Fossil Horse Teeth Salvaged from Panama Canal Worksite

Aldo Rincon, a paleontology intern working with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Instituted, recently unearthed the fossil remains of an ancient three-toed horse from a building site alongside the Panama Canal. The fossil was collected as part of an effort that is underway to salvage fossils as the canal is widened.

The fossil teeth belong to a previously known species of horse, Anchitherium clarenci, a forest-dwelling species that lived in the region between 15 and 18 million years ago. Fossil remains of Anchitherium clarenci had previously been found in Florida, Nebraska, and South Dakota. This latest discovery extends the southern limit of the species' range during that time period.

The widening of the 48-mile Panama Canal will enable large ships to pass through the isthmus. To date, 10 million cubic meters of earth have been removed from the banks of the canal. Scientists and students from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the Panama Canal Authority, and the University of Florida have joined forces to examine sites exposed by dynamite blasts and collect and catalog any fossil in those areas. Despite controversy over the ecological impacts the widening of the canal brings, paleontologists are excited for the opportunity to collect fossils from the region:

"This is one of very few places in the tropics where we have access to fresh outcrops before they are washed away by torrential rains or overgrown by vegetation, and we expect the fossils that we have been salvaging to resolve some major scientific mysteries. What geological forces combined to create the Panama land bridge? Was the flora and fauna in Panama before the land bridge closed similar to that in North America, or did it include other elements?" ~ Carlos Jaramillo.

Refs: Fossil Teeth of Browsing Horse Found in Panama Canal Earthworks (Eurekalert)

Photo © Aldo Rincon / Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.