3-Million-Year-Old Camelop Fossil Discovered on I-70 in Colorado

The Colorado Department of Transportation discovered a camelop fossil while working on I-70.

The Colorado Department of Transportation is currently working on the Central 70 Project, which involves reconstruction a 10-mile stretch of I-70, adding Express Lanes, and building a 4-acre park. CDOT made an extremely interesting discovery while working on the project, they found a fossil.

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The fossil was discovered near the Union Pacific Crossing, according to KDVR. The fossil CDOT unearthed is from an animal called a camelop, which is an extinct animal that resembles a camel. According to KDVR, the camelop used to roam western North America approximately 3 million years ago.

After the Colorado Department of Transportation discovered the camelop fossil, archeologists documented it, dug it out, and transported it elsewhere. We wish we had a picture to show you, especially because we're very interested in what a camelop looks like.

Based on the name we're assuming it looks like a cross between a camel and an antelope. Camelops were found from Mexico to Alaska, only west of the Missippi. According to Britannica, camelops were around from the late Pliocene Epoch to the end of the Pleistocene Epoch which was between 3.6 million and 11,700 years ago.

This means that this particular fossil's age could range anywhere from 3.6 million years old to 11,700 years old.

The last we heard about a fossil being discovered was at a construction site near Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Horned dinosaur bones were found, which are 66 to 68 million years old.

We love learning about Colorado's history, you never know what you'll unearth next.