Workers on an Oceanside, California, water project found fossils of a large hoofed mammal that lived 40–45 million years ago. Paleontologist Joseph El Adli says the animal likely was a brontothere or amynodont; his team spent more than seven days exposing the bones.
The remains were found in the Santiago Formation, a Southern California rock formation dating to the Eocene. They lay beneath several tons of hardened mudstone and sandstone, then were encased in a plaster field jacket for transport to an off-site laboratory.
After transport, the fossils will be removed from the jacket and hardened with museum-grade glues for preservation. They will likely join a museum collection, where they can be preserved and made accessible to the public for further study.
