Inglis quarry

The Inglis quarry or Inglis quarry sites 1A and 1C are assemblages of vertebrate fossils dating from the Pleistocene ~1.8 Mya—300,000 years ago, located in the phosphate quarries near the town of Inglis, Citrus County, northern Florida.

Inglis sites FCi-1, FCi-2, Inglis Formation, Florida Geological Survey C-11, Inglis Member, Moodys Branch Formation, and Dunnellon Phosphate Company pit no. 5 are composed of a variety of bivalves, echinoderms, gastropods, crustaceans (mud shrimp), crinoids dating from the Eocene to Early Oligocene of ~48–33.9 Mya.[1][2]

Inglis site 1A was originally a sinkhole spanning 10 by 20 meters. From bottom to top, the sequence comprises a basal conglomerate, a thin clay bed, a lower sand unit, a second thin clay bed, an upper sand unit, and a cemented quartz sandstone.[3]

Inglis 1A has been correlated with the earliest Irvingtonian North American Land Mammal Age, dated approximately 2.0 to 1.6 Mya. The assemblage includes a combination of species and fauna characteristic of both late Blancan and early Irvingtonian faunas.[4]

The Inglis Quarry is operated by Cemex Inc., who was also fined 29,000 USD for violations against its 2005 environmental resource permit.[5]

History

Site 1A

The site was discovered in 1967 during construction of the Cross Florida Barge Canal. In January 1974, staff from the Florida Museum of Natural History excavated and screened approximately 300 cubic meters of fossil bearing sediment from the sinkhole.[6]

Site 1C

Site 1C was also uncovered during construction of the Cross Florida Barge Canal, although an unknown portion of the sinkhole’s sediments had already been removed. The remaining deposits were later excavated by students from Western State College. [7]

Species uncovered

Mammals

Bats

Carnivores

Canidae
Bears
Feliformia
Hyena
Mustelids

Herbivores

Even-toed ungulates
Odd-toed ungulates

Proboscidea

Xenarthra

Rabbits

Rodents

Moles and Shrews

Birds

Cariamiformes

See also

Other Citrus County sites:

References

  1. ^ a b "The Paleobiology Database: Revealing the History of Life".
  2. ^ a b "PBDB Collection". paleobiodb.org. Archived from the original on 2024-12-11. Retrieved 2025-10-13.
  3. ^ "Inglis 1A". Florida Vertebrate Fossils. Retrieved 2025-10-13.
  4. ^ Morgan, Gary; Hulbert, Richard (1995-03-14). "Overview of the geology and vertebrate biochronology of the Leisey Shell Pit Local Fauna, Hillsborough County, Florida". Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History. 37 (1): 1–92. doi:10.58782/flmnh.sdnh9875. ISSN 2373-9991.
  5. ^ Witt, Terry (2008-01-04). "Cemex fined for violations at Inglis Quarry". Chronicle Online. Retrieved 2025-11-28.
  6. ^ Meylan, Peter (2005-12-31). "Late Pliocene Anurans from Inglis 1A, Citrus County, Florida". Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History. 45 (4): 171–178. doi:10.58782/flmnh.sadz1678.
  7. ^ Emslie, Steven D. (1998). "Avian Community, Climate, and Sea-Level Changes in the Plio-Pleistocene of the Florida Peninsula". Ornithological Monographs (50): 1–113. doi:10.2307/40166707. ISSN 0078-6594.
  8. ^ Herbert Jr, Richard C (2010-09-30). "A New early Pleistocene tapir ( Mammalia : perissodactyla ) from Florida, with a review of Blancan tapirs from the state". Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History. 49 (3): 67-126.
  • Pleistocene mammals of North America By Björn Kurtén, Elaine Anderson, p. 164, Columbia University Press
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