A paleontologist revealed Thursday the discovery of a seven-foot-long Columbian Mammoth tusk in an area near North Las Vegas rich with fossils.
Thousands of fossils have been found in the area of the proposed Tule Springs National Monument, including many Columbian Mammoths — 14-foot-tall creatures that roamed the Nevada desert thousands of years ago. The process of unearthing the tusk began earlier this year after the Bureau of Land Management approved the excavation, said Eric Scott, a paleontologist with the San Bernardino County Museum. The tusk was found, Scott said, because part of it was sticking out of the desert dirt.