Colorado's Mastodon Find Is The Latest Chapter In The State's Paleontology History (PHOTOS)

The recent discovery of mastodon fossils by teenagers near Denver made headlines all over the state and the country, but Colorado has been a hot bed for paleontology for over a century. The state was at the center of the "Bone Wars" in the 1870's, when leading paleontologists competed so fiercely, that they tried to destroy each others' discoveries and credibility.

The latest Mastodon is just the latest chapter in a rich history of Colorado fossil hunters.

KDVR reported on the latest find this weekend:

Two teenagers made a significant scientific discovery of rare mastodon fossils in a creek bed in southwest metro Denver. Tyler Kellett and Jake Carstensen found a jaw bone and tusk of an American mastodon. It was a discovery that dazzled scientists.

The remains of the prehistoric elephant relative could be 50,000 to 150,000 years old. Experts from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science excavated the site and volunteers will preserve the fossils.

From The Denver Post :

The boys' find led to the discovery of a 5-foot tusk too, making it the most significant mastodon fossil ever unearthed in Colorado, and the first in 85 years.

"It's the first good record of an American mastodon in Colorado," said Steve Holen, curator of archaeology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. "This is way outside of the range for mastodons. It's the first record we have of more than just one tooth. Finding out these mastodons were living along the Front Range is an important scientific find."

Scroll through below to find out about the most famous Colorado fossil finds in history.

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