The Louis C. and Jane Gapenski Endowment, via the Department of Natural History Fall 2024 Travel Award, allowed me to attend and present Florida Museum of Natural History (FLMNH) Vertebrate Paleontology (VP) research and methods at the 84th Annual Conference for the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP; Narducci et al., 2024).
This was my first oral presentation at SVP, as I have presented posters since 2015, and the feedback was much more positive than expected. I was even invited to provide the same presentation at an upcoming international conference. I was also a co-author on two poster presentations, one of which I presented on behalf of the first author (Hulbert et al., 2024). The other poster was presented in the Colbert Student poster prize session by previous University of Florida undergraduate student, Samantha Zbinden, who is now a graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin (Zbinden et al., 2024). Sam ended up winning the Colbert Student Poster Prize session which is a first for FLMNH VP!
Background to FLMNH VP research presented:
The Montbrook Fossil Site has been shared with the museum by private landowners and excavated with the help of over 1,300 volunteers for the past 9 years. These excavations have produced significant fossil discoveries including the world’s largest population of alligator snapping turtles, new species, numerous first occurrence records, and have provided an invaluable teaching tool for UF students, external institutions, and the broader community.
The most common mammal recovered from the site is the gomphothere (four-tusked elephant-relative), Rhynchotherium edense, which is only known from a locality in California. Most of the 38 gomphothere individuals recovered from Montbrook are juveniles or subadults and are represented by isolated skeletal elements due to a fluvial depositional environment. However, in April 2022 we began uncovering a very large partially articulated adult male skeleton. This individual must have been rapidly buried in order to preserve in articulation and is estimated to have stood at least 9 feet tall at the shoulder based on measurement of the articulated arm (Follow the link for a 3D model – https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/gomphothere-arm-uf-vp-500000-d86a90a0461843caa9175b891db3fa94).
The progress of the skeleton’s year-long excavation was documented with photogrammetry providing taphonomic information otherwise lost. Using the 3D models as a map, individual elements were tracked after removal. Collection of the skeleton required numerous plaster jackets, including one of extraordinary size, exceeding 2,600 lbs, making it the largest jacket successfully removed from unconsolidated sediments in Florida and perhaps worldwide.
Our novel technique of using a telephone cable attached to an excavator bucket to detach the base of each jacket, much like a wire cheese slicer; was a method devised by one of our volunteers. Following preparation, the complete skeleton will be light scanned, resulting in the first virtual 3D model of a gomphothere.
References:
R.E. Narducci, R.C. Hulbert, A. Woodruff, M. Riegler, S.P. Zbinden, C. Lockner, J.R. Bourque, A. Poyer, Z. Randall, J.I. Bloch. 2024. Exceptionally large jackets required: Collection of an adult gomphothere skeleton from a sandy bone bed in north-central Florida. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 84th Annual Meeting Program Guide.
R.C. Hulbert, J. Pirlo, R.E. Narducci, A. Woodruff, J.R. Bourque, C. Lockner, M. Riegler, A.M. Jukar, J.I. Bloch. 2024. Paleoecology and taphonomy of megaherbivores (Mammalia: Proboscidea and Rhinocerotidae) from Stratum 3 of the late Hemphillian Montbrook Local Fauna, Florida. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 84th Annual Meeting Program Guide.
S.P. Zbinden, M. Riegler, R.E. Narducci, G.J. Naylor, J.I. Bloch. 2024. First fossil shark rostral node described from Florida: Assessment of taxonomic placement based on internal anatomy. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 84th Annual Meeting Program Guide.
Rachel Narducci is the Collections Manager of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Florida Museum of Natural History and a PhD candidate in Zoology at the University of Florida.
The CMSS & Postdoc 2024 Fall Travel Awards are funded with the support of the FLMNH Directors Office and the Department of Natural History.