sp.

Lizards

• Peltosaurus floridanus
• Gekkonidae indet.
• Scolecophidia indet.

Amphibians

Anurans

• Bufo praevius
• Hyla goini
• Proacris mintoni
• Scaphiopus (Scaphiopus) holbrooki
• Microhyla sp.
• Rana sp.

Salamanders

• Siren hesterna

Fish

Sharks

• megalodon
• Carcharhinus brevipinna
• Carcharhinus limbatus
• Carcharhinus leucas
• Carcharhinus plumbeus
• Carcharias taurus
• Carcharodon hastalis
• Galeocerdo aduncus
• Negaprion brevirostris
• Physogaleus contortus
• Rhizoprionodon terranovae
• Carcharhinus sp.
• Negaprion sp.

Rays

• Pristis sp.

Others

• Hemipristis serra
• Lepisosteus sp.

See also

• List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Florida
• Alajuela Formation
• Chagres Formation
• Goliad Formation
• Shoal River Formation
• Tuira Formation

References

Bibliography

• C. Pimiento. 2014. Carcharocles megalodon unpublished collections from Natural History Museums around the world
• Hulbert . Richard C., Jr. . 1988 . Calippus and Protohippus (Mammalia, Perissodactyla, Equidae) from the Miocene (Barstovian-early Hemphillian) of the Gulf Coastal Plain . Bulletin of the Florida State Museum, Biological Sciences . 32 . 3 . 221–340.
• Webb . S. David . MacFadden . Bruce J. . Baskin . Jon A. . May 1981 . Geology and paleontology of the Love Bone Bed from the Late Miocene of Florida . American Journal of Science . 281 . 5 . 513–544. 10.2475/ajs.281.5.513 . 1981AmJS..281..513W .
• Hirschfeld . Sue E. . Webb . S. David . 1968 . Plio-Pleistocene Megalonychid Sloths of North America . Bulletin of the Florida State Museum . 12 . 5 . 213–296.
• Webb . S. David . August 1966 . A Relict Species of the Burrowing Rodent, Mylagaulus, from the Pliocene of Florida . Journal of Mammalogy . 47 . 3 . 401–412 . 10.2307/1377681 . 1377681.
• Auffenberg . Walter . 1963 . Fossil testudinine turtles of Florida: genera Geochelone and Floridemys . Bulletin of the Florida State Museum, Biological Sciences . 7 . 2 . 53–97.
• Pirkle . E. C. . December 1956 . The Hawthorne and Alachua Formations of Alachua County, Florida . Quarterly Journal of the Florida Academy of Sciences . 19 . 4 . 197–240 . 24315224.
• White . T. E. . 1942 . The Lower Miocene mammal fauna of Florida . Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology . 92 . 1 . 1–49.
• Simpson . George Gaylord . 1930 . Tertiary Land Mammals of Florida . Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History . 59 . 3 . 1–64.

Notes and References

1. http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?action=displayStrata&geological_group=&formation=Alachua&group_formation_member=Alachua Alachua Formation