OCEANSIDE, Calif. — Construction workers in Oceanside found a whale’s rib believed to be 120,000 years old at a construction site.
The discovery was made while crews worked on the construction of Oceanside’s newest resort.
Paleontologist Todd Wirths said that without a doubt the bones are the fossilized rib of a prehistoric whale.
If construction crews found the rib, where is the rest of the pre-historic animal?
Todd’s theory is that “waves took apart the skeleton - disarticulated the bones which were strewn across the beach. Here we have this isolated rib that was the last bone left.”
“As you can see, the piece they found is little more than four-feet long. Unfortunately, what they really need is the next part that connects to the vertebrae because that would answer more specific questions,” he said.
Todd said the rib will be cleaned up and pieced together. He said he would build a cradle for it so it can be protected.
Crews have since resumed their work on the site which will become the Oceanside Beachfront Resort – which will include two new hotels with restaurants, bars and retail stores.
Crews said they will continue to build under a watchful eye of the onsite paleontologist who first spotted the rib.
Todd said they've made some cool discoveries over the years around coastal construction sites – some dating back more than 50 million years. He's hopeful this won't be the last discovery in this area.
The discovered rib will be donated to the San Diego Natural History Museum by the end of the year.