Taphonomy of the microvertebrate fauna from the early Miocene Thomas Farm locality, Florida (U.S.A.)

Abstract

In a taphonomic analysis of the microvertebrate component of the early Miocene Thomas Farm locality, north-central Florida, fossils from four sedimentary layers are analyzed and compared to determine the taphonomic factors that were involved in the formation of the bone accumulations found in the various levels of the site. The lowest layers sampled were deposited under seasonal aquatic conditions and the primary agent of bone sorting was apparently moving water. The abundant microvertebrates in the uppermost sand layer resulted from a combination of both a relatively unmodified coprocoenosis and an attritional assemblage of microvertebrates that frequented cave habitats or lived in the immediate area. Deposition within the sinkhole occurred in a relatively short span of time and the fauna is comprised primarily of those vertebrates that were living in close proximity to the sinkhole.