New species among rare treasure trove of fossils found in California

[Judi Lynn]

Ashley Strickland, CNN
12:15 PM, May 20, 2018



(CNN) -- Finding fossils can be a fact of life for construction crews excavating in California. That's what happened when crews broke ground to begin the new Bay Area Calaveras Dam in 2013. They just didn't expect to find so many.

The existing 93-year-old Calaveras Dam stands only about a thousand feet from the Calaveras Fault, a proximity that prompted earthquake safety concerns.

The dam impounds the Calaveras Reservoir, which holds 40% of the area's water supply capacity. It's the largest Bay Area reservoir, said Betsy Lauppe Rhodes, regional communications manager for the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System.

With 2.7 million Bay Area customers relying on its water, the stability of the dam is critical. After careful study, a decision was made to rebuild the dam completely next to its existing location, Rhodes said in an email.

More:
https://www.wptv.com/news/national/new-species-among-rare-treasure-trove-of-fossils-found-in-california

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Among the finds were numerous fossilized palm trees and pine cones, hundreds of invertebrates including snails and crabs, shark teeth and whale skulls. There was also evidence of a previously unknown species of fossilized baleen whale. As the researchers continue their work, they expect to find more new species.

They have upwards of 20 whale skulls, each about 3 feet long. This is highly unusual for a "salvage" project, in which scientists try to excavate fossils from an active construction site that may be damaged.

"Thus far we have made significant progress on five complete skulls, and quite a few individual bones," Cristina Robins, senior museum scientist at the museum and head of the the project, wrote in an email.

"There are individual teeth from Desmostylus [a hippo-like creature] and seal. We have evidence for 4 different baleen whale species, and at least 2 toothed whale [dolphin or orca-like] species. Our largest whale is actually the most complete -- we have a 5-foot skull and 17 vertebra, plus some ribs," she wrote.