Camel fossils found in Panama
Canal expansion opening new areas for scientists
MIAMI – Researchers scratching in the sediment during the historic expansion of the Panama Canal say they have discovered the fossils of a small camel with a long snout that roamed the tropical rainforests of the isthmus some 20 million years ago.
The ancient camel had no hump and one of the two species found appeared to stand only about 2 feet tall, scientists reported in a recently published article in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
University of Florida researcher Aldo Rincon, a doctoral student in geology, discovered the fossils during the canal’s widening to accommodate hulking new cargo ships that will soon ply the waterway. He and a group of other scientists from Panama, the United States and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute also reported finding fossils of ancient marlins, turtles and horses.
“We never expected to find a camel there,” said Smithsonian scientist Carlos Jaramillo, co-author of the journal article. “It’s really, really a surprise.”
Unlike contemporary camels, these had crocodile-like teeth.
“It was like a little dog,” Jaramillo added.
Scientists believe the camels, Aguascalientia panamaensis and Aguascalientia minuta, may have used the sharp teeth as they chomped on lush foliage and fruit.
Geologists and paleontologists have essentially been traveling in the footprint of construction workers who are completing a five-year expansion of the Panama Canal. The $5.2 billion project will allow larger, modern container ships and cruise liners to traverse the canal – doubling the waterway’s capacity by 2015.