Light rail work unearths 60 million-year-old fossils
Fossil leaf is embedded in a rock uncovered by light rail construction. (Photo courtesy DTCG)
LAKEWOOD – Plants that escaped being eaten or trampled by the early mammals that flourished 60 million years ago are in the light of day again after light rail contractors unearthed a trove of fossils while working just west of West 6th Ave. and Simms Street.
The discovery, announced Monday, includes fossilized specimens of ancient palm trees, ferns and flowering plants deposited on the banks of a river, then buried by mud and sand. The mud and sand turned to stone over the ages. Some fossilized tree stumps also were found in the area.
Crews preparing the site for retaining wall installation uncovered the fossil bed and notified experts from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
Representatives from the museum examined the area last weekend and determined the rock layers containing the ancient plants were deposited between 64 million and 66 million years ago, during the early Paleocene epoch just after dinosaurs became extinct.
At the time, the flat tops of what eroded to become North and South Table mountains were forming from the flows of ancient volcanoes. The animals that followed the demise of the dinosaurs were roaming the tropical rainforest of what is now the population center of Colorado.
“Museum visitors will find it amazing that discoveries like this happen right here under the footprint of the city,’ said Dr. Ian Miller, the Denver museum’s curator of paleontology.
The fossils collected from the site during the two-day exploration of the site are at the museum.
Although no new species were found among the fossils, Miller said the find is important.
“From a scientific perspective, this discovery adds to our knowledge about the evolution of life and the events that took place at the end of the time of the dinosaurs, their extinction and then radiation of the mammals following that extinction,” Miller said.
Miller conducted the dig at the site Friday and Saturday assisted by volunteers from the museum’s Paleontology Certification Program.
The discovery will not alter the Regional Transportation District’s construction schedule, the agency said in announcing the fossil find.
“The museum was able to gather quality specimens within a few days,” and work at the site continues, according to Kathy Berunen, spokeswoman for the Denver Transit Construction Group.
RTD’s FasTracks West Corridor Light Rail line will connect Lakewood and Golden to downtown Denver and RTD’s other commuter rail lines.
The entire FasTracks program envisions 122 miles of commuter rail across the metro area and is expected to be complete in 2013 at a cost of $6.2 billion. When voters approved the project, the cost estimate was $4.7 billion.
