The northernmost occurrence of Chelydra serpentina in the eastern US during the Pleistocene

• Main Author: Brownstein, Chase
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: PeerJ 2016
• Subjects: Ice Sheet
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.2281v1; https://peerj.com/preprints/2281v1.pdf; https://peerj.com/preprints/2281v1.xml; https://peerj.com/preprints/2281v1.html

The snapping turtle species Chelydra serpentina , which has a wide range across North America, is extremely tolerant to cold and even freezing conditions. Here, I describe a single caudal vertebrae referred to Chelydra serpentina from the Late Pleistocene of New Jersey which represents the northernmost known occurrence of the species in eastern North America and the closest known occurrence of the species to a glacier or ice sheet in the continent during the Pleistocene. The specimen, which was collected at Ramanessin Brook in Holmdel, New Jersey, affirms that the Pleistocene deposits which line the banks of the popular Cretaceous site are not taphonomically biased to preserving larger fossils and in the future may yield an assemblage of small vertebrates.