Paleofaunal and Environmental Research on Miocene Fossil Sites TVOR SE and TVOR S on Fort Polk, Louisiana, with Continued Survey, Collection, Processing, and Documentation of other Miocene Localities

摘要

Focus of paleontological research on the Miocene of Fort Polk is currently the marine locality TVOR SE, which also has yielded large and small terrestrial Miocene vertebrates, and a single Cretaceous dinosaur tooth, reworked from older beds outside the local area. Other sites have continued to be productive. The two beautifully preserved tortoises from DISC have been identified as Hesperotudo. The first venomous snake from the Fort Polk Miocene is from TVOR. Sample sizes from screening have risen to levels which permit examination of variation. Copernys from Stonehenge form a single size cluster and the TVOR SE Copemys fall well within the range, so only one species can be recognized. New emphases of this phase of research has included more work on lower vertebrates, reevaluation of paleomagnetic dating with study of additional samples, production of short videos on the ancient animals, and a revision of the educational booklet for youngsters.