Fossils dating back 9 million years unearthed during construction at high school

Year aft year, students person walked the halls of San Pedro High School successful Los Angeles.

What seemed to beryllium an mean renovation turned retired to beryllium an bonzer find erstwhile a trove of past fossils was uncovered. 

There are millions of fossils that marque up those excavated since the archetypal were recovered successful aboriginal 2023. 

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"The San Pedro High School primitively consisted of 1936 field buildings surrounding a cardinal courtyard. The courtyard had not been impacted overmuch since the schoolhouse was built, but had a fig of important utilities planned arsenic portion of a 2021 operation project," Dr. Wayne Bischoff, manager of taste resources for Envicom Corporation, told Fox News Digital via email. 

"During enactment successful the courtyard successful aboriginal 2023, I discovered ample numbers of fossil bones from the Late Miocene clip play (8.7 cardinal years ago) that were embedded successful limestone blocks being removed. Envicom worked with LAUSD and Pinner Construction the adjacent twelvemonth signaling and salvaging fossil blocks arsenic the trenching enactment continued."

Dr. Wayne Bischoff led the findings of millions of fossils nether a California precocious school. (Dr. Wayne Bischoff, Envicom Corp)

Bischoff said that the find "is 1 of the largest fossil bonebeds ever found successful California."

Many fascinating fossils were excavated from the Los Angeles site. 

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A fig of the fossils beryllium to taxon that nary longer beryllium contiguous that lived during a clip erstwhile the Palos Verdes Peninsula was underwater. 

"The discoveries capturing the astir involvement person been a fig of juvenile megalodon shark teeth – the largest shark that ever existed – sabretooth salmon jaw bones, oversea turtle bones, baleen whale vertebrae, seabird bones, galore dolphin bones including the backmost of a dolphin skull and dolphin receptor bones, and fossilized dolphin coprolites (poop), which incorporate dozens of tiny food bones," Bischoff said. 

Many shark teeth were recovered during excavations, including ones belonging to the megalodon, the largest shark to ever exist. (Dr. Wayne Bischoff, Envicom Corp)

Many of the food taxon that were recovered person ne'er been recorded successful Southern California, Bischoff added. 

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The uncovering of these fossils has not lone been intriguing for scientists — it's provided a unsocial hands-on learning accidental for students.

"Students person not been allowed connected the progressive operation site, but person helped america successful the laboratory to benignant and place fossils and shells from our collection," Bischoff told Fox News Digital. 

The find volition beryllium of large acquisition worth to students, accidental experts. (Dr. Wayne Bischoff, Envicom Corp)

"Students volition play a larger relation successful the aboriginal arsenic we participate into a caller signifier for the discovery, which volition impact making acquisition displays, murals, and showcasing immoderate of the recovered fossils," Bischoff continued. 

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Currently, the fossils recovered are being held astatine the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

There are besides smaller collections astatine LAUSD and astatine the Cabrillo Aquarium, Bischoff said, with ample amounts of fossil blocks presently astatine California State University Channel Islands.