LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - El esqueleto casi completo de un mamut colombino que murió durante la última Edad del Hielo ha sido descubierto en una zona de obras en el centro de Los Angeles, un hallazgo destacable incluso en esta área rica en fósiles, dijeron científicos.
El mamut, apodado "Zed" por los investigadores del Page Museum en La Brea Tar Pits, probablemente murió con más de 40 años hace unos 40.000, y fue encontrado cerca de un tesoro oculto de fósiles con el que tropezaron los trabajadores mientras excavaban en los cimientos de un estacionamiento subterráneo.
"Lo que hace esto tan especial, tan excitante para nosotros, es que Zed es un espécimen completo", dijo la supervisora del laboratorio, Shelley Cox, mientras mostraba el miércoles a los periodistas un hueso pélvico con polvo incrustado y del tamaño de una mesa de comedor.
"Es realmente grande comparado con los mamuts que hemos recuperado antes en La Brea. Los colmillos son considerablemente más grandes que cualquier cosa que hubiéramos esperado", agregó.
El mamut colombino era una especie de elefante que se extinguió casi al final de la última edad del hielo.
En el alijo de fósiles había 700 especímenes, incluida una gran calavera de un león americano prehistórico, huesos de león, lobos, tigres dientes de sable, caballos jóvenes y bisontes, coyotes, linces y perezosos.
Se espera que este descubrimiento duplique el tamaño de la colección del museo.
Aunque La Brea Tar Pits es el lugar con los depósitos de la edad del hielo más ricos del mundo, muchos fósiles que se sacan están mezclados con otros huesos. Los mamuts son un hallazgo extraño.
Como todos los animales descubiertos en la zona, Zed se quedó atrapado junto al río y murió de agotamiento o de hambre.
Los investigadores creen que su esqueleto estaba casi intacto porque poco después de morir se lo llevó la corriente y luego quedó cubierto por los suficientes sedimentos, arena y desechos como para impedir que los depredadores se llevaran parte del cadáver.
Estiman que su esqueleto está completo en un 80 por ciento, y que sólo falta una pierna trasera y una vértebra. Mientras que la mayoría de los colmillos de mamuts, que están hechos de un material frágil llamado dentina, sólo se encuentran en fragmentos pequeños, los de Zed están intactos y miden tres metros.
El examen de los huesos de Zed muestra que tenía entre 47 y 49 años, que sufría artritis y que se había roto tres costillas durante su vida, posiblemente en peleas con otros mamuts.
Se espera que la prueba de datación del carbono 14 muestre que vivió hace entre 38.000 y 42.000 años y que sus restos han yacido durante mucho tiempo bajo el estacionamiento de un edificio.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The nearly complete skeleton of a Columbian mammoth that died during the last Ice Age have been discovered in a work zone in downtown Los Angeles, including a remarkable finding in this area rich in fossils, scientists told .
The mammoth, nicknamed "Zed" by researchers at the Page Museum at La Brea Tar Pits, probably died more than 40 years ago, about 40,000, and was found near a hidden treasure of the fossils encountered by workers while digging in foundations of an underground parking.
"What makes this so special, so exciting for us is that Zed is a complete specimen," said lab supervisor, Shelley Cox, and shown to journalists on Wednesday, a pelvic bone embedded with dust and the size of a table dining.
"It's really big compared to the mammoth that we retrieved earlier in La Brea. The teeth are considerably larger than anything we had expected," he added.
The Columbian mammoth was a kind of elephant that became extinct near the end of the last ice age.
In the cache of fossils had 700 specimens, including a large skull of a prehistoric American Leon, Leon bones, wolves, saber tooth tigers, young horses and bison, coyotes, bobcats and lazy.
This discovery is expected to double the size of the museum's collection.
Although La Brea Tar Pits is the place to deposits of the Ice Age world's richest, most fossils are placed with other bones. The mammoths are a strange discovery.
As all the animals discovered in the area, Zed was caught by the river and died of exhaustion or hunger.
The researchers believe that its almost intact skeleton was because he died shortly after he's running and then was covered by sufficient sediment, sand and debris to prevent predators from taking part of the body.
Estimated that its skeleton is complete at 80 percent, and only missing a leg and a back vertebra. While most of the tusks of mammoths, which are made of a brittle material called dentin, found only in small fragments, those of Zed are intact and measured three meters.
An examination of the bones shows that Zed had between 47 and 49 years, who suffered arthritis and had three broken ribs during her life, possibly in fights with other mammoths.
It is expected that the test of carbon-14 dating shows that lived between 38,000 and 42,000 years and that their remains have yacido for a long time in the parking lot of a building.
The mammoth, nicknamed "Zed" by researchers at the Page Museum at La Brea Tar Pits, probably died more than 40 years ago, about 40,000, and was found near a hidden treasure of the fossils encountered by workers while digging in foundations of an underground parking.
"What makes this so special, so exciting for us is that Zed is a complete specimen," said lab supervisor, Shelley Cox, and shown to journalists on Wednesday, a pelvic bone embedded with dust and the size of a table dining.
"It's really big compared to the mammoth that we retrieved earlier in La Brea. The teeth are considerably larger than anything we had expected," he added.
The Columbian mammoth was a kind of elephant that became extinct near the end of the last ice age.
In the cache of fossils had 700 specimens, including a large skull of a prehistoric American Leon, Leon bones, wolves, saber tooth tigers, young horses and bison, coyotes, bobcats and lazy.
This discovery is expected to double the size of the museum's collection.
Although La Brea Tar Pits is the place to deposits of the Ice Age world's richest, most fossils are placed with other bones. The mammoths are a strange discovery.
As all the animals discovered in the area, Zed was caught by the river and died of exhaustion or hunger.
The researchers believe that its almost intact skeleton was because he died shortly after he's running and then was covered by sufficient sediment, sand and debris to prevent predators from taking part of the body.
Estimated that its skeleton is complete at 80 percent, and only missing a leg and a back vertebra. While most of the tusks of mammoths, which are made of a brittle material called dentin, found only in small fragments, those of Zed are intact and measured three meters.
An examination of the bones shows that Zed had between 47 and 49 years, who suffered arthritis and had three broken ribs during her life, possibly in fights with other mammoths.
It is expected that the test of carbon-14 dating shows that lived between 38,000 and 42,000 years and that their remains have yacido for a long time in the parking lot of a building.
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