Paleontologists have found the fossilized remains of the extinct deer species Eocoileus gentryorum at the Early Pliocene Gray Fossil Site of northeastern Tennessee, the United States. The specimens are among the oldest records of the deer family in North America and are the only pre-Pleistocene records of deer from the Appalachian Highlands.
The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus nelsoni) female in Belize. Image credit: Charles J. Sharp / CC BY-SA 4.0.
“The Gray Fossil Site continues to yield extraordinary discoveries that reshape our understanding of ancient life,” said Dr. Blaine Schubert, executive director of the Gray Fossil Site and Museum.
“Our team’s collaborative research is uncovering remarkable stories about how ecosystems have evolved over millions of years.”
“From tapirs and mastodons to these early deer, we’re revealing the incredible diversity of life that once flourished in Tennessee and how some species, like deer, have shown amazing resilience through geological time.”
In new research, the paleontologists examined the fragmentary remains — a skull, an upper molar and various limb bones — of Eocoileus gentryorum, a species of extinct deer first described in 2000.
Previously, Eocoileus gentryorum was known only from Florida, making the Tennessee discovery significant for understanding how quickly these early deer spread across the continent.
Interestingly, these ancient deer were notably smaller than most modern species.
“These early deer are generally smaller than modern deer species in the New World,” said Olivia Williams, a paleontologist at East Tennessee State University.
“The only smaller species today are the Key deer of Florida and brocket deer of Central and South America.”
“Fossil evidence from Washington and Florida shows these early deer dispersed rapidly coast-to-coast after their North American arrival, successfully adapting to diverse habitats from Pacific forests to Appalachian highlands,” said Dr. Joshua Samuels, also from East Tennessee State University.
“Deer have probably filled the same ecological role in Appalachian forests for nearly 5 million years, persisting and thriving through dramatic climate changes and habitat shifts that eliminated other large herbivores from the region.”
The discovery is reported in a paper in the journal Palaeontologia Electronica.
_____
Joshua X. Samuels et al. 2025. Early Pliocene Deer from the Gray Fossil Site, Appalachian Highlands, Tennessee, USA. Palaeontologia Electronica 28 (2): a36; doi: 10.26879/1560
