An 8.7 million year old fossil ecosystem is buried under a school

According to The Guardian on September 15, marine fossils dating back 8.7 million years were discovered under a San Pedro High School in southern Los Angeles, California (USA). The two locations where the fossils were found include an 8.7 million-year-old bone layer from the Miocene period (Middle Age) and a 120,000-year-old shell layer from the Pleistocene period (Pleistocene).

Fossilized lower jaw of a sabertooth salmon found under San Pedro School in Los Angeles (USA)

In addition, researchers discovered fossilized vertebrae, ribs of a dolphin and jawbones of an extinct sabertooth salmon, along with hundreds of other small fish vertebrae.

According to LAist , these discoveries were made between June 2022 and July 2024.

Researchers are testing the chemical and mineral composition of the fossils, said Richard Behl, a geologist at California State University at Long Beach, who told the Los Angeles Times that scientists are trying to piece together clues, adding that the Miocene fossils were encased in diatomite, or diatomaceous earth.

"It's an entire ecosystem from a bygone era. We have all this evidence to help future researchers piece together what an entire ecosystem looked like nearly 9 million years ago. That's really rare," said Wayne Bischoff, director of cultural resources at consulting firm Envicom Corporation.

The fossils have been distributed to research andeducational institutions, including the Los Angeles Unified School District, the Cabrillo Aquarium in San Pedro, California State University, and the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/mot-he-sinh-thai-hoa-thach-87-trieu-nam-tuoi-bi-chon-vui-duoi-truong-hoc-185240916104925548.htm