When the bones of an ancient heron were unearthed at a North Florida fossil site, the find wasn’t made by researchers but by two Florida Museum of Natural History volunteers. A previously unknown genus and species, the heron has been named Taphophoyx hodgei.

A previously unknown genus and species, the heron has been named Taphophoyx hodgei (TAFF’-oh-foy-ks HAHJ’-ee-eye) in honor of landowner Eddie Hodge, who has allowed Florida Museum researchers and volunteers to excavate the site on his property near Williston since his granddaughter first discovered fossils there in 2015.

Nearly 700 volunteers have worked at the Montbrook fossil site, collectively digging more than 12,000 hours.

«You couldn’t have a better group of people,» Hodge said. «There’s a lot of negativity when we get home and turn on the television, but it does you good to be out here seeing volunteers get excited and be positive about something.»

The bones used to identify the new heron were found by volunteers Toni-Ann Benjamin and Sharon Shears.

Taphophoyx hodgei — whose genus name means «buried heron» in Greek and Latin — is the first new species to be described from Montbrook. Many other new species from the fossil-rich site await publication.

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Materials provided by Florida Museum of Natural History. Original written by Halle Marchese. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.