SGER: Salvaging a Unique Early Eocene Biota from the Gulf Coastal Plain of Mississippi

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The early Eocene biota of Meridian, Mississippi, includes a diverse biota from plants, molluscs, fishes, snakes, birds, and mammals that were deposited in estuarine channels and swamps. All sites yielding this unique early Eocene biota occur on privately-owned lland that is scheduled for imminent development. This proposal will salvage as much of the ancient biota of this region and associated contextual data as is possible prior to its permanent loss to science because of commercial development. Two weeks of field work on site will concentrate on screen-washing large volumes of fossiliferous sediment, in order to sample the vertebrates of the Tuscahoma and Bashi formations. Further sorting in the laboratory will identify useful fossil specimens and fragments.