Georgia Earth & Sky

An Alliance of Art & Science

In 2011, Students of The Visual Arts Department at Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus, Georgia took on a class project, for credit, in commercial art. Under the guidance of Professor Laurel Robinson (Chair of Visual Arts), Dr. Burt Carter (Professor of Paleontology), and amateur paleontology researcher Thomas Thurman; the students were asked to create reconstruction images in support of educational material aimed at Georgias schools. The challenge was to create scientifically acceptable popular images. The resulting images enjoyed widespread support in paleontological circles and were even favorably reviewed by the Smithsonian Institutions National Museum of Natural History paleobiology staff. The students also enjoyed the project, so the class was repeated in 2012 with several returning students and a few new participants; exciting images were again created. Georgia Earth and Sky is deeply grateful for their interest & efforts, and were happy to share these images.

Artist: Hasani Jones Hypsoganthus was about 12 inches long and lived near Savannah 200 million years ago. Reported by Dr. Tim Chowns; Professor of Geology for the University of West Georgia

Artist Xavier Sims During a 1911 survey of the Georgia Coastal Plain, Georgia researchers reported many Cretaceous plants which lived while dinosaurs walked Georgia.

Georgia Earth and Sky / Georgiaearthandsky.com

Artist: Hasani Jones Pterosaurs occur in Georgias 83 million year old fossil beds. Reported by Dr. David Schwimmer at Columbus State University.


Artist: Hasani Jones The goblin shark Scapanorhynchus texanus, 78 million years old. Reported by Dr, David Schwimmer at Columbus State University.


Artist; Xavier Sims The giant Megalocoelacanthus dobiei, shown to scale at right. Reported by Dr. David Schwimmer at Columbus State University

New genus & species named from Georgia & Alabama fossils


Artist: Quentin LononThe 15 foot fish Xiphactinus vetus (lower right), is a new species named from Georgia & Alabama. The diving bird Hesperornis, while not a confirmed Georgia fossil does occur in sediments of the same age just west and north of Georgia in the Western Interior Seaway.Xiphactinus reported by Dr. David Schwimmer at Columbus State University


Artist: Quentin Lonon (Page 2) Xiphactinus vetus, 78 million years ago New Species named from Georgia & Alabama Fossils


Artist: Jordan Walker the mosasaur genus; Tylosaurus lived in Georgias coastal plain sea 78 million years ago. Reported by Dr. David Schwimmer at Columbus State University


Artist; Felicity Leckman Plesiosaurs shared that 78 million year old sea. Reported by Dr. David Schwimmer at Columbus State University.


Artist; Jordan Walker Appalachiosaurus montgomeriensis; new genus & species named from Alabama fossils (of a young animal), also known found Georgia. Reported by Dr. David Schwimmer at Columbus State University


Artist; Rebecca Shields Hadrosaurs also walked in Georgia 78 million years ago. Reported by Dr. David Schwimmer at Columbus State University


Artist: Hasani Jones Ostrich Dinosaurs in Georgia are known from Georgia. Reported by Dr. David Schwimmer at Columbus State University


Artist; Elisa Boswell While not a Georgia fossil The raccoon sized Indohyus lived about 50 to 48 million year old fossil in India and likely led to whales. As reported by Dr. Hans Thewissen at Northeastern Ohio University.


Artist; Xavier Sims 8 million years after Indohyus we have Georgiacetus (the Georgia Whale) in Georgia (40 million years ago). New Species named from Georgia fossils. Georgiacetus, the last known whale to lack a fluke, led directly to modern whales.

Georgiacetus was originally reported in 1998 by Dr. Richard Hulbert, who is currently with Florida State University and the Florida Natural History Museum. In 2008 Dr. Mark D. Uhen, at Georgia Mason University in Virginia, showed that Georgiacetus lacked flukes.


Artist; Pamela HoodBasilosaurus in Georgia occurs in Georgia at 37 million years ago and is a direct descent of Georgiacetus. The family of basilosaurids are the first whales known to have possessed flukes.


Artist; Quentin Lonon 35 million years ago brontotheres walked Georgia, as reported by Dr. Dennis Parmley, Georgia College in Milledgeville Georgia.


Artist; Sunni Zemblowski Terminator Pigs (Entelodonts) walked Georgia 35 million years ago, as accidentally discovered by Dr. Michael Voorhis who was with the University of Georgia at the time.


Artist: Amanda Chapman Terminator Pigs possibly lingered in Georgia even after the extinction event 33 million years ago. A single, partial entelodont (terminator pig) tooth was recovered in Bonaire. Georgia by the author. The sediments couldnt be dated, but the tooth closely matches an entelodont that lived 33 million years ago.


Artist: Jordan WalkerC. megalodon, the largest shark that ever lived.

Adults reached at least 52 feet in length, and may have exceeded 67 feet in length.There is evidence that these very large sharks actively hunted whales.

Georgia Earth and Sky Georgiaearthandsky.com

Artist: Jordan Walker During parts of the Miocene Epoch (23.3 to 5.3 million years ago) both C. megalodon and Scaldicetus, the Killer Sperm Whale, are present in the sea which covered South Georgia. Both fossils were reported by Dr. Richard Hulbert and Dr. Ann Pratt, from the Savannah area. Scaldicetus grew to nearly 23 feet. Megalodon may have exceeded 60 feet.


Artist: Sunni ZemblowskiThe Hipparion horse is well known from Georgia while the terror birds are known to have traveled from Texas to Florida so likely crossed South Georgia.


Artist: Sunni ZemblowskiTerror Birds are reported in 5.3 to 2.5 million year old sediments of Florida by Dr. Bob Chandler of Georgia College in Milledgeville. They lacked wings and had evolved a new grappling claw with an opposable digit.


Artist: Sunni Zemblowski Hipparion Horses. Reported in Georgias 5.3 to 2.5 million year old sediments by Dr. Richard Hulbert, Florida Museum of Natural History


Artist: Quentin Lonon Gavialosuchus americanus was known to reach 32 feet in length, it is reported in Georgias sediments dating between 5.3 and 2.5 million years ago by Dr. Richard Hulbert, Florida Museum of Natural History.


Artist: Jordan Walker At 5.3 to 2.5 million years ago the sirens (closely related to manatees) are present in Georgia, as by Dr. Richard Hulbert, Florida Museum of Natural History.


Artist: Amanda Chapman In this same time frame, rhinos walked Georgia, as reported by Dr. Richard Hulbert, Florida State

College and Florida Natural History Museum.


Artist: Amanda ChapmanDr. Mark D. Uhen, Professor of Vertebrate Paleontology at Georgia Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia reports that the modern gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus, occurs in Georgias Ice Age sediments.


Artist: Peter Fall The ice ages saw the giant ground sloth in Georgia. This species stood more than 20 feet tall on its hind legs.


Artist: Elisa Boswell Giant bisons walked Georgia 21,000 years ago, several individuals were reported by Dr. Al Mead of Georgia College in Milledgeville.


Artist: Elisa BoswellIce Age mammoths also walked Georgia.Columbian mammoths were originally named from a Georgia fossil by the Scottish Paleontologist Hugh Falconer.

The famous father of modern geology, Sir Charles Lyell, visited Georgia in 1846. He was given a elephant-type tooth by Hamilton Cooper which had come from the Brunswick, Georgia area. Lyell passed the tooth to Falconer, who used it to establish the species Mammuthus columbi; the Columbian Mammoth.Dr. Al Mead of the Georgia College Natural history Museum (Milledgeville) reported multiple Columbian Mammoths from the same fossil bed as Giant Bisons, they shared Georgia.


Artist: Elisa BoswellAt 17,000 years ago we have both the Columbian Mammoth and Humans, the Clovis People, in Georgia. While there is evidence that the Clovis hunted mammoths in other parts of the USA, none has been shown in Georgia. So only an encounter in shown here.


For a live presentation of this material contact: Thomas D. Thurman Georgia Earth and Sky 102 McArthur Blvd Warner Robins, GA 31093 Cell# 478-293-7302 Email: [email protected]

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