135-13 New Pleistocene Megafauna and Other Vertebrate Fossils from Fort Pulaski National Monument (Chatham County, Georgia, USA)

Session: Science and Stewardship of U.S. National Park Service Paleontological Resources

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Fort Pulaski National Monument (FOPU), located on Cockspur Island in coastal Georgia, is best known for its military history as the site of the first use of rifled cannons in battle during the Civil War and over 200 years of cultural history. Nearby sites on the Georgia coast have yielded a variety of fossils of interest to professional paleontologists and amateurs alike, including fossil shark teeth, Pleistocene mammals, and various invertebrates; however, FOPU is not known for its fossil resources. Field inventories were conducted in 2023 and 2024 at the request of the park to better understand the fossil resources at the park. 

Previously known fossils from FOPU were limited and only documented from several cores drilled on Cockspur Island between 1954 and 2010. Stratigraphic units dating from Paleocene to Recent included fragments of mollusks and bryozoans as well as various microfossils including foraminifera, diatoms, phytoliths, sponge fragments, calcareous nanofossils, and dinoflagellates.  

 Field surveys as part of this research resulted in the addition of several new fossil taxa to the list of those previously reported from FOPU. Several terrestrial vertebrate fossils were recovered, including a portion of the tusk of an American mastodon (Mammut americanum), and Equus cheek teeth. Additional fossils tentatively identified include an osteoderm likely from the beautiful armadillo (Dasypus bellus), several Aves bones, an alligator scute, and a possible sloth vertebra. The most common vertebrate fossils recovered were chondrichthyan teeth from genera including Carcharhinus, Carcharodon, Galeocerdo, and Negaprion. Fossil fish remains include a Pogonius (drumfish) tooth plate, an opercular bone cf. Epinephelus sp., two sturgeon osteoderms cf. Acipenser sp., a partial hyperostotic fish vertebra, and cranial bones and fragments from Osteichthyes ind. All of the fossils recovered were float specimens; no in situ deposits were recovered, so none of the fossils can be associated with specific geologic units. It is possible that the fossils originated in the Satilla Formation, which includes late Pleistocene material and is found in cores from Cockspur Island, but they may also have originated from older units upstream on the Savannah River. More details on paleontological resources at FOPU as well as opportunities for increased park interpretation and management strategies related to fossils will be incorporated into a final report for the park. 

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025

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