5 ms·

Freeway project unearths a time when camels roamed San Diego

48 points by gscott 6y ago

edoceo 6y ago
http://archive.is/BWHCC http://archive.is/BWHCC I get grumpy when sites block me viewing with incognito - especially when they are ad-infested
- kyleee 6y ago
  only to be met by a captcha when trying to view the archived version :(
bstar77 6y ago
Back when I lived in New Jersey I would visit this place: https://www.fossilguy.com/sites/bbrook/index.htm https://www.fossilguy.com/sites/bbrook/index.htm It was amazing to go to a stream in the woods of NJ and find fossilized shark teeth, shellfish, squid and bones. I think people have even found dinosaur bones there. Such a wonderful experience and it does have an uncanny way of putting your place on this planet into perspective.
- xwdv 6y ago
  When I was young I always wanted to find and keep a dinosaur bone, a REAL one. Don’t know if it’s even possible now.
  - thaumasiotes 6y ago
    Why wouldn't it be possible?
  - abakker 6y ago
    There are several places in Montana that you can absolutely do this. I’ve done it and it is fun.
    - abakker 6y ago
      Self reply - the place I went is called Timescale Adventures. I got to find some pieces of dinosaur eggshell, as well as plentiful bones.
      - xwdv 6y ago
        How difficult was it? Do a lot of people leave empty handed?
        abakker 6y ago
        That would be virtually impossible. There are SO many bones. In many desert washes it only took us minutes to find some. Most of what you find won’t have much scientific significance.
  - Exmoor 6y ago
    There is actually a show on the Discovery Channel called Dino Hunters which is about people who make their living finding and selling dinosaur bones. Presumably your dream is possible, assuming you have access to a good deal of private land in Montana and a lot of time to throw at the problem.
dreamcompiler 6y ago
I assumed this was talking about the 1860s, when camels were common in the American Southwest. Nope. This is about fossils. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Camel_Corps https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Camel_Corps
- perl4ever 6y ago
  Interesting factoid: "Their Arabian camels readily ate creosote bush, which little else eats. It is thought that this meeting reestablished a biological relationship that was broken when the American ancestors of the Arabian camel, such as Camelops, became extinct, making an evolutionary anachronism"
reaperducer 6y ago
If you're ever near Death Valley, the tiny town of Shoshone has an awesome (and free) town museum with some surprising local fossils, including local camel tracks.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

48 points by gscott 6y ago

http://archive.is/BWHCC http://archive.is/BWHCC I get grumpy when sites block me viewing with incognito - especially when they are ad-infested

kyleee 6y ago
only to be met by a captcha when trying to view the archived version :(

bstar77 6y ago

Back when I lived in New Jersey I would visit this place: https://www.fossilguy.com/sites/bbrook/index.htm https://www.fossilguy.com/sites/bbrook/index.htm It was amazing to go to a stream in the woods of NJ and find fossilized shark teeth, shellfish, squid and bones. I think people have even found dinosaur bones there. Such a wonderful experience and it does have an uncanny way of putting your place on this planet into perspective.

xwdv 6y ago
When I was young I always wanted to find and keep a dinosaur bone, a REAL one. Don’t know if it’s even possible now.
- thaumasiotes 6y ago
  Why wouldn't it be possible?
- abakker 6y ago
  There are several places in Montana that you can absolutely do this. I’ve done it and it is fun.
  - abakker 6y ago
    Self reply - the place I went is called Timescale Adventures. I got to find some pieces of dinosaur eggshell, as well as plentiful bones.
    - xwdv 6y ago
      How difficult was it? Do a lot of people leave empty handed?
      - abakker 6y ago
        That would be virtually impossible. There are SO many bones. In many desert washes it only took us minutes to find some. Most of what you find won’t have much scientific significance.
- Exmoor 6y ago
  There is actually a show on the Discovery Channel called Dino Hunters which is about people who make their living finding and selling dinosaur bones. Presumably your dream is possible, assuming you have access to a good deal of private land in Montana and a lot of time to throw at the problem.

dreamcompiler 6y ago

I assumed this was talking about the 1860s, when camels were common in the American Southwest. Nope. This is about fossils. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Camel_Corps https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Camel_Corps

perl4ever 6y ago
Interesting factoid: "Their Arabian camels readily ate creosote bush, which little else eats. It is thought that this meeting reestablished a biological relationship that was broken when the American ancestors of the Arabian camel, such as Camelops, became extinct, making an evolutionary anachronism"

reaperducer 6y ago

If you're ever near Death Valley, the tiny town of Shoshone has an awesome (and free) town museum with some surprising local fossils, including local camel tracks.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]