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Trove of mastodon bones unearthed during sewer project in Seymour

Mastadon Bones8.JPG
Posted at 8:31 AM, Apr 19, 2019
and last updated 2019-04-19 09:00:01-04

SEYMOUR, Ind. (AP) — Workers installing sewer lines across a southern Indiana farm unearthed the fossilized bones of a mastodon that likely stood about 9 feet tall.

The bones include most of a tusk, parts of a skull and a jawbone with teeth. They were recently dug up on a farm in Seymour, about 60 miles south of Indianapolis.

PHOTOS | Mastodon photos unearthed during sewer project

Joe Schepman owns the farm with his family. He told The Seymour Tribune that "it's amazing to think about something this large roaming around this area."

Ron Richards is senior research curator of paleobiology at the Indiana State Museum. He says the mastodon would have stood between 9 and 9½ feet (2.8 meters) tall.

Richards says the fossil's age will be determined using radiocarbon dating.