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Mastodon fossil discovered in Colombian gold mine
Story by Reuters
Updated 2042 GMT (0442 HKT) September 24, 2020
Bogota (Reuters)Fossils of a mastodon, a giant prehistoric relative of today's elephants, have been discovered at an artisanal gold mine in central Colombia in a find which researchers say could herald a trove of similar specimens.
Gold miners working a tunnel near the town of Quinchia, in Risaralda province, came across what they soon realized were bones on Tuesday.
The discovery is the first of its kind in the province but mastodon remains have also been found in Cundinamarca and Valle del Cauca provinces, as well as along Colombia's Atlantic coast, said Carlos Lopez, an anthropologist at a university in Risaralda's capital Pereira.
"These animals attract attention due to their large size - a giant bone doesn't go unnoticed," Lopez said. "It really takes us in a time machine ... to think about what they were like and how they lived, and if humans lived alongside them."
More:
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/24/americas/colombia-mastadon-gold-mine-scn-intl/index.html