Systematic Sampling of the Gray Fossil Site Vertebrates: A Unique Mio-Pliocene Fauna from the Southern Appalachians

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Systematic Sampling of the Gray Fossil Site Vertebrates: A Unique Mio-Pliocene Fauna from the Southern AppalachiansSteven C. Wallace and Blaine Schubert, East Tennesse State UniversityNorth America experienced dramatic environmental and biotic shifts during the late Miocene. However, the fossil record of these changes comes almost exclusively from Florida - west to the Gulf Coast - then north through the Great Plains - and eventually to the Northwest, leaving most of eastern North America unrepresented. The late Miocene-early Pliocene Gray Fossil Site (GFS) of eastern Tennessee provides a unique and significant opportunity to further our understanding of the evolution of the North American biota (specifically the southern Appalachians) during this important period. Scientific questions to be addressed include: was there a connection between the forested ecosystems of eastern Asia and those of eastern North America (as indicated by the Asian components of the GFS biota), until at least the late Miocene? If so, how long was this connection present, and what were the dynamics of its breakup? Did the Appalachians act as a forested refugium while the remainder of North America underwent large-scale ecological transition? Moreover, because of its isolation, will the GFS preserve species of mammals which are disjunct from their closest Eurasian relatives (as observed in North American and Asian plant communities)? Lastly, what taphonomic processes resulted in such a dramatic accumulation of fossils in the first place? This project will undertake systematic excavations of the GFS which will undoubtedly significantly augment the fossil content, species diversity and abundance. The new on site Natural History Museum, supported both by state and local governments is a superb facility for growing the fossil collections, assuring their professional preparation, study and publication. There has been and will continue to be extensive student training and education on material collected at the Gray Fossil Site.