Gray Fossil Site

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East Tennesse State University and General Shale Brick Natural History Museum and Visitor Center at the Gray Fossil Site in northeast Tennessee.

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,^[1] 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 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.

1 Fossil fauna
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Fossil fauna

[edit] Fish

undetermined taxon or taxa

[edit] Amphibians

Frogs (several taxa)
Salamanders (several taxa)

[edit] Reptiles

Alligators have recently^{[citation needed]} been found at the fossil site, and they are thought to have come from a modern genus^{[citation needed]}.
Snakes (several taxa)
Turtles (four taxa)

[edit] 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 Elephant, 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 (undetermined^{[verification needed]} taxon)
Rodents (several taxa)

[edit] See also

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

[edit] References

^ "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