Preliminary Palynological and Macrobotanical Report for the Leisey Shell Pits, Hillsborough County, Florida

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1995

Publication Title

Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History

ISSN

2373-9991

Abstract

Two samples of bone- and shell-bearing sediment from the Leisey Shell Pit were analyzed palynologically, and eleven macrobotanical samples were analyzed. Palynological remains include Pinus, Quercus, Caoa, Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae, and Liquidambor, as well as grasses, composites, and very abundant dinoflagellate cysts. Macrobotanical remains show that species of Pinus, as well as Quercus virginiana, Sabal palmetto, and Serenoa repens inhabited the mainland near the Leisey site. The nature of the assemblage indicates that (1) the typical coastal plain vegetation from the nontropical portions of the southeastern U.S. may not have changed much over the last 1.0- 1.5 million years, (2) the mainland vegetation probably consisted of mesic to xeric woodiands with scattered shrub wetlands along streams or near marshes, and (3) the sediment accumulated very near shore in shallow marine water. The latter conclusion is drawn from the fact that the Leisey pollen samples contain a coastal pollen assemblage which has been identified from a large number of southeastern Pleistocene sites. The taphonomy of the pollen assemblage thus corroborates that of the vertebrate and invertebrate fossils.

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