Fossils dating back 9 million years unearthed during construction at high school
Year after year, students have walked the halls of San Pedro High School in Los Angeles.
What seemed to be an ordinary renovation turned out to be an extraordinary discovery when a trove of ancient fossils was uncovered.
There are millions of fossils that make up those excavated since the first were found in early 2023.
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"The San Pedro High School originally consisted of 1936 campus buildings surrounding a central courtyard. The courtyard had not been impacted much since the school was built, but had a number of important utilities planned as part of a 2021 construction project," Dr. Wayne Bischoff, director of cultural resources for Envicom Corporation, told Fox News Digital via email.
"During work in the courtyard in early 2023, I discovered large numbers of fossil bones from the Late Miocene time period (8.7 million years ago) that were embedded in limestone blocks being removed. Envicom worked with LAUSD and Pinner Construction the next year recording and salvaging fossil blocks as the trenching work continued."
Dr. Wayne Bischoff led the findings of millions of fossils under a California high school. (Dr. Wayne Bischoff, Envicom Corp)
Bischoff said that the discovery "is one of the largest fossil bonebeds ever found in California."
Many fascinating fossils were excavated from the Los Angeles site.
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A number of the fossils belong to species that no longer exist today that lived during a time when the Palos Verdes Peninsula was underwater.
"The discoveries capturing the most interest have been a number of juvenile megalodon shark teeth – the largest shark that ever existed – sabretooth salmon jaw bones, sea turtle bones, baleen whale vertebrae, seabird bones, many dolphin bones including the back of a dolphin skull and dolphin ear bones, and fossilized dolphin coprolites (poop), which contain dozens of small fish bones," Bischoff said.
Many shark teeth were found during excavations, including ones belonging to the megalodon, the largest shark to ever exist. (Dr. Wayne Bischoff, Envicom Corp)
Many of the fish species that were found have never been recorded in Southern California, Bischoff added.
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The finding of these fossils has not only been intriguing for scientists — it's provided a unique hands-on learning opportunity for students.
"Students have not been allowed on the active construction site, but have helped us in the laboratory to sort and identify fossils and shells from our collection," Bischoff told Fox News Digital.
The discovery will be of great educational value to students, say experts. (Dr. Wayne Bischoff, Envicom Corp)
"Students will play a larger role in the future as we enter into a new phase for the discovery, which will involve making educational displays, murals, and showcasing some of the recovered fossils," Bischoff continued.
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Currently, the fossils found are being held at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
There are also smaller collections at LAUSD and at the Cabrillo Aquarium, Bischoff said, with large amounts of fossil blocks currently at California State University Channel Islands.
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