A rare discovery was made by a Mississippi resident at the end of October along the Mississippi River. Mississippi River is in drought – a fossilized jawbone from an American lion that roamed the area roughly 11,000 years ago, according to McClatchy News.
According to the news outlet it is only the fourth fossil of the American lion ancient found in Mississippi.
Wiley Prewitt, a local resident, stumbled on what looked like a huge black tooth in the sand and decided to take the find to a Mississippi Fossil & Artifact Symposium and Exhibition event on October 29.
Prewitt stated, “I could immediately tell it was a piece of a carnivore jaw from the teeth, but I didn’t believe it was an American lion.” McClatchy News.“It looked very right to me, but it was not something I believed.”
Experts confirmed that the item belonged to the species Panthera atroxThe larger American lion. It was thought to have been the largest large cat on the continent, measuring nearly 8 feet (2.4m) in length, 4ft tall, and weighing up to 1,000 lbs. National Park Service.
It has been extinct since approximately 11,000 years.
The Mississippi River is a crucial transportation route. Recently, its unusually low levels of water have caused disruptions in shipping across several states.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, (NOAA), reported that some locations along the river had their lowest water levels in 10 year. The most recent climate reportAdditionally, barges have failed to clear certain parts of the river and have run amok.
Long-submerged items were exposed by receding water levels
The Mississippi River drought is responsible for the discovery of the fossil, which is the latest remnant of the past. In October, low water levels led to the discovery of an old sunken shipThe river’s banks.
Archaeologists believe the remains belonged to a ferry that was damaged in a storm and sunk in the latter part of the 19th century or early 20th centuries. The Associated Press reported.
Although this was the first exposure of the ship, parts of it were still visible in low water areas during the 1990s.
“At that point the vessel was completely filled with mud and there were mud all around so only the very tops of its sides were visible,” Chip McGimsey of Louisiana, the state archaeologist, said to the AP. The shipwreck was discovered in October.
McGimsey stated that they had to move lots of dirt to make narrow windows to see the bits and pieces.
According to a Research is expandingThe rising global temperature due to the burning of fossil fuels increases evaporation, making droughts worse.
Experts Previously told InsiderThat it is human-caused Climate ChangeRemoving waters may reveal more remnants from the past as they warm the planet and make it more drought-prone.
This article was first published by Business Insider.
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