FOSSIL POLLEN AND THE FLORISSANT MAMMOTH!

The Florissant Fossil beds are well known for the diverse assemblage of fossil plants and insects from the lacustrine shales of the latest Eocene Florissant Formation. The fossil beds also preserve a fossil record in the overlying Quaternary sediments that aid in assessing the local terrestrial paleoecology prior to the last glacial maximum. Fragmentary material associated with a mandible and molar tooth of a Mammuthus columbi has been recovered near the Visitor Center in Pleistocene gravels. The tooth has been radiocarbon dated on purified collagen at 49,830 ± 3290 (CAMS-22182), a date that exceeds the reliable range for radiocarbon dating.

Palynology, the study of fossil and living pollen and spores, and vertebrate paleontology worked together to decipher the environment of deposition of the high elevation mammoth. Buried with the mammoth fossils were pollen and spores from nearby plant communities that had accumulated in a terrestrial environment. A single carbonate rock sample, associated with the mammoth, was prepared and processed using standard palynological techniques. The sample contained indigenous and reworked palynomorphs. The Pleistocene palynomorphs recovered include Pinus, Selaginella, Asteraceae, Juniperus, Abies, and fern spores. Soil fungi (Glomus-type) were prominent. The pollen flora suggests a dry climate. At least the 4-pored Ulmoideae pollen type recovered closely resembles a Florissant type and may in fact be reworked from Eocene sediments of the Florissant Formation. This sample includes other potentially re-deposited palynomorphs from the Eocene Florissant Formation, including Carya, Ulmus, and Hystrix.

This work, a cooperative study using plant microfossils and animal macrofossils, illustrates the techniques used to present an otherwise detailed scientific endeavor to the general public. The collection site, near the visitor center, became a living classroom where the general public could learn firsthand the daily needs of field work and cooperation. Museum outreach programs are important ways to bring the public closer to an understanding of the geological and biological processes of our world.