Ryan Shell

Ryan Shell

Aug 21, 2018

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Snakes

This snake, probably Coluber constrictor, was found partially articulated along side rodent bones.

Hi everyone! I've just returned from Cretaceous Field work in the Glendive area of Eastern Montana and I thought I'd share some information about the only group of reptiles we've found so far: the snakes. 4 caves in Taylorsville Metropark contained snake remains of various species. The Racer, Coluber constrictor, is the most common but we also suspect that Rate snakes Garter snakes and other small to medium forms may have used to the caves for cover or as a source of moisture- though it is also possible that many were drug into the caves by predators.

The ages of these snake remains is not at all clear, though we do know at least one species was present at this site at the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary and at least one other was present during the mid-Holocene. We also may have remains of pit vipers, probably Rattlesnake, which have never been reported from fossil sites in this region before.

If some of our mystery-snake remains do turn out to be from pit vipers, it will suggest that one or more species of them migrated into Ohio during the middle Holocene only to die off in the region for some unknown reason.

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About This Project

In a metropark in suburban Ohio, there are potentially hundreds of fossils right below our feet. We have mapped nearly 20 sites with fossils in these park, and suspect that they preserve a record of small and large animals from the late Pleistocene to today. At present, we have no idea how old these fossils are, but with your help, we will be able to use radiocarbon dating and pollen analysis to establish the age of these fossils and determine when they were deposited in the caves here.

Blast off!

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