Random Weirdest, Most Unexpected Places Fossils Have Been Found (10 items)

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  (#1) Massive Mosasaurs Were Found Behind A Busy New Jersey Shopping Center

  A shopping center in central New Jersey sits near a quarry that has become the center of increased attention from paleontologists. For years, excavation of the quarry has revealed a great number of marine fossils from the Cretaceous period. Largest among them are the remains of massive mosasaurs, but the fossils also include crocodiles, sharks, and brachiopods.

  The area was once part of a shallow sea, and the surrounding earth appears to be from the end of the Cretaceous period when dinosaurs and many other species went extinct.
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  (#10) Prehistoric Rhino Bones Were Found In A Small Underground Cave In Yorkshire

  In 1821, Yorkshire workers filling in potholes discovered a small cave. When they found bones inside, they assumed they had come from ranchers dumping cattle and used some of the fossils to make their repairs. Local scientists saw the bones and realized they were the fossils of many different animals, including prehistoric elephants, rhinos, bison, and hyenas.

  Though the animals were first thought to have been pushed into the cave by rising waters, scientists quickly realized the cave's entrance was too small for the majority of these prehistoric animals. One of the local scientists working on the site, Dr. William Buckland, theorized the cave was a hyena den, and most of the other animal bones were brought there in the stomachs of well-fed hyenas.
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  (#3) The Shell Of A Giant Mammal Was Found Sticking Out Of A Riverbank In Argentina

  While taking a walk on Christmas Day, Argentinian farmer Jose Antonio Nievas found what he thought was a dinosaur egg sticking out of a riverbank. Instead, the pebbly object turned out to be the nearly complete shell of a glyptodont, a giant mammal that no longer exists.

  The glyptodont was similar to the modern armadillo but much larger, possibly weighing more than two tons. This prehistoric animal also had protective layers of bone on its head and a tail to defend against predators.
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  (#4) Mammoth Remains Were Found Under Los Angeles During Subway Construction

  A work crew extending the Los Angeles subway system encountered more than a few fossils as they worked their way west, including prehistoric camel and horse bones. The most amazing discovery, though, was a nearly intact mammoth skull.

  Under the supervision of paleontologist Ashley Leger, it was judged to be that of a juvenile and included both tusks, a rare piece of luck. It was named Hayden, after actress Hayden Panettiere.
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  (#5) A Giant Catfish Fossil Was Found In An Egyptian Desert

  Since the world has changed so much over hundreds of millions of years, it’s impossible to tell at a glance which species would have lived in certain places in prehistoric days. One great example: An arid and lifeless desert in Egypt called Wadi Al-Hitan was found to be full of whale and fish fossils. An especially unusual discovery was the nearly 7-foot-long fossil of a catfish.

  Although the fish is enormous by today’s standards, it probably would have been regular prey for the local whales.
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  (#6) A Group Of Boys Found A Mastodon In Their Backyard

  Two Mississippi brothers and their cousin were accustomed to finding petrified wood in their backyard; however,  in 2018, they found something much more exciting. “I thought it was a log,” Caid Sellers told Fox News. Instead, the object turned out to be the jaw of a mastodon. The boys used a golf cart to transport the fossil back to their home.

  The Sellers family is considering turning the jawbone into part of a coffee table.

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