East Tennesse State University and General Shale Brick Natural History Museum and Visitor Center at the Gray Fossil Site in northeast Tennessee.
The Gray Fossil Site is a Late Miocene-epoch assemblage of fossils located near the unincorporated town of Gray in Washington County, Northeast Tennessee, and dates back 4.5 to 7 million years BCE). The Gray Fossil Site was discovered by geologists in May 2000. They were investigating unusual clay deposits turned up during the course of a Tennessee Department of Transportation highway project to widen State Route 75 south of its intersection with Interstate 26.
The current dig at the Gray Fossil Site was determined to have been the location of a semi-circular sinkhole that once harbored a pond environment over a long period of time and is now yielding the remains of the ancient plants and animals that lived, watered, and died within the then watery sinkhole. Among the many vertebrate fossils found at the Gray Fossil Site are the those of frogs, turtles and tapirs and recovered fossil records represent finds from approximately one percent of the total area of the Gray Fossil Site that has been explored --- and future fossil recovery from the entire site is projected to continue on for one hundred years.
The Gray Fossil Site is also the world's largest tapir fossil find and is yielding new and rare discoveries such as the most complete skeleton of Teleoceras (an ancient rhinoceros) yet found in eastern North America, the tooth of a new species of red panda that marks only the second record of this animal in North America (the first red panda fossils found in North America come from the state of Washington), and a newly identified species of an ancient plant eating badger.
Shovel Tusked Elephants, or gomphotheres, are also present at the site. At the time it is unknown which species they belong to, but it is most likely that they belong to either one of the genera Cuvieronius or Gomphotherium.
Teleoceras This is a Rhino. They resemble a modern day hippo. They are found in colossal numbers in Ashfall Fossil Beds. The most complete specimen of this creature in the Eastern US was found in this site. The only part missing is a piece of the back toe.
