Fossil exhibit to examine millions of years of Florida's past

Florida is one gigantic fossil heap.

Visitors will get a look at fossils dating back millions of years and replicas of animals living in Florida at the same time in the "Rock 'n Fossils Exhibit" at the Collier County Museum through June 30.

The exhibit is a collaborative effort between the county museum, Lee County Paleontology Society and several local fossil collectors.

David Southall, curator of education at the Collier County Museum, says the exhibit is an introduction to geological time, using the science of paleontology in determining ages of specimens.

Geologically, Florida is much younger than the rest of North America, he said.

While the earth is believed to be 5.5 billion years old, Florida fossils fall into the Pleistocene period, dating back 1.8 million years.

"Florida comes out of the ocean as dry land during a cold period in the earth's climate," Southall said. "Animals from the central part of North America migrated to the big sand bar, which is Florida.

Florida missed out on being home to dinosaurs because it was under the ocean during that time period."

Initially, Florida was populated by "megafauna," some very big animals, like the mastodons and woolly mammoths, he said.

The state had strange rhinoceros creatures called brontoherium and teleoceras.

Florida had its version of the saber-tooth tiger, called the smilodon fatalis.

"It was as big as an African Lion with 12-inch fangs," Southall said.

A poerotherium, a variety of camel, roamed Florida, along with oredonts, a primitive form of sheep.

"Florida was the home of the three-toed horses that became extinct, surviving in the old world as zebras and monkeys," Southall said.

"Glypodons, a variety of armadillo, were as big as a Volkswagen Bug," he said. "It had a huge armored shell and had a club-like tail to ward off predators. There also were a giant ground sloth that ate only plants, it wasn't carnivorous."

The museum is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. For more information call 774-8476.

Southall will speak on fossils and geological time at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 1, at the Marco Island Historical Society meeting at Mackle Park.