Summary Researchers unearthed a pair of fossils in north of Las Vegas belonged to a saber-toothed cat.
Researchers say a pair of fossils unearthed in the hills north of Las Vegas belonged to a saber-toothed cat.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that a team from California s San Bernardino County Museum identified the fossils dug up in June as being front leg bones from the extinct predator.
Kathleen Springer, the museum s senior curator, says the saber-tooth fossils are thought to be approximately 15,590 years old.
The discovery marks the first of its kind in the fossil-rich Upper Las Vegas Wash. Springer heads a team that s been studying the wash for a decade and has been collecting fossils there under a contract with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management since 2008.
She says the bones of Las Vegas only known saber-toothed cat are still being studied. There are no immediate plans to display them, but Springer expects that to happen eventually.
