This fall we excavated at Montbrook from November 7 to December 9. One hundred ten volunteers worked a total of 1,426 person-hours in 24 days! Museum staff and UF paleontology students dug for an additional 715 hours. This despite unusually hot weather at the start of the season and cold, rainy days towards the end.

Our top volunteers, who each worked 20 or more hours were: David Cox, John Freund, Susan Harris, John Helling, Vickie Jacobs, Larry Jensen, Sharon Lord, Ken and Tammy Marks, Melanie Masdea, Donna McCullough, Garrett and Steven Munger, Judy Peterson, Deborah Poulalion, Arnold Sacco, Carol and Bill Sewell, Dean Warner and Michele Wilbanks. Like last spring, Susan Harris narrowly surpassed Carol and Bill Sewell to claim top honors for most hours worked (71.5). While many of those names are holdovers from prior seasons, it is also great to be able to add some new names to the top volunteers list. Thank you all so much for your dedication to the fossil site and to the Hodge family for allowing us continued access to the site and working to solve our drainage problems!

Some highlights from this season:

  • Sue Tennant found a nearly complete lower jaw of the lynx-like cat “Felis” rexroadensis. It is more complete than any previously known specimen of this species from Florida. Previously the species was known from Montbrook by just a single isolated tooth and a tibia.
    Sue Tennant’s lynx jaw in-situ. Florida Museum photo by Larry Jensen.
    Sue Tennant’s lynx jaw in-situ.
    Sue Tennant with her discovery of the lynx jaw! Florida Museum photo by Jeanette Pirlo.
    Lynx jaw in prep by Jason Bourque. Florida Museum photo by Jonathan Bloch.
    Lynx jaw in prep by Jason Bourque. Florida Museum photo by Jonathan Bloch.
    Lynx jaw in prep by Jason Bourque. Florida Museum photo by Jonathan Bloch.
  • Michele Wilbanks discovered a partial skull of the peccary Protherohyus brachydontus. This is the second skull of this species found at Montbrook, and just the third known from Florida. Its relative completeness won’t be known until it is prepared out of its plaster jacket, but most of the teeth are present.
    Peccary skull in-situ.
    Teeth from peccary skull.
    Michele Wilbanks with her peccary discovery. Florida Museum photo by Jonathan Bloch.
    Michele Wilbanks peccary skull jacket.
    Flipping the peccary skull jacket. Florida Museum photo by Rachel Narducci.
    The crew moving out Michele Wilbanks peccary skull jacket. Florida Museum photo by Rachel Narducci.
    The crew moving out Michele Wilbanks peccary skull jacket. Florida Museum photo by Rachel Narducci.
    The crew moving out Michele Wilbanks peccary skull jacket. Florida Museum photo by Rachel Narducci.
  • On the very last scheduled digging day, Jaiden and Heather Torres collected a nearly complete bird leg bone that our avian paleontologist David Steadman has identified as the first fossil from an ibis to be found at Montbrook, and a possible new species.
    Jaiden Torres holding his discovery of an Ibis tarsometatarsus. Florida Museum photo by Deborah Poulalion.
    Jaiden Torres holding his discovery of an Ibis tarsometatarsus. Florida Museum photo by Jonathan Bloch.
    Jaiden Torres holding his discovery of an Ibis tarsometatarsus. Florida Museum photo by Jonathan Bloch.
    Jonathan Bloch identifying the ibis tarsometatarsus with Jaiden Torres. Florida Museum photo by Deborah Poulalion.
    Jonathan Bloch identifying the ibis tarsometatarsus with Jaiden Torres. Florida Museum photo by Cindy Lockner.
    The prepared ibis tarsometatarsus. Florida Museum photo by Jonathan Bloch.
    The prepared ibis tarsometatarsus. Florida Museum photo by Jonathan Bloch.
  • Another concentration of proboscidean fossils were collected within a relatively small area about 5 meters long and 4 meters wide. These included two skulls, one with both tusks and the other with one of its tusks, and three sets of paired right and left lower jaws. All three of the mandibles appear to be relatively complete and lack much of the crushing that has distorted many of the previously collected specimens. One of the skulls and two of the mandibles are from the gomphothere family of proboscideans; the identity of the others awaits preparation to reveal their teeth. All five specimens were initially discovered by volunteers. Congratulations go out to Susan Harris, Steven Munger, Larry Jenson, Crystal Diaz and Ryan Thompson for finding these great specimens.
    Gomph tooth in-situ. Florida Museum photo by Larry Jensen.
    Garrett Munger working around the concentration of proboscidean fossils. Florida Museum photo by Cindy Lockner.
    The crew moving a large proboscidean jacket out of the site.
    The crew moving a large proboscidean jacket out of the site.
    The crew moving a large proboscidean jacket out of the site.
    Crystal Diaz and Ryan Thompson’s discovery of a proboscidean jaw. Florida Museum photo by Jonathan Bloch.
    MacKenzie Smith, Aaron Woodruff, and Richard Hulbert working around the concentration of proboscidean fossils. Florida Museum photo by Cindy Lockner.
    Gomphothere skull with both tusks on a ‘pedestal’ before jacketing. Florida Museum photo by Rachel Narducci.
  • A total of 40 plaster jackets were made and successfully collected this season. They ranged in size from that of a coffee cup for a skull of the turtle Trachemys to a six-foot-long monster containing a proboscidean skull that had to be carried out of the site by one of the excavators.
    Attempting to get a large plaster jacket onto the back hoe.
    Removing a large plaster jacket the easy way.