Long before there was a United States of America, or before Europeans ever suspected there was anything on this side of the Atlantic, this area teemed with life.
The history of the area 10,000 years ago is written in the fossils of animals found in, among other places, Creekwood in East Manatee.
In a story published in the Herald April 24, Liz Sullivan called our attention to ancient bone fragments that residents had found in a lake there.
Subsequently, Liz said she has had a conversation with with Jeff Rodgers of the South Florida Museum in Bradenton and learned that a fragment suspected of being a tusk was actually rib bone from a Dugong, which is similar to a manatee.
The other pieces could belong to a horse or other creature, but it will be difficult to tell without more scientific study.
Charlie Hunsicker, director of the Manatee Natural Resources Department, said while the area was never home to dinosaurs, it did have mastodons, sabre-tooth cat, and giant ground sloths among others.
For more, visit http://www.bradenton.com/news/story/1389581.html
Richard
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