The Alachua Formation is a

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

geologic formation A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics ( lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock exp ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. The

claystone Mudrocks are a class of fine-grained siliciclastic sedimentary rocks. The varying types of mudrocks include siltstone, claystone, mudstone and shale. Most of the particles of which the stone is composed are less than and are too small to ...

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

s and

phosphorite Phosphorite, phosphate rock or rock phosphate is a non-detrital sedimentary rock that contains high amounts of phosphate minerals. The phosphate content of phosphorite (or grade of phosphate rock) varies greatly, from 4% to 20% phosphorus pentoxi ...

s of the formation preserve many

fossils A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

reptiles Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...

and

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

, among others

megalodon ''Otodus megalodon'' ( ; meaning "big tooth"), Common name, commonly known as megalodon, is an extinction, extinct species of giant mackerel shark that lived approximately 23 to 3.6 million years ago (Mya), from the Early Miocene to the Earl ...

Fossil content

The formation has provided the following fossils.Alachua Formation
at

Fossilworks Fossilworks was a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database, a large relational database assembled by hundreds of paleontologists from around the world. History Fossilworks was cr ...

.org

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 ''Epicyon'' ("more than a dog") is a large, extinct, Canidae, canid genus of the subfamily Borophaginae ("bone-crushing dogs"), native to North America. ''Epicyon'' existed for about from the early Clarendonian age of the Late Miocene to the lat ...

'' * '' E. saevus'' * ''

Eucyon davisi ''Eucyon'' (Greek: : good, true; : dog) is an extinct genus of medium omnivorous coyote-like canid that first appeared in the Western United States during the late Middle Miocene 10 million years ago. It was the size of a jackal and weighed a ...

'' * '' 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 ''Parahippus leonensis'' is an extinct proto-horse of the family Equidae that was endemic to North America during the Miocene from 23.03 to 16.3 million years ago, living for approximately . ''Parahippus leonensis'' was named for Leon or more sp ...

'' * '' 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 ''Pseudemys'' is a genus of large, herbivorous, freshwater turtles of the eastern United States and adjacent northeast Mexico. They are often referred to as cooters, which stems from ''kuta'', the word for turtle in the Bambara and Malinké lang ...

'' * '' 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 The boa constrictor (scientific name also ''Boa constrictor''), also known as the common boa, is a species of large, non-venomous, heavy-bodied snake that is frequently kept and bred in captivity. The boa constrictor is a member of the Family (b ...

'' * '' 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 * '' Carcharhinus brevipinna'' * '' Carcharhinus limbatus'' * ''

Carcharhinus leucas The bull shark (''Carcharhinus leucas''), also known as the Zambezi shark (informally zambi) in Africa and Lake Nicaragua shark in Nicaragua, is a species of requiem shark commonly found worldwide in warm, shallow waters along coasts and in riv ...

'' * '' Carcharhinus plumbeus'' * '' Carcharias taurus'' * ''

Cosmopolitodus hastalis ''Cosmopolitodus'' is an extinct genus of Lamnidae, mackerel shark that lived between thirty and one million years ago during the late Oligocene to the Early Pleistocene Epoch, epochs. Its type species is ''Cosmopolitodus hastalis'', the broad- ...

'' * '' Galeocerdo aduncus'' * ''

Negaprion brevirostris The lemon shark (''Negaprion brevirostris'') is a species of shark from the family Requiem shark, Carcharhinidae, known for its yellowish skin, which inspires its common name. It is classified as a Vulnerable species by the International Union for ...

'' *

Otodus megalodon ''Otodus megalodon'' ( ; meaning "big tooth"), Common name, commonly known as megalodon, is an extinction, extinct species of giant mackerel shark that lived approximately 23 to 3.6 million years ago (Mya), from the Early Miocene to the Earl ...

* '' Physogaleus contortus'' * '' Rhizoprionodon terraenovae'' * '' Carcharhinus sp.'' * '' Negaprion sp.'' ;Rays * '' Pristis sp.'' ;Others * '' Hemipristis serra'' * '' Lepisosteus sp.''

References

Bibliography

* C. Pimiento. 2014. ''Carcharocles megalodon'' unpublished collections from Natural History Museums around the world * * * * * * * * {{Cite journal , last=Simpson , first=George Gaylord , year=1930 , title=Tertiary Land Mammals of Florida , url=https://digitallibrary.amnh.org/items/25eeafe2-6ba5-4151-8b3f-640a4c8c9eff , journal=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History , volume=59 , issue=3 , pages=1–64 Geologic formations of Florida Miocene Series of North America Neogene Florida Barstovian Clarendonian Hemingfordian Hemphillian Sandstone formations of the United States Phosphorite formations Shallow marine deposits Paleontology in Florida Claystone formations