Mammoth fossils from 2 mln years ago

SAMSUN – Anadolu Agency

DHA Photo

Fossils accidentally discovered in an old mine in the northern province of Samsun’s Ladik district have been determined to be a mammoth that lived 2 million-years-ago.

Samsun Culture and Tourism Director Yüksel Ünal said some fossils had been unearthed in the coal mine, which was previously operated by a firm for many years, but had been inactive over the last 10 years.
He said they had made contact with the Mineral Research and Exploration Institute (MTA) Museum of Natural History to learn the fossils’ origins, and continued:

“In their first observation, scientists determined that the fossils were of a Mediterranean mammoth. They understood it from the last molar [tooth] in the right maxillary bone, which is a characteristic of these animals. They told us the fossils should be closely observed and their age should be determined. Then, the fossils were examined for a year.”

Ünal said the TMT Museum of Natural History Paleontology Unit Director Ebru Albayrak had worked on the fossils. “It was determined they were mammoth fossils, a mammoth tooth and horse teeth from 2 million-years-ago. It was also told that Ladik’s climate and flora were sustainable for mammoths and horses 2 million-years-ago,” he said, adding the fossils would be displayed at a museum in Samsun.