B. A. Vess Farm (Pleistocene of the United States)

Where: Anderson County, Tennessee (36.2° N, 84.1° W: paleocoordinates 36.2° N, 83.9° W)

• coordinate based on nearby landmark

• small collection-level geographic resolution

When: Pleistocene (2.6 - 0.0 Ma)

• group of beds-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: fissure fill

• "a vertical series of fissures"
• fissures "penetrating the limestone rocks"

Size class: macrofossils

Collected in 1937

• cave discovered after the location was specified to Vess by "an elderly Indian"

•material identified by unnamed researchers at the USNM and AMNH, but apparently not reposited anywhere

Primary reference: A. R. Cahn. 1939. Pleistocene fossils from a cave in Anderson County, Tennessee. Journal of Mammalogy 20(2):248-250 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy]more details

Purpose of describing collection: general faunal/floral analysis

PaleoDB collection 74246: authorized by John Alroy, entered by John Alroy on 31.07.2007

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Show authors, comments, and common names
Amphibia
 Salientia -
Anura indet.
Anura indet. frog
"either Rana or Bufo"
Reptilia
 Squamata - Crotalidae
Crotalus sp.
Crotalus sp. Linnaeus 1758 rattlesnake
 Testudines -
Testudines indet.
Testudines indet. Batsch 1788 turtle
"turtle"
Mammalia
 Proboscidea - Mammutidae
Mammut americanum
Mammut americanum Kerr 1792 American mastodon
 Chiroptera - Vespertilionidae
Eptesicus fuscus
Eptesicus fuscus Beauvois 1796 big brown bat
 Rodentia - Zapodidae
Zapodidae indet.
Zapodidae indet. Coues 1875 jumping mouse
"Zapus or Napaeozapus"
 Rodentia - Cricetidae
Neotoma sp., Neotoma floridana, Microtus sp., Ondatra zibethicus
Neotoma sp. Say and Ord 1825 pack rat
Neotoma floridana Ord 1818 eastern woodrat
Microtus sp. Schrank 1798 vole
Ondatra zibethicus Linnaeus 1766 muskrat
"Ondatra zibethica"
 Rodentia - Castoridae
Castor canadensis
Castor canadensis Kuhl 1820 American beaver
 Rodentia - Erethizontidae
Erethizon dorsatum
Erethizon dorsatum Linnaeus 1758 North American porcupine
 Lagomorpha - Leporidae
Sylvilagus floridanus
Sylvilagus floridanus Allen 1890 eastern cottontail
 Carnivora - Ursidae
"Euarctos americanus" = Ursus americanus
"Euarctos americanus" = Ursus americanus Pallas 1780 black bear
"Eurarctos americanus"
 Carnivora - Mustelidae
"Lutra canadensis" = Lontra canadensis
"Lutra canadensis" = Lontra canadensis Schreber 1776 North American river otter
 Carnivora - Procyonidae
Procyon lotor
Procyon lotor Linnaeus 1758 raccoon
 Carnivora - Mephitidae
Mephitis mephitis
Mephitis mephitis Schreber 1776 striped skunk
 Artiodactyla - Cervidae
Odocoileus virginianus
Odocoileus virginianus Zimmermann 1780 white-tailed deer
 Artiodactyla - Tayassuidae
"Mylohyus exortivus" = Mylohyus fossilis
"Mylohyus exortivus" = Mylohyus fossilis Leidy 1860 peccary
 Perissodactyla - Equidae
Equus complicatus
Equus complicatus Leidy 1858 horse
 Perissodactyla - Tapiridae
Tapirus sp., "Tapirus haysii" = Tapirus (Helicotapirus) haysii
Tapirus sp. Brisson 1762 tapir
"Tapirus haysii" = Tapirus (Helicotapirus) haysii Leidy 1860 tapir
"Tapirus haysi"
 Didelphimorphia - Didelphidae
Didelphis virginiana
Didelphis virginiana Kerr 1792 Virginia opossum