Divers discover 500,000-year-old treasure trove of fossils in Florida sinkhole

[Still Waters]

Fossil collectors have discovered a prehistoric graveyard buried in Florida’s Steinhatchee River.

The site has yielded a remarkable collection of more than 500 fossils dating back roughly half a million years. It was full of exceptionally well-preserved bones from ancient mammals, including horses, giant armadillos, sloths and possibly a new species of tapir.

Around 500,000 years ago, before the river flowed over the site, a sinkhole opened up in Florida’s Big Bend region and became a death trap for hundreds of animals. Sediment filled the sinkhole over time, entombing their remains in near-pristine condition.

https://www.livescience.com/animals/extinct-species/divers-discover-500-000-year-old-treasure-trove-of-fossils-in-florida-sinkhole

https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/underwater-fossil-bed-discovered-by-collectors-preserves-rare-slice-of-floridas-past/