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The Snowmastodon site, also known as the Snowmass Village fossil site or the Ziegler Reservoir fossil site, is a fossil excavation near Snowmass Village, Colorado. It was discovered on October 14, 2010, when construction workers building a reservoir dam to supply water to Snowmass Village uncovered fossil bones that turned out to belong to a young female mammoth. Official fossil excavations, organized by the Denver Museum of Nature and Science under the nickname "Snowmastodon Project," began on November 2, 2010. They ended, as agreed, on July 1, 2011, so that construction work could resume. During this short period, the project unearthed 4,826 bones from 26 different Ice Age vertebrates, including mammoths, mastodons, bisons, camels, a Pleistocene horse, and the first ground sloth ever found in Colorado. The site, once the shores of a small glacial lake, dates from the Illinoian age of the Pleistocene epoch, around 150,000 to 130,000 years ago. == Discovery == The fossil site was discovered on October 14, 2010 by Gould Construction Inc. crews. They were working for the Snowmass Water and Sanitation District (SWSD) to expand the Ziegler Reservoir and provide additional water supplies to the nearby town of Snowmass Village.〔 (【引用サイトリンク】 title = Significant Fossil Find Unearthed in Colorado by Gould Construction ) 〕〔 〕〔 〕 While clearing the perimeter of the reservoir, bulldozer operator Jesse Steele unearthed the first animal bones.〔 〕 Recognizing them as possible fossils, Steele and project superintendent Kent Olson researched the Internet to identify the remains. They eventually correctly identified them as belonging to a mammoth. They unearthed approximately 20% more of the bones and notified the director of SWSD, Keith Hamby. SWSD quickly contacted the Denver Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS).〔 (【引用サイトリンク】 title = Discovery Timeline )〕 On October 16, 2010, Dr. Ian Miller, the DMNS curator of paleontology sent a small team to investigate. Negotiations immediately began for museum excavation of the site after the initial survey. The original discovery, since identified to be a young female Columbian mammoth (''Mammuthus columbi''), was also donated to the museum on October 25, 2010.〔 It was given the nickname of 'Snowy' after Snowmass Village.〔 〕 On October 27, 2010, Kent Olson discovered the remains of a second animal. Initially thought to be another mammoth, it turned out to be a fossil of the rarer American mastodon (''Mammut americanum'').〔 This discovery increased the importance of the site significantly, as previously, only three other mastodon fossils have ever been found in Colorado.〔 〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Snowmastodon site」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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