Millions of prehistoric marine fossils have been discovered beneath a California high school over the course of several years of construction.
Artifacts found at San Pedro High School included parts of a 9-million-year-old whale, megalodon teeth, a sabre-toothed cat and other fish.
“We found millions of bones from all kinds of sea creatures in one place, primarily fish, but also marine mammals, sea turtles, shore birds, kelp and other seaweeds, and invertebrates such as shells,” said Dr Wayne Bischoff, director of cultural resources at Envicom. ABC7.
“And it represents an entire marine ecosystem from 9 million years ago.”
The fossils were first discovered during the school's modernisation project, which began in 2022.
The first discoveries will be excavated beneath the school's main courtyard in June 2022, with discoveries expected to continue until June 2024, it said. LA List.
“We believe there is an underwater channel that is transporting material from shallow water to deeper water, and that volcanic activity was occurring nearby,” said Dr Austin Hendy, assistant curator at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. ABC7.
“This was a big surprise for everyone when we started digging trenches to unearth these fish fossils.”
For some students, the discovery gave them something to tell their parents when they asked how school was going, and for others it opened up unexpected career opportunities.
“They needed someone to help out here and I've always wanted to work at a museum, so when the opportunity came up I grabbed it right away. It's been a really cool experience,” said Milad Esfahani, a San Pedro High School junior and intern at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. ABC7.
So far, the team of researchers examining the finds have identified 200 species, but said it could take up to a year to determine what they all are.
