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Life-size model of a mammoth, or mastodon. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Crews uncover prehistoric bone fragment in southwest Florida

Catherine Saunders-Watson
Catherine Saunders-Watson

 

Life-size model of a mammoth, or mastodon. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Life-size model of a mammoth, or mastodon. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

CAPE CORAL, Fla. (AP) – Crews who were working on an underground utilities extension project in southwest Florida uncovered a bone fragment that could 2.6 million years old.

Cape Coral City Manager John Szerlag told the city’s council on Monday that the bone found in June likely formed part of the upper arm of either a mammoth or mastodon.

The News-Press reports the city plans to donate the bone fragment to the Cape Coral Historical Society.

Florida Museum of Natural History collections manager Richard Hulbert tells the newspaper the fragment didn’t have enough characteristics to determine whether it belonged to a mastodon or a mammoth. He says both elephant-sized mammals were present during the Pleistocene Era, which was roughly 12,000 years to 2.6 million years ago.

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Information from: The (Fort Myers, Fla.) News-Press, http://www.news-press.com

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