Port Charlotte Agents Cite Local Fossil Site as Family Attraction

Just outside Port Charlotte, real estate agents are pointing to a fossil site maintained by the University of Florida as a selling point to families moving into the area. The site is located in a channel of Peace River, just a mile northwest of Nocatee in DeSoto County, making it a quick trip from Port Charlotte. Real estate agents can use this as a selling point for families with school aged children who have an interest in paleontology.

The site’s fossils are estimated to be between 11,000 and 20,000 years old. The area is filled with remnants of the Late Pleistocene Epoch, with abundant proof of Rancholabrean land mammals, although precise carbon dating is impossible due to lack of collagen in the fossils (a common problem in Florida river areas.)

Come to Life in Fossil Site

There is plenty to see for visitors from Port Charlotte. Real Estate Agents can encourage interest by name dropping some of the most exciting fossil evidence, which includes:

• Enormous American Alligators, virtually unchanged to the present day
• Dire Wolves (Game of Throne fans will be ecstatic over the concept of real dire wolves)
• North American Jaguars (larger and fiercer than their Central and South American cousins)
• The Florida Spectacled Bear (once much more common than the now extant Black Bear)
• The Large Headed Llama, a member of the camel family
• The American Mammoth, similar to the Wooly Mammoth with enormous tusks
• The Ancient Bison, forerunner of the American Bison

Port Charlotte Real Estate Agents can Brush up on History

Fossil vertebrates have been collected from the beds and banks of the Peace River since the late 1800's, but most specimens recovered are from the surface or modern deposits and contain a mix of eras – including one notable find of a tooth of a 3-toed horse dating to the Miocene age. This amazing fossil site was “discovered” by Andreas Kerner in 2000, and subsequently excavated by Andreas Kerner, L. Jefferson-Kerner and R. Sinibaldi from 2000 to 2007.

Representative specimens of all species recovered were promptly donated to the Florida Museum of Natural History. There are still small fossil fragments to be found, as the area was not screenwashed for microfossils and no exhaustive grid system was employed.

The most significant finds have been from the Pleistocene in-place deposit, which is one of very few in the nation. A Giant Ground Sloth’s remains were found fossilized, and the best known sample of the Collard Peccary ever found in the United States.

This very interesting natural attraction should be promoted by Port Charlotte real estate agents when queried about potential things to do in the area, and can be a selling point for families with children.