| A fossil locality in the upper Miocene to lower Pliocene Mehrten Formation near Turlock Lake, western foothills of the Sierra Nevada, where private paleontology enthusiast Dennis Garber--from roughly 1957 to 1964--collected teeth, skull bones and vertebrae from the extinct giant spike-toothed salmon called scientifically Oncorhynchus rastrosus, a species that in actual life could have grown to eight feet long, weighing an estimated 450 pounds. Mr. Garber's paleontological discoveries came from the level "beach area;" note the paleo-technician standing atop a miniature cliff exposure of the Mehrten Formation in distance. Note that today the fossil sites lie within a state recreational area and are completely off limits to unauthorized collectors. Photograph courtesy Julia Sankey, Jacob Brewer, Janis Basuga, Francisco Palacios, Hugh Wagner, and Dennis Garber. |