A Florida fossil dig site is looking for volunteers.
NEWBERRY — Now that the second field season of excavating fossils at a site in Newberry has ended, Florida Museum of Natural History paleontologists are gearing up to begin work on the approximately 220 skeletons and literally thousands of specimens uncovered between mid-September 2006 and May 2007.
Florida Museum Vertebrate Paleontology Collections Manager Richard Hulbert is looking for volunteers over the age of 16 who enjoy working on puzzles and are able to devote time weekly to washing, sorting and repairing the material.
â€We’re looking for people who are really good with puzzles,†Hulbert said. “Because despite the wonderful preservation at the site, pressure has crushed many of the bones into five, 10, or even 50 pieces that have to be put back together.â€
They’ve found all sorts of rare creatures at this site, such as a capybara, a gomphothere, and the skeleton of an extinct, large rabbit — the first of its kind and likely a new species.
