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Miocene Epoch

23 to 5 million years ago

During the Miocene, Florida was home to an amazing variety of plants and animals. Many of the fossil sites our paleontologists have excavated were once a pond or lake that formed within a sinkhole, like the Moss Acres Site in nearby Marion County. By examining all of the fossils at a site together, researchers can understand the surrounding habitat and how these animals relied on each other within that ecosystem. Explore some of the terrestrial animals of Florida’s Miocene:

painting showing grazing animals and predators around a shallow creek. Deer and horse-like animals are foraging in the palm trees while dog-like predators eat a recent kill. Elephant-like animals can be seen in the background drinking from the creek and in the far left
Florida Museum painting by Michael Rothman

This painting was commissioned from artist Michael Rothman for our Florida Fossils exhibit. Learn about the Miocene animals represented:

Illustration showing underwater scene with each animal and some of the trees only a numbered shape
Painting key by Florida Museum staff
  1. Borophagus pugnator (pugnacious hyena-dog)
  2. Pediomeryx hemphillensis (Hemphill’s dear-like dromo)
  3. Indarctos oregonensis (short-faced bear)
  4. Amebelodon britti (Britt’s shovel-tusker)
  5. Dinohippus leardi (Leard’s horse)
  6. Hesperotestudo species (extinct tortoise)
  7. Enhydritherium terraenovae (extinct marine otter)
  8. Aphelops mutilus (giant hornless rhinoceros)
  9. Alligator species
  10. Egretta subfluvia (heron)
  11. Trachemys species (slider turtle)
  12. Thinobadistes wetzeli (Wetzel’s ground sloth)
  13. Acer negundo (box elder)
  14. Palmetto species (palmetto)
  15. Buteo species (hawk)
  16. Floridameryx species (musk deer)

Highlights

Florida was home to a number of large mammals during the Miocene, but at 22,000 pounds, this shovel-tusker was one of the largest! In fact, scientists think that Amebelodon britti is one of the largest land mammals to have ever lived in North America. This extinct elephant relative had large upper and lower tusks that may have served several functions. The lower tusks were somewhat flattened grew to about 4 feet long while the upper tusks were longer at about 4.5 feet long. Read more about this shovel-tusker

Britt’s shovel-tusker, Amebelodon britti, specimen UF 70000. Florida Museum vertebrate paleontology photo
Britt’s shovel-tusker, Amebelodon britti, specimen UF 69995. Florida Museum vertebrate paleontology photo
Britt’s shovel-tusker, Amebelodon britti, specimen UF 69994. Florida Museum vertebrate paleontology photo

You might have to look closer at this painting to spot the otters but they’re worth it. Enhydritherium terraenovae is an extinct species of otter that was capable of thriving in both freshwater and coastal marine habitats. We have several fossil specimens from sites here in Florida but other fossils have been found in California, suggesting it lived in other locations in North America. Read more about this extinct otter

Florida Museum painting by Michael Rothman
Bone Valley otter, Enhydritherium terraenovae, specimen UF 100000. Florida Museum vertebrate paleontology photo

You might notice a number of horses in the Florida Fossils exhibit. Here we can see Dinohippus leardi, just one of many species of horse that lived in our state. In fact, horses evolved in North America over 55 million years ago. Learn more about horse evolution in North America

Explore more fossils

Pugnacious hyena-dog, Borophagus pugnator, specimen UF 20047. Florida Museum vertebrate paleontology photo
Hemphill’s dromo, Pediomeryx hemphillensis, specimen UF 69945. Florida Museum vertebrate paleontology photo
Early giant bear, Indarctos oregonensis, specimen UF 13788. Florida Museum vertebrate paleontology photo
Giant hornless rhinoceros, Aphelops mutilus, specimen UF 103713. Florida Museum vertebrate paleontology photo
Mefferd’s alligator, Alligator mefferdi, specimen UF 69929. Florida Museum vertebrate paleontology photo
Wetzel’s ground sloth, Thinobadistes wetzeli, specimen UF 201332. Florida Museum vertebrate paleontology photo
Hesperotestudo alleni, specimen UF 9370. Florida Museum vertebrate paleontology photo

Note: Because our scientific knowledge is always expanding, some information like species names may have changed since the Florida Fossils exhibit was opened in 2004. The information on this page has been updated and may differ from the exhibit panel.

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