Ice Age camel fossil found in Colorado

ASPEN, Colo., May 19 (UPI) -- U.S. paleontologists say they've added the Ice Age camel to the growing list of animals that roamed parts of Colorado some 50,000 to 150,000 years ago.

The latest find was announced as crews returned to a fossil site at Snowmass Village near Aspen, KMGH-TV, Denver, reported Wednesday.

The 2-inch lower molar of a Camelops was discovered in a pile of peat as excavation work got under way after a six-month hiatus due to winter weather.

"We've added a camel to the mix, and we're just getting started," said Kirk Johnson, vice president of research and collections and chief curator for the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. "This just keeps getting better."

Excavation began at the site last year after a bulldozer operator uncovered a bone while working on expansion of a reservoir.

Scientists working the site have discovered American mastodons, Columbian mammoths, Ice Age deer, Ice Age bison, ground sloth, the Ice Age camel, many tiger salamanders as well as evidence of ancient beaver, insects, snails and microscopic crustaceans.

The dig is the Denver museum's largest fossil excavation project ever, involving 36 scientists, 107 trained volunteers, 35 staff members and nine interns, KMHG-TV reported.