Forest ranger stumbles onto garden of ancient beasts in California foothills

[hunter]

A park ranger wandering through a petrified forest in California has unearthed a trove of prehistoric fossils, including a stunningly preserved mastodon skull and the remains of a 400-pound (181 kilograms) monster salmon, SFGate reported.

Paleontologists unearthed dozens of fossil species near the Mokelumne River watershed in the foothills of the Sierra mountains southeast of Sacramento. The fossil site, which dates back roughly 10 million years to the Miocene epoch, is one of the most significant such troves ever discovered in the Golden State.

"Few other fossil discoveries like this exist in California," Russell Shapiro, a professor of paleontology and stratigraphy at California State University, Chico, told Chico State Today.

--more--

https://www.livescience.com/bones-ancient-beasts-california-fossil-forest.html

https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/fossil-find-california-ebmud-mastodon-bones-16192070.php

The Miocene is my favorite epoch in general, especially here in California. All sorts of stuff was happening.

Forget human history, as a time traveler that's where I'd go first.

[RockRaven]

1. Four. Hundred. Pound. Salmon.

[Cracklin Charlie]

4. Fire up the grill!

[captain queeg]

6. Yeah that's what I was thinking

Since it’s in the forest did that mean 400 lb salmon ran up the river that far? Holy crap!

[2naSalit]

2. Cool!

The only ancient artifacts I ever found as a park ranger were the age old problems of misogyny and racism.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. What a fantastic discovery! Kudos to that park ranger with the sharp eyes! ♥

[calguy]

5. Amazing find. That's my old stomping ground.

When I was much younger I spent many weekends fishing and camping along most of the length of the Mokelumne River. Good chance I walked right by that spot and never knew it.

[Hekate]

7. KnR