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Ice Age Bear and Wolf-Like Creature Found in Underwater Mexican Cave
By Laura Geggel, Associate Editor
May 2, 2019 06:24am ET
Divers excavating an underwater cave in Mexico have discovered the bones of giant meat eaters that lived there during the last ice age, a new study reported.
The finding is remarkable, because few ancient animal remains survive in Mexico's hot, tropical climate. But these ancient beasts, the short-faced bear (Arctotherium wingei) and the wolf-like Protocyon troglodytes, fell to their deaths in a deep cave, which was flooded soon after. As a result, their bones were preserved in pristine condition, the researchers said.
Both of these species were far from what scientists had considered the animals' homes. Previously, the creatures were known only from South America. This finding shows that they also lived much farther north, or more than 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers) away from their known habitat, about the distance from Boston to Miami.
Full Article Featuring A Few Photographs Here:
https://www.livescience.com/65380-ice-age-bones-underwater-cave.html
By Laura Geggel, Associate Editor
May 2, 2019 06:24am ET
Divers excavating an underwater cave in Mexico have discovered the bones of giant meat eaters that lived there during the last ice age, a new study reported.
The finding is remarkable, because few ancient animal remains survive in Mexico's hot, tropical climate. But these ancient beasts, the short-faced bear (Arctotherium wingei) and the wolf-like Protocyon troglodytes, fell to their deaths in a deep cave, which was flooded soon after. As a result, their bones were preserved in pristine condition, the researchers said.
Both of these species were far from what scientists had considered the animals' homes. Previously, the creatures were known only from South America. This finding shows that they also lived much farther north, or more than 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers) away from their known habitat, about the distance from Boston to Miami.
Full Article Featuring A Few Photographs Here:
https://www.livescience.com/65380-ice-age-bones-underwater-cave.html