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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Photo: Bahamas "Blue Hole" Yields Pre-Human Fossil Treasures


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The well-preserved skull of an extinct bird called the Bahamas caracara was found in Sawmill Sink, a deep "blue hole" that has yielded a treasure trove of fossils dating from pre-human Bahamas.

A new study about Sawmill Sink says that some of the more unusual finds are the remains of ancient tortoises and crocodiles previously unknown to exist in the West Indies. The discovery locations of tortoise ("t") and croc ("C") fossils are indicated in a map of the sinkhole.

Images courtesy PNAS/National Academy of Sciences (Copyright 2007)