A team of researchers and volunteers at the Florida Museum of Natural History discovered an ancient “elephant burial ground” where the fossilized remains of the ancestors of elephants were found. This discovery may be the largest specimen of animals ever discovered in Florida.
The research team had found fragments of gomphoter skeletons at the Montbrook Fossil Excavation, which was nothing special. Because fragments and sporadic bones had been found there earlier, it didn’t look anything out of the ordinary. But the team found something resembling a giant foot a few days later. Subsequent studies revealed that it belonged to a very large gomphoter. Before long, they managed to remove the entire skeleton.
However, it soon became clear that the deceased animal was not alone. The skeletons of an adult and at least seven cubs were found during the excavations. The team needs more work to determine the exact size of the animals, but the adult is thought to be around 2.4 meters tall.
Narducci, director of vertebrate paleontology collections at the Florida Museum, said they had never seen an area with such mass-buried animals in Montbrook, and they often found small skeletal fragments in this area. Narducci, who thinks that there is no situation where they all die at the same time, thinks that one or more of the pack members are stuck in this spot at different times. He also states that the gomphoteres may have been quickly buried or stuck in a place where the flow of the river decreased.
Until humans arrived, animals that were relatives of elephants were abundant on most continents, and gomphoteres were one of the most diverse. These large mammals have a history of more than 20 million years in the record. They first appeared in Africa and later spread to Europe and Asia. Finally, they crossed the Bering Bridge and reached North America. During this time, they have developed several unique traits that allow them to survive wherever they settle.
The Montbrook dig offers exciting things for future research and an opportunity to learn more about these magnificent animals that roamed North America long ago.
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