Leisey Shell Pit Specimens
In the early 1980s, amateur paleontologists discovered fossils at a commercial shell pit near Tampa. Public volunteers aided museum staff…
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Gracile Saber-toothed Cat
This object is on permanent display in the Florida Fossils: Evolution of Life and Land exhibit, located in the Pleistocene…
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Columbian Mammoth Jaw
Mammoths once roamed Florida but went extinct about 10,000 years ago, in part due to human hunting. This is the…
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Columbian Mammoth Exhibit
This object is on permanent display in the Denny Family Gallery, located in the main Museum lobby. Summary Columbian Mammoth…
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Cofrin’s Side-necked Turtle
This massive fossil is the largest freshwater turtle species found from the Paleocene (66–56 million years ago). Its unusually thick…
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Britt’s Shovel-tusker
Shovel-tuskers were among the largest proboscideans (related to elephants) to live in North America. Paleontologists once believed they used their…
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Blunt-snouted Dyrosaurid
This crocodile-like reptile had an unusually short snout, giving it an incredibly powerful bite well adapted to eating tougher prey…
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Blue Hole Reptiles
When these large reptiles roamed the island, the climate and environment was similar to today’s. They went extinct after humans…
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Ancient Horses
Museum scientists have discovered nearly 500 Parahippus jaws from the Thomas Farm Fossil site, allowing study of differences between juveniles…
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Ancient Alligator
Alligator olseni is one of the best known extinct crocodilians. These fossils are an intermediate species between primitive and more…
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