Extinct species found in Las Vegas

Extinct species found in Las Vegas

Extinct species found in Las Vegas (Photo credit: RobertCiavarro)

Not once but twice in a 30 day period, there has been evidence of extinct species found in species.

For a city known for it’s glitz and glitter, the find is truly fascinating.

The first find was a pair of fossils unearthed in the hills of north of Las Vegas that belonged to a saber-toothed cat.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported a team from California’s San Bernardino County Museum identified fossils that were dug up in June as being the front leg bone of the long extinct saber-toothed cat.

The museum’s senior curator, Kathleen Springer, says the saber-tooth fossils are believed to be approximately 15,590 years old.

The discovery is the first of its kind in the fossil-rich Upper Las Vegas Wash.

Although there are no immediate plans to display them, Springer expects that to happen eventually.

The most recent find was made by UNLV researchers who discovered a 1½-inch long foot bone from what they believe was a dire wolf that stalked the valley between 12,000 and 15,000 years ago.

The Las Vegas Review Journal reports that Josh Bonde, a visiting assistant professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, made the discovery.

He was surveying a 160-acre plot of state land near Floyd Lamb Park this summer when he spotted the tip of the bone sticking out of a hill. The piece that was showing was no bigger than a quarter, he said, “just enough to identify it as a dog.”

UNLV geology professor Steve Rowland and Bonde are convinced that the bones belonged to a dire wolf, but there is a small chance it could be from a gray wolf or a timber wolf so the bones will be further evaluated.

Other ice age bones have been found on state land in the Las Vegas Wash in 2010.

The fossils found are processed in a lab at the Las Vegas Natural History Museum. The Review Journal notes that Rowland and Bonde welcome visitors to the museum to watch them and to ask questions.

The Las Vegas Natural History Museum is located at 900 North Las Vegas Blvd, at the intersection of Las Vegas Blvd and Washington. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children aged 3 to 11.

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