Forest Ranger Discovers Garden Full Of Ancient Animal Fossils in California

The now considered as one of the most significant fossil discoveries in California history was unearthed by a forest ranger wandering through a petrified tree, which is half-buried in the mud of the Mokelumne River watershed.

A trove of ancient animal fossils was discovered by the park ranger, Greg Francek, who is assigned in the East Bay Municipality Utility District. In his curiosity, the intriguing site was initially found by Francek last summer when he was walking in the valley. The trove of prehistoric fossils includes a stunningly preserved mastodon skull and the remains of a 400-pound (181 kilograms) monster salmon, SFGate reported.

According to Live Science, professor of Paleontology and Stratigraphy at California State University Russell Shapiro stated that only a few discoveries can match this accidental find.

Moreover, paleontologists unearthed dozens of fossil species in the site, which is located 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 fossil troves ever discovered in the Golden State's history.

The East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), the drinking water provider for the area, mentioned in their statement that the forest ranger noticed something that looked like wood but was smooth like stone. Francek said in a statement that the petrified tree that he found was partially encased in the burial sediments. He stated that because one end was exposed, he could actually see the tree rings inside.

Also, when he looked around the site, that is when he discovered the second, third, and petrified tree. But later on, he realized that he was walking in a petrified forest. The park ranger shared that he returned over the next few weeks to conduct a more organized survey. That was when he found vertebrate fossils.

Inside the Petrified Forest

After discovering the fossils, he immediately reached out to paleontologists and geologists, and one of them was Shapiro.

Initially, Shapiro did not expect to find much on the site, but he was soon surprised. His team started to excavate and found the tip of a pearly bone, and as they etched from the surrounding rock, a pair of tusks, teeth, and a skull started to emerge. It was later on identified as mastodon. What shocked the experts is that it was astonishingly preserved, Chico State Today reported.

Meanwhile, in an interview, Shapiro shared that what he hopes is to find a tip of a tusk, but luckily what they have right now is the entire thing. He also added that it is a beautiful piece of ivory, and it is mind-blowing.

Since the start of their excavation a year ago, Shapiro, along with his colleagues, have uncovered hundreds of specimens of animals that constitute dozens of species. They were all found within the forest that consists of around 600 petrified trees. Among the ancient specimens that the team uncovered were the giant fish, an ancestor to the salmon we know today; the mastodon and the gomphothere, which are ancestors to elephants; and an extinct camel, which has the same size as a giraffe.