California crews uncover 40-million-year-old mammal bones 12 feet underground
Construction crews in Oceanside, California, discovered 40-million-year-old mammal fossils while excavating for a water infrastructure project. Paleontologists are currently working to identify the remains, which likely belong to an extinct group of hoofed mammals.
Why it matters
The discovery provides rare insight into the Eocene Epoch and the prehistoric ecosystem of Southern California.
A routine infrastructure project in Oceanside, California, has uncovered a glimpse of a world that existed tens of millions of years before humans. The City of Oceanside first announced the discovery on September 22, while reporting from the Los Angeles Times, NBC 7 San Diego and the San Diego Union-Tribune provided additional details about the excavation and the scientists working to identify the animal. The fossilised remains were found about 12 feet beneath the surface during excavation for a city water infrastructure project. Several limb bones, ribs and other fragments were recovered, with the largest bone measuring more than two feet long, according to the Los Angeles Times.
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