Pleistocene Deer Jaw

The modern whitetail deer was present in Florida as far back as 2 million years ago when glaciers covered most of North America. 

Whitetail deer are the oldest living deer species on earth. Eight other genera of Odocoileus deer lived during the Pleistocene period, but only the whitetail remains. Its ancestor crossed the Bering Land Bridge from Siberia to Alaska about 4 million years ago. Most other deer species like elk and moose arrived or evolved 15,000 years ago or later. 

These prehistoric, yet modern deer faced predators like saber-tooths, jaguars and dire wolves. They wandered the terrain with megafauna such as the mammoth, mastodon, giant sloth, and woolly rhinoceros. 

This deer jaw section contains 4 beautifully preserved teeth. 

** Does not include stand. 

Type: Deer Jaw
Species: Odocoileus sp.
Age: Pleistocene
Locality: Suwannee River (SCUBA) near Wannee Town, Dixie County, Florida

Size: 4.75 x .44 x 1.63 inches
Weight: 1.10 oz.