Gray Fossil Site

The Gray Fossil Site is a Late Miocene-epoch assemblage of fossils located near the unincorporated town of Gray in Washington County, Northeast Tennessee, and dates back 4.5 to 7 million years BCE). The Gray Fossil Site was discovered by geologists in May 2000. They were investigating unusual clay deposits turned up during the course of a Tennessee Department of Transportation highway project to widen State Route 75 south of its intersection with Interstate 26.

State Route 75 was realigned to protect the find by order of Tennessee Governor Don Sundquist, [ "Book on Gray Fossil Site: A story millions of years in the making." Sam Watson. January 9, 2005. Johnson City Press. http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Detail.php?Cat=TOPSTORIES&ID=42636] and a museum and research center at the dig operated by East Tennessee State University opened in August 2007.

The current dig at the Gray Fossil Site was determined to have been the location of a semi-circular sinkhole that once harbored a pond environment over a long period of time and is now yielding the remains of the ancient plants and animals that lived, watered, and died within the then watery sinkhole. Among the many vertebrate fossils found at the Gray Fossil Site are the those of frogs, turtles and tapirs and recovered fossil records represent finds from approximately one percent of the total area of the Gray Fossil Site that has been explored --- and future fossil recovery from the entire site is projected to continue on for one hundred years.

The Gray Fossil Site is also the world's largest tapir fossil find and is yielding new and rare discoveries such as the most complete skeleton of "Teleoceras" (an ancient rhinoceros) yet found in eastern North America, the tooth of a new species of red panda that marks only the second record of this animal in North America (the first red panda fossils found in North America come from the state of Washington), and a newly identified species of an ancient plant eating badger.

Fossil fauna

Fish

Osteichthyes

Amphibians

* Frogs (several taxa)
* Salamanders (several taxa)

Reptiles

* Alligators have recentlyFact|date=February 2007 been found at the fossil site, and they are thought to have come from a modern genusFact|date=February 2007.
* Snakes (several taxa)
* Turtles (four taxa)

Mammals

* Shrews (several taxa)
* Small weasel
* "Arctomeles dimolodontus" (prehistoric badger) NEW SPECIES
* "Pristinailurus bristoli" (prehistoric Red panda) NEW SPECIES
* Short-faced bears of the genus "Plionarctos" are another of the mammals found at the site.
* Another taxon found at the site was a "Machairodus" sabertooth cat, more closely related to "Homotherium" than to "Smilodon".
* Shovel Tusked Elephants, or gomphotheres, are also present at the site. At the time it is unknown which species they belong to, but it is most likely that they belong to either one of the genera "Cuvieronius" or "Gomphotherium".
* "Teleoceras" This is a Rhino. They resemble a modern day hippo. They are found in colossal numbers in Ashfall Fossil Beds. The most complete specimen of this creature in the Eastern US was found in this site. The only part missing is a piece of the back toe.
* Prehistoric camel
* "Tapirus polkensis" (prehistoric tapir)
* Peccary (undeterminedVerify source|date=May 2007 taxon)
* Rodents (several taxa)

ee also

*Ashfall Fossil Beds
*Pipe Creek Sinkhole
* List of fossil sites "(with link directory)"

References

External links

* [http://www.etsu.edu/grayfossilsite/ East Tennessee State University: Gray Fossil Site]
* [http://www.state.tn.us/labor-wfd/tvshows/tdot/TDOTfossils.wmv Video: Excavation Work at Gray Fossil Site] (Requires Windows Media Player or equivalent)
* [http://www.TheGrayFossilSite.com/ Fulkerson Farm Institute: TheGrayFossilSite.com]
* [http://www.state.tn.us/environment/tdg/gray/ Tennessee Division of Geology: Welcome to the Gray Site]
* [http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/Chief_Engineer/assistant_engineer_operations/materials/geotech/GrayFossilSite.htm Tennessee Department of Transportation: Miocene Fossils Discovered on Tennessee DOT Road Project]
* [http://eps.utk.edu/faculty/clark/research4.html G. Michael Clark: Gray, Tennessee, Fossil Site]
* [http://www.state.tn.us/environment/tn_consv/archive/fossil.htm Nick Fielder and Harry Moore: Five-Million-Year-Old Fossil Site Discovered in Washington County]
* [http://paleodb.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?action=displayCollectionDetails&collection_no=26574 The Paleobiology Database: Gray Fossil Site Taxonomic List]
* [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v431/n7008/fig_tab/nature02819_T1.html Vertebrate and pollen taxa from the Gray Fossil Site]
* [http://members.aol.com/Graysite1 Welcome to the Gray Fossil Site]
* [http://www.geocities.com/graysitefriends/ Friends of Gray Fossil Site]
* [http://www.pubs.asce.org/WWWdisplay.cgi?0528009 Abstract: The Gray Fossil Site: A Spectacular Example in Tennessee of Ancient Regolith Occurrences in Carbonate Terranes, Valley and Ridge Subpovince, South Appalachians U.S.A.]
* [http://www.tricities.com/tristate/tri/news/education.apx.-content-articles-TRI-2007-08-28-0031.html ETSU news release: Gray fossil site set to open soon]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaK1p4WuMUY YouTube: Tour of Gray Fossil Site and Museum]
* [http://www.vaughnmelton.com Vaughn & Melton - Visitor Center Architects]