Nearly 1,500 animal fossils dating to 1.4 million years ago were recently unearthed by a utility company that was preparing to build a new substation southeast of Los Angeles, according to the Associated Press and other reports.
The fossils, representing at least 35 species, provide a glimpse of what the ecosystem was like in Southern California during the Pleistocene Era.
The animals so far include:
- a giant cat that was the ancestor to the saber-toothed cat
- enormous grizzly bear-sized ground sloths
- two types of camels
- a new species of prehistoric deer
- a new horse
- a new llama
- many different types of rodents
"And we're still counting," paleontologist Robert Reynolds of LSA Associates of Riverside, told the Los Angeles Times. Reynolds added, "I've been working in this area for more than 40 years and have never seen concentrations of fossils like this."
LSA is the consulting firm that's handling the dig for Southern California Edison, the utility company that first made the fossil discoveries.
(Recreation of the saber-toothed cat Smilodon populator; Credit: Rom-diz)
Fossils for birch, pine, sycamore, marsh reeds and oak trees were also found, revealing that the now arid canyon site was once full of trees and other plant life.
The fossil treasure trove boosts the number of specimens from what's called the Irvingtonian North American Land Mammal Age. It lasted from approximately 1.9 million years ago to 250,000 years ago. Some experts even think the collection rivals that of the well known La Brea Tar Pits. Fossils at the La Brea Tar Pits date to about 1 million years later.
Rick Greenwood, a microbiologist who also is director of corporate environment health and safety for the SCE utility, told AP: ""If you step back, this is just a huge find. Everyone talks about the La Brea Tar Pits, but I think this is going to be much larger in terms of its scientific value to the research community."
He continued, "Some of the things I personally find fascinating are the prehistoric camels and llamas and horses and deer. I don't think most people even have the concept that those types of animals were roaming around here more than a million years ago."
Philippe Lapin, an archaeologist for the utility, also made the very good point that the rodents could reveal information concerning the overall ecosystem, climate and more, since rodents adapt quickly to changes and have relatively short life cycles. If you string a bunch of rodent fossils together covering a certain period, you can often create a rough timeline of certain events. Rodent teeth, for example, can show dietary shifts in response to climate.
"It's going to paint a comprehensive picture of what was going on in the area," Lapin told AP. "The species that we're finding haven't been found before, or they're very rare, and some of them that we're finding are more complete than what's on record now."
Many of the fossils have been removed from the site. They are now being analyzed and prepared for display next year at the Western Science Center.
Tags: Extinct Animals, Paleontology, Prehistoric Animals, Prehistoric Era
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