Most of the fossils excavated from the site are deposited within the collections of the Academy of Natural Sciences Philadelphia, including those unearthed by both the crews of anthropologist Henry Mercer (1895–96) and paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope. Daggers denote extinct species.
Common name | Species | Material | Notes | Image |
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American badger[7] | Taxidea taxus | | Fossils of badgers are uncommon, making up little of the carnivoran fossils compared to canids and felids. First referred to Taxidea americana, a synonym of T. taxus. | |
American black bear[8] | Ursus americanus | | Port Kennedy features the earliest known fossils of black bears, with Cope mentioning their presence in 1895. Black bears are medium-sized and omnivorous, though smaller than Arctodus pristinus. | |
| † Miracinonyx inexpectata[9] | | A relative of the cougar which convergently evolved several cheetah-like characteristics built for running. It too was carnivorous and medium-sized, around 70 kg (150 lbs).[10] Fossils are known from much of the United States, including very mountainous regions such as the Grand Canyon, implying they may have had high-altitude adaptations. | |
American river otter | Lutra canadensis | A single partial mandible and teeth. | The North American river otter is a medium-sized, semiaquatic carnivore endemic to eastern North America. The oldest fossils of American river otters come from Port Kennedy and Cumberland Cave.[11] Cope considered the Port Kennedy specimen distinct, dubbing it L. rhoadsii, but it has been lumped with L. canadensis.[12] | |
| †Canis armbrusteri | Teeth and postcranial remains. | A canid larger than the other Canis species, C. priscolotrans, known from only several large upper carnassials and postcranial remains. The fossils have been assigned to the species C. ambrusteri, though is slightly smaller than respective fossils known from Cumberland Cave, Maryland.[13] Genetic data studied in 2021 found that the Rancholabrean species C. dirus actually belongs to the genus Aenocyon in a different lineage. This study implies that this species may be from the Aenocyon lineage.[14] | |
Bobcat | Lynx rufus | | Mentioned by Cope (1895) as Lynx rufus, but was referred to a new species, L. calcaratus, in 1899. This species however is a synonym of L. rufus. | |
| †Mustela diluviana | | A species of weasel unique to Port Kennedy, M. diluviana was named by Cope in 1899. However, Hay (1936) referred it to Martes, though Daeschler, Spamer, & Paris (1993) kept it in Mustela. | |
| † Panthera onca augusta[15] [16] | Very few specimens, a rare species from the site. | A giant subspecies of the modern jaguar. The material was not mentioned until 1941 by George Gaylord Simpson. | |
Gray fox | Urocyon cinereoargenteus | | Port Kennedy has one of the first records of the gray fox, which were first described by Cope in 1895 as specimens of Vulpes cinereoargenteus. Gray foxes are small and omnivorous, often eating hares and mice.[17] [18] | |
Jaguarundi | Puma yagouaroundi | A single specimen. | The only fossil of a jaguarundi was initially assigned to Felis eyra, but likely represent an early form of the jaguarundi. | |
| † Arctodus pristinus | Many individuals, including several partial skulls and mandibles. | Arctodus was one of the largest known carnivorans in history and belonged to the Tremarctinae, a subfamily of bears endemic to the Americas. Studies suggest that much like many modern bears, Arctodus was an omnivore with no direct adaptations for either hypercarnivory or scavenging as previously believed. This species is smaller than the later Arctodus simus, at only 133 kg (293 lbs).[19] | |
| †Osmotherium spelaeum | Many specimens. | Osmotherium spelaeum is endemic to Port Kennedy and very common, bearing the most specimens of any mustelid. Cope (1899) described six species based on fragmentary material that are junior synonyms of O. speleaum. | |
| †Gulo schlosseri | | G. schlosseri is considered to be the ancestor of the extant Gulo gulo, with fossils exclusive to the Irvingtonian.[20] | |
| †Brachyprotoma obtusata | A partial mandible bearing three teeth. | Originally described as Mephitis obtustata by Cope (1899), it was a strange species of skunk that lived as far north as Yukon Territory, Canada.[21] The holotype was lost for many years, until being rediscovered in 1993 and figured. | |
| † Smilodon gracilis[22] [23] | Few fragmentary specimens, including a partial skull. | Smilodon is among the most well-known mammals from the Ice Age, but S. gracilis is far smaller than later species. S. gracilis was described on the basis of a canine from Port Kennedy by Cope in 1880 and was the ancestor to Rancholabrean species.[24] [25] Unlike the American lion, which is a true cat, Smilodon was a member of the Machairodontinae. Based on the microwear texture of the teeth it has been suggested that Smilodon fed on both harder material and soft flesh, preferring the later following injuries to the jaws and teeth. | |
| † Canis edwardii | | Cope named a new species of Canis, C. priscolatrans, in his 1899 monograph on the fossils from the site. He named it on the basis of two molars and a premolar, the cotypes.[26] Several paratypes were also assigned, including a partial canine and phalanx, these specimens of considerable size. The validity of C. priscolatrans was in question for decades, but the dimensions and anatomies of the teeth are not distinct from that of C. edwardii.[27] [28] Tedford et al (2009) declared in a nomen dubium, but tentatively considered it a synonym of C. edwardii based on their similarities. | | |
Common name | Species | Material | Notes | Image |
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†Cope's muskrat[36] | †Ondatra hiatidens | Five specimens. | A fossil species of muskrat, a semiaquatic type of herbivorous rodent endemic to Port Kennedy. It was originally named by Cope (1871), though he later named the junior synonyms of Arvicola hiatidens and Anaptogonia cloacina in 1871 and 1899 respectively.[37] Though it has been noted that species determination with fossils from the site is difficult due to the small pool of samples.[38] | |
†Diluvian water rat | †Neofiber diluvianus | | Cope named two species of microtines, Microtus diluvianus and Schistodelta sulcata, but only the former is valid. M. diluvianus was moved to Neofiber by Hibbard (1955). It was endemic to Port Kennedy, extant water rats being semiaquatic and nocturnal omnivores. | |
Groundhog | Marmota cf. monax | A partial humerus. | Not reported until it was described by Daeschler, Spamer, & Parris (1993). | |
Meadow jumping mouse | Zapus hudsonicus | A single partial mandible bearing one cheek tooth. | Cope (1899) mentioned a specimen of Zapus hudsonicus, but it has been lost. | |
North American porcupine[39] | Erethizon dorsatum | | [40] | |
North American beaver | Castor canadensis | A single mandible and three isolated teeth. | | |
†Squirrel | †Sciurus calycinus | Two partial lower jaws. | Sciurus calycinus was dubbed by Cope in 1871, but has been considered a synonym of the red squirrel, flying squirrel, or gray squirrel. There has not been an assessment, however. | |
Voles | Arvicolinae indet. | | Vole fossils too fragmentary to be assigned on the specific level are known have been unearthed. | | |
Only members of the family Coleopteridae have been reported from Port Kennedy, with chunks of clay containing fragments of beetles.[41] Several novel species of beetles from the site were described by George H. Horn in 1874 on the basis of eltyra and thoraxes, though they have all been lost.
Common name | Species | Material | Notes | Image |
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Eastern box turtle[43] | Terrepene carolina | Several specimens including carapaces and postcranial remains. | Fossils had been referred to T. eurypygia by Hay (1908), but were reassigned to T. carolina by Parris & Daeschler (1995). Many remains are assigned to cf. Terrapene sp., but likely belong to the same species. | |
Blanding's turtle | Emydoidea blandingii | A nearly complete plastron. | | |
Eastern racer | Coluber sp. | Vertebrae | The Coluber fossils from Port Kennedy have morphological similarities to Masticophis, but are more likely to be from the former due to their geography. | |
†Tortoise | †Geochelone (Hesperotestudo) percrassa | A carapace and plastron fragments. | Geochelone was a large, herbivorous genus of tortoises that lived in the Americas until their extinction, possibly brought upon by human arrival. The only fossils of G. percrassa come from the cave, though they were originally described as the species Clemmys percrassa by Cope in his 1899 monograph. | |
Wood turtle | Clemmys insculpta | A single fragmentary shell. | | | |