Florida Snips & Snaps
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February 28, 2010 Historical Society
Florida Fossil History
University of Florida Professor Bruce MacFadden (below, left) and Hilliard resident and fossil hunter Trueman Hill (right) spoke at the historic Callahan Depot on at 7 PM on Thursday, February 25, 2010 Invited by the West Nassau Historical Society, the two guests helped the nonprofit group’s mission: foster an interest of local history throughout our communities.
MacFadden spoke informally about life in in Florida thousaands of years before statehood. Trueman Hill of Hilliard showed dozens of bones, teeth and fossils he has collected in Northwestern Nassau County. Graduating from Cornell University in 1971, he's received numerous awards and accolades during his long career as a teacher of paleontology and geological sciences.
He has been faculty curator and administrator at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville since 1977. He has also served in several capacities in the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology and is currently program director at the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Virginia.
MacFadden's exhibits included fossilized skulls of the saber tooth tiger and teeth belonging to both the mammoth and the mastodon, just to name three. There were many others and a number of Society members were able to take a closer look. (I didn’t because I was afraid of dropping them).
As he pointed out, you may determine an animal’s primary diet from its teeth. The mastodon, for example, was a grazer – an animal which eats grass like a cow; while the mammoth was a browser – an animal whose diet primarily consists of leaves and twigs. Both were relatives of the present day elephant.
You can find much information on the Internet by searching with Google or other search engines, but one place to check is a pamphlet which describes the fossil animals of Florida and explains why there were no dinosaurs here.
Trueman Hill, who resides in Hilliard, has been searching for fossils, sea and mammal specimens for many years. He and his son have been looking over the past 14 years. They often go snorkeling in otherwise inaccessible areas to find items for his collection. His business specializes in exotic driftwood, fossil wood, and landscape and aquarium wood items. Many of his items come from West Nassau County – west of US Hwy 1.
The West Nassau Historical Society concluded the general meeting with a brief discussion on their upcoming Railroad Days Festival. There will be a special meeting to discuss it during a special meeting this Thursday March 4th at the depot at 6pm. All are invited.
MacFadden spoke informally about life in in Florida thousaands of years before statehood. Trueman Hill of Hilliard showed dozens of bones, teeth and fossils he has collected in Northwestern Nassau County. Graduating from Cornell University in 1971, he's received numerous awards and accolades during his long career as a teacher of paleontology and geological sciences. He has been faculty curator and administrator at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville since 1977. He has also served in several capacities in the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology and is currently program director at the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Virginia. MacFadden's exhibits included fossilized skulls of the saber tooth tiger and teeth belonging to both the mammoth and the mastodon, just to name three. There were many others and a number of Society members were able to take a closer look. (I didn’t because I was afraid of dropping them).
As he pointed out, you may determine an animal’s primary diet from its teeth. The mastodon, for example, was a grazer – an animal which eats grass like a cow; while the mammoth was a browser – an animal whose diet primarily consists of leaves and twigs. Both were relatives of the present day elephant.You can find much information on the Internet by searching with Google or other search engines, but one place to check is a pamphlet which describes the fossil animals of Florida and explains why there were no dinosaurs here.
Trueman Hill, who resides in Hilliard, has been searching for fossils, sea and mammal specimens for many years. He and his son have been looking over the past 14 years. They often go snorkeling in otherwise inaccessible areas to find items for his collection. His business specializes in exotic driftwood, fossil wood, and landscape and aquarium wood items. Many of his items come from West Nassau County – west of US Hwy 1.
The West Nassau Historical Society concluded the general meeting with a brief discussion on their upcoming Railroad Days Festival. There will be a special meeting to discuss it during a special meeting this Thursday March 4th at the depot at 6pm. All are invited.
For more info call the Historical Society at 904 879 3406
See Historical Society 2 and Railroad Days for Additional Happenings.
See Historical Society 2 and Railroad Days for Additional Happenings.
