Thunder beast that lived 45 million years ago unearthed in California beach town: scientists

A routine construction job in Southern California has dug up something considerably older than plumbing.Hard-hat crews working on an Oceanside infrastructure project unearthed the fossilized remains of a rhino-like creature that roamed the Golden State some 45 million years ago — and scientists say it could be a brontothere, better known as the “thunder beast.”Workers were about 12 feet below the asphalt earlier this month when they struck gold, or rather a trove of prehistoric limb bones, ribs and other fragments encased deep inside layers of mudstone and sandstone, city officials announced.

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By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Never miss a story Rather than pouring concrete over history, on-site paleontologist Dr.

Joseph El Adli scrambled to temporarily halt construction work to preserve the find.Over a seven-day rescue mission, his team carefully chiseled away tons of sediment to safely encase the ancient bones in plaster before hauling them off to a special lab.

Experts say the bones hail from Member C of the Santiago Formation — an Eocene-era rock unit known to harbor relics from prehistoric North America.While scientists are still scraping away decades of muck, Dr.

Adli believes the mega-beast boils down to two prime suspects from the odd-toed hoofed mammal family: a “thunder beast” or a “swamp rhino.”A thunder beast is a hulking, rhino-sized vegetarian with a shoulder hump and a menacing, Y-shaped horn protruding from its nose.Also a vegetarian, a swamp rhino is a squat, hippo-like brute boasting short legs, a broad head, and sharp canine husks instead of a horn.

Both are reportedly distant relatives of modern rhinoceroses.El Adli believes the newly uncovered animal may have died and remained exposed long enough for its carcass to dry out, potentially attra...