Paleontologists excavating the site of fossil camel and horse remains in Packsaddle Wildlife Management Area (NewsOK)
Posted on 09/08/2013 4:43:55 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
As the rush intensifies to find new reserves of fossil fuels, digs throughout the West are yielding another byproduct -- fossils.
Oilfield workers in western Oklahoma have unearthed deposits of fossils containing extinct species of camel and horse, along with as-yet-uncounted other animals, while excavating a new well, Oklahoma City’s The Oklahoman reports.
An earthmover uncovered the fossilized bones in July after removing 6 meters of soil in the state-run Packsaddle Wildlife Management Area.
Paleontologists brought to the scene identified 13 separate fossil deposits, which have tentatively been dated as far back as 5 million to 12 million years.
Among the identifiable remains so far are the skull a small, primitive horse and the bones of a camel -- a mammal that actually originated in the very ancient American West, according to Kyle Davies, a fossil preparator with the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History...
"It actually shows that North America was the origin point for camels, and they spread out from here."
The fossils date to the Miocene epoch, a particularly formative period for the Ancient West that spanned from about 23 million to 5.3 million years ago. This is when the massive Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountain ranges first formed, and when what are now the Great Plains sat as their own continent, with life that would seem familiar -- but misplaced -- compared to today’s Western biota.
(Excerpt) Read more at westerndigs.org ...
Paleontologists excavating the site of fossil camel and horse remains in Packsaddle Wildlife Management Area (NewsOK)
“...a camel — a mammal that actually originated in the very ancient American West.”
I never knew that! But, are they SURE it just wasn’t a Petting Zoo escapee? ;)
Looks like they excavated some ancient watches and footwear as well, and they look surprising modern...
You were a beautiful ungulate,
I can tell from your cameltoe.
Apparently the other camelids (such as llamas and alpacas) also originated in North America and only later spread to South America.
Camel = a horse designed by committee.
:’) Related link.
CAMELS. In 1836 Maj. George H. Crosman urged the United States War Department to use camels in Indian campaigns in Florida because of the animals’ ability to keep on the move with a minimum of food and water.
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/quc01
later
We are owned by a Mule. Same difference!
But don’t call him a Jackass; he gets mad and bitey if you do! :)
Must be a Republican Mule! :-)
Where IS this secret location in western Oklahoma? Never heard of Packsaddle.
The Army brought camels all the way to CA because they could move through the desert. It didn’t work out too well, however, and they eventually died out.
If one fell on you you’d know it.
I’ll bet they found it on a Wednesday.
He’s a ‘MINO.’ LOL!
On the Mapquest Oklahoma map, scroll to the OK/TX panhandle state line northwest of Elk City and you’ll see a green rectangular outline of the Black Kettle National Grassland. Packsaddle WMA is part of that. I’ve hunted quail out there a couple of times but saw no camels.
If camels originated in North America does that mean the Indians were the original camel jockeys?
I didn’t realize that a Sopwith Camel could hold that many Wing Walkers...
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