Unearthing a Priceless Treasure Beneath the Sewer Pipes! [Photos]

According to Saed News’ Society Service, citing Khabar Online, Tina Mozdaki reports that a recent study published in the New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics describes 266 fossil species as one of the richest and most diverse groups of three-million-year-old animals ever found in New Zealand.

The treasure trove was discovered in 2020 when Watercare Auckland was excavating for a main pipeline. Auckland paleontologist Bruce Hayward likened it to “finding gold right on your doorstep.”

Once the significance of the fossil deposits became clear, Watercare and its contractors eagerly halted work so paleontologists could conduct months of careful research. Watercare also funded two graduate students in paleontology, supervised by Auckland Museum curator Dr. Wilma Bloom, to meticulously sieve the sediment for weeks on end.

As a result, it is estimated that more than 300,000 fossils were examined, with several thousand returned to the museum as a record of this “once-in-a-lifetime” find.

Dr. Hayward explained, “Precise identification of the fossils shows that they were deposited between 3 and 3.7 million years ago in a tidal channel of what was then the early version of modern Manukau Harbour. At that time, sea levels were slightly higher than today. Consequently, the fossils include several subtropical species whose relatives now inhabit the warmer waters around the Kermadec and Norfolk Islands.”

The five authors of the study documented 266 distinct fossil species, making this assemblage the richest and most diverse of its era in New Zealand.

“What’s remarkable,” says Dr. Hayward, the lead author, “is that these animals, which lived in very different environments, were brought together by strong waves and tidal currents in this ancient seaway.”