Early Pliocene Leporids from the Gray Fossil Site of Tennessee Joshua X. Samuels and Julia Schap No. 8 Eastern Paleontologist 2021 EASTERN PALEONTOLOGIST Board of Editors ♦ The Eastern Paleontologist is a peer-reviewed jour- nal that publishes articles focusing on the paleontology Richard Bailey, Northeastern University, Boston, MA of eastern North America (ISSN 2475-5117 [online]). Manuscripts based on studies outside of this region that David Bohaska, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, provide information on aspects of paleontology within DC this region may be considered at the Editor’s discretion. Michael E. Burns, Jacksonville State University, Jack- ♦ Manuscript subject matter - The journal welcomes sonville, AL manuscripts based on paleontological discoveries of Laura Cotton, Florida Museum of Natural History, terrestrial, freshwater, and marine organisms and their Gainesville, FL communities. Manuscript subjects may include paleo- Dana J. 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Arrange- Monroe, LA ments for inclusion in other databases are being pur- Steven C. Wallace, East Tennessee State University, sued. Johnson City, TN ... Editor Cover Photograph: Selected leporid specimens from the Gray Fossil Site in Tennessee, including a lower 3rd premolar (ETMNH 20522) of Alilepus, lower 3rd premolar (ETMNH 20520) and partial dentary (ETMNH 21233) of Notolagus, and an astragalus (ETMNH 22421) and calcaneum (ETMNH 9708) of a small rabbit. Photograph © Joshua X. Samuels. The Eastern Paleontologist (ISSN # 2475-5117) is published by the Eagle Hill Institute, PO Box 9, 59 Eagle Hill Road, Steuben, ME 04680-0009. Phone 207-546-2821 Ext. 4, FAX 207-546-3042. E-mail: [email protected]. Webpage: http://www.eaglehill. us/epal. Copyright © 2021, all rights reserved. Published on an article by article basis. Special issue proposals are welcome. The Eastern Paleontologist is an open access journal. Authors: Submission guidelines are available at http://www.eaglehill.us/epal. Co-published journals: The Northeastern Naturalist, Southeastern Naturalist, Caribbean Naturalist, and Urban Naturalist, each with a separate Board of Editors. The Eagle Hill Institute is a tax exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation of the State of Maine (Federal ID # 010379899). 2021 Eastern Paleontologist No. 8 2021 EASTERNJ.X. Samuels PALEONTOLOGIST and J. Schap 8:1–23 Early Pliocene Leporids from the Gray Fossil Site of Tennessee Joshua X. Samuels1,2* and Julia Schap1,2 Abstract - The early Pliocene age Gray Fossil Site of Tennessee is one of the few late Neogene sites in eastern North America outside of Florida. Here, we describe two leporid species from the site: 1) a larger, less abundant Alilepus vagus and 2) a smaller, more abundant Notolagus lepusculus. Both species are well- known taxa with relatively broad geographic and limited stratigraphic ranges, making them useful in refining the age of the site. In contrast to the open habitats characteristic of the many other sites where these species occur, floral and faunal evidence from the Gray Fossil Site suggests it was a forested habitat with at least a partially-closed canopy. Forest-dwelling rabbits occur in much of the Eastern United States today, and the Gray Fossil Site rabbits were likely filling similar niches in the Pliocene. The cranial and dental morphology of the two species do not provide any evidence of niche partitioning, but the postcranial morphologies of the two taxa at the site are distinct, with the smaller taxon more cursorially-adapted than Alilepus. Introduction Rabbits and hares (Leporidae) are key components of nearly every terrestrial ecosystem in North America today, and have been so since the Eocene (Dawson 1958, 2008). The family is known for being successful, and despite often being considered biologically conservative over their history, they do exhibit some ecological and morphological variability (Chapman and Flux 2008, Kraatz et al. 2015). In North America, the diversity of Leporidae has been relatively low and stable throughout the Cenozoic (Dawson 2008, Samuels and Hopkins 2017), but there was a substantial increase in leporid diversity in the latest Miocene and early Pliocene. In the late Pliocene, the family reached its current level of species diversity (Nowak 1999), and also had greater generic diversity and morphological disparity (as indicated by p3 pattern, Dawson 2008, Moretti 2018) than today. The few species present in fossil faunas are often particularly abundant components, just as they are in modern communities (Hibbard 1969). Two of the most notable adaptations of leporids today, hypselodont dentition and saltatory/cursorially-adapted postcrania, appear very early in the family’s history, suggesting their general ecology has changed little since the Oligocene (Dawson 1958, 2008; Samuels and Hopkins 2017). In general, most late Cenozoic rabbits likely occupied small generalist-browsing, running-adapted niches (Armstrong et al. 2010, Bittner et al. 1982, Dalke and Sime 1941, Peers et al. 2018). Six leporid species currently live in eastern North America, including three in the southern Appalachian Mountains region (Sylvilagus floridanus, S. obscurus, and Lepus americanus). While abundant and relatively diverse now, there are few records of leporids from eastern North America prior to the late Pleistocene. There is a single archaeolagine leporid, Hypolagus cf. H. fontinalis, known from the early Pliocene (early Blancan) age Pipe Creek Sinkhole in Indiana (Farlow et al. 2001). The archaeolagines Hypolagus ringoldensis and Hypolagus cf. H. tedfordi and the leporine Nekrolagus progressus have been noted from the late Miocene (Hemphillian) Palmetto Fauna of Florida (Hulbert 2001, Webb et al. 2008; White 1987, 1991a). Several species of Sylvilagus (specificallyS. floridanus, S. palustris, and S. webbi) are known from a number of early Pleistocene (late Blancan and early Irvingtonian) sites in Florida (Dawson 2008, Hulbert 2001,White 1991b). 1Department of Geosciences, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN, USA. 2Don Sundquist Center of Excellence in Paleontology, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN, USA. *Corresponding author: [email protected] Manuscript Editor: Richard Hulbert 1 2021 Eastern Paleontologist No. 8 J.X. Samuels and J. Schap Lepus has also been noted in Florida at Inglis 1A and Leisey Shell Pit, which are the and early Pleistocene (late Blancan and Irvingtonian) in age (Hulbert 2001) Here, we describe the leporids from the Early Pliocene (latest Hemphillian or early Blancan) age Gray Fossil Site of Tennessee. The specimens described here represent the only Neogene records