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Sunday, November 22, 2009

Photo: Mastodons Driven to Extinction by Tuberculosis, Fossils Suggest


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A replica of a mastodon stands on display at the Mastodon State Park in Imperial, Missouri. Tuberculosis was rampant in North American mastodons during the late Ice Age and may have led them to extinction, according to a new study of fossilized bones from 113 of the extinct elephantlike animals.

AP Photo/James A. Finley