Hello everyone, my name is Kysa Marske! I am a second year Wildlife Ecology and Conservation major at the University of Florida, and I work as an undergraduate researcher in the Florida Museum Vertebrate Paleontology under the guidance of Dr. Advait Jukar.
This January, through the support of the Louis C. and Jane Gapenski Endowment and the 1923 Fund, I was able to travel to the National Museum of Kenya in Nairobi to present my research, “Amebelodon or not, that is the question: A reevaluation of amebelodontid specimens from the Miocene of Florida” at the International Conference on Mammoths and Their Relatives. This research focuses on reassessing and defining the diversity of Early Hemphilian (~9-7.5 Ma) shovel-tusked gomphotheres in several localities in Florida, including Mixson’s Bone Bed, Tyner Farm, and McGehee Farm. We concluded that specimens from these localities belong to the recently named species Amebelodon floridanus, the type locality of which is Mixson’s Bone Bed.
The project also expanded to identifying the true identity of gomphotheres present in Love Bone Bed in Florida during the same time period. These specimens were originally identified as belonging to Serbelodon barbourensis, which we believed to be an error. Based on morphological characteristics of gnathodental remains, we concluded that these specimens belong to the genus Gomphotherium. The specific epithet is not yet identified as Gomphotherium species are famously difficult to decipher due to their relatively simple dental morphology lacking definitive apomorphies.
Finally, this project gave brief consideration to the identity of a ~14-12.8 Ma partial third molar from the Kingsford Mine locality. Our preliminary observation is that this specimen strongly resembles the dental morphology of the ~7-6 Ma Moss Acres Race Track specimens belonging to a giant amebelodontid, Konobelodon britti. However, the considerable age gap between these specimens requires further consideration, especially in the context of the confusion between the true relationship of genera such as Konobelodon, Torynobelodon, and Tetralophodon.
Moving forward, I am excited to begin writing a research paper on our findings in Love Bone Bed, as well as contributing to publications further defining Amebelodon floridanus using this research and additional cranial data. In addition, I plan on contributing to a project further defining the relationships of giant amebelodontids in North America.
Following the conference, I was fortunate enough to travel to Amboseli National Park in southern Kenya to see elephants in the wild! This has been a dream of mine since I was a child, and I was so glad to see that the herds at Amboseli are thriving and growing. I also had the opportunity to attend a presentation by the Amboseli Trust for Elephants, who have been studying the herds at Amboseli since 1972. As a future career goal, I hope to contribute to wild elephant conservation and research, and it was inspiring to see that there are already people out there dedicating their careers conserving these amazing animals. I am overjoyed that I got the chance to introduce myself to this community of scientists.
Traveling to the birthplace of proboscideans to present at such a prestigious conference was an honor, especially as an undergraduate. I had the opportunity to meet so many experts in the field of proboscidean paleontology, as well as many in modern elephant ecology. I learned so much about the world of paleontology and the true diversity of prehistoric proboscideans. The conference was able to help me further understand where my research fits into the phylogeny and what areas future research can expand into. In addition, I got to see elephants in the wild, which was extremely inspiring as a conservation major. Thank you so much for contributing to the expansion and sharing of my research, and I look forward to continuing my work at the Florida Museum of Natural History!
Kysa Marske is an undergraduate student at UF pursuing a degree in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, advised by Dr. Advait M. Jukar, Assistant Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Florida Museum of Natural History.
The 2026 Spring Student Travel Awards are supported by the FLMNH Department of Natural History, including funds from the Louis C. and Jane Gapenski Endowed Fellowship. If you would like to help support this fund for future student awards, please go to: