Yet Again, Fossils Have Been Unearthed at LA Metro Construction Site

The fossil find extends over two feet, which is longer than any other bison horn found thus far on the project

Fossils continue to be unearthed at the construction sites for the new Metro Purple Line stations. A piece of a horn from an extinct species known as a long-horned bison, or bison latifrons, was found Friday.

Bison and other specie remains have been excavated during the construction, but the horn find from Wilshire/La Cienega station was the first of its kind.

Bison latifrons were significantly larger than modern day bison, according to the Metro. The fossil find extends over two feet, which is longer than any other bison horn found thus far on the project.

"Long-horned bison are believed to have become extinct about toward the end of the most recent Ice Age, about 10,000 to 15,000 years ago. These types of bisons were one many large mammals that went extinct during that era — a list that includes mammoths, mastodons, camels, saber-tooth cats and sloths," the LA Metro said. 

The future Wilshire/ La Cienega station is the most fossil fertile, with bones being unearthed almost every day. 

This area is something of a "fossil factory," known around the world for being a rich paleo-zone. Some of the finds at the Purple Line station include ancient bones from camels, mammoths, and ground sloths. The other two stations in Section 1 of the extension project, Wilshire/Fairfax and Wilshire/La Brea, have also become sites of fossil finds. The skull of an ancient antelope and an arm bone from a sea otter were found at these locations.

The long-horned bison specimen, nicknamed Andy, will be carefully preserved before heading to its final destination at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

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