OLYMPIA – Scientists said salmon fossils found in Mason County five years ago are about 1 million years old.
Several salmon fossils were discovered by two anglers on the banks of the South Fork Skokomish River on forestland owned by the Green Diamond timber company. They were entombed in the silty sandstone of the eroding riverbank.
The fossils date to the Pleistocene Age, said Gerald Smith, a retired University of Michigan professor who worked on the research team.
The Pleistocene Age lasted from 1.8 million years ago to 11,000 years ago.
Several specimens were removed for analysis and others remain in place at the undisclosed and protected site, Green Diamond spokeswoman Patti Case said.
The specimens that were removed are housed at the Burke Museum at the University of Washington in Seattle, but are not on display. The goal is to have plaster casts made of the fossils for display in this area, Case said.
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