Abstract
A 1.5 m deep channel incised into the Tamiami Formation near Lehigh (Sec. 10, T. 44 S., R. 27 E.) in Lee County, Florida contained a Blancan-age (Pliocene) vertebrate and molluscan assemblage. At the base of the deposit vertebrates and a diverse assemblage of mollusks were present. The middle of the deposit contained numerous species of mollusks and corals. Here the predominant molluscan species were Turritella perattenuata, Pyrazisinus campanulatus, Cerithium Litharium, Conus adversarius tryoni, Chione elevata, and Carditamera arata. Corals found included Solenastrea hyades, Trachyphyllia sp., poritids, Stylophora affinis, and Montastrea annularis. Near the top of the deposit, a bed occurred containing predominantly the gastropod Pyzazisinus scalatus. The top of the deposit was capped by a thin freshwater limestone containing the mollusk Planorbella disstoni. The Blancan vertebrate assemblage is believed to be between 2.5 to 2 Ma in age and correlates well to the basal Caloosahatchee Formation of Captiva Island, which had a maximum estimated age of about 2.14 Ma.