Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Paleontological resource inventory (sensitive version)

Shaffer, Austin; Santucci, Vincent; Tweet, Justin; Hodnett, John-Paul

doi:10.36967/2305949

Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CUVA) was established as Cuyahoga River National Recreation Area on December 27, 1974, to preserve and protect the Cuyahoga River Valley and its historic, scenic, natural, and recreational values. While not explicitly mentioned in the park’s mission statement, paleontological resources preserved at CUVA are nevertheless of importance, particularly when considering the significant fossil discoveries made elsewhere across northeast Ohio. The upper Paleozoic geologic strata of CUVA encompass sedimentary rocks dating from the Late Devonian to the Early Pennsylvanian, recording a series of shallow marine and coastal riverine environments. Within these rocks, a diverse assortment of fossil organisms is preserved at the park, including corals, bryozoans, brachiopods, bivalves, cephalopods, gastropods, arthropods, crinoids, early land plants, fish, and more. To comprehensively assess the paleontological resources at CUVA, a field inventory was conducted from April to June 2024. Fifteen notable paleontological localities were documented in the park during this inventory, with several potentially significant new fossil discoveries made as well, such as rare Early Mississippian tetrapodomorph material. A review of published and gray literature supplemented the 2024 fieldwork. Between the fossil discoveries of the 2024 field inventory and previous research conducted within the park, it is clear that significant paleontological resources occur within CUVA. Future research on these fossils holds a high likelihood of yielding important scientific information as well as potential new species. This report provides foundational data on the scope, significance, and distribution of paleontological resources at CUVA and provides recommendations to support the management, interpretation, and research of these resources.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park: Paleontological resource inventory (sensitive version)

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