3. Mastodon Bones Found in New York Backyard Pond
Place: 2000 Found: Hyde Park, New York; estimated value: $6,000.
The earth was once dominated by dinosaurs. Millions of years later, we are still discovering ancient, enormous bones from these enormous animals. While clearing up his backyard pond, Larry Lozier of Hyde Park, New York, came upon what he initially believed to be a sizable log covered in muck.
bones of a mastodon discovered in a backyard pond in New York ©Paleontological Research Institution/Wikimedia
Upon removing some dirt with his scraper, Lozier discovered a rough joint. He was right when he sensed right away that something “unusual” was present. When scientists from all across the country gathered on Lozier’s property, they discovered a well-preserved fragment of a mastodon skeleton concealed beneath his pond.
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