Insect fossils from the Snowmass Mastodon site, Colorado

At Ziegler Reservoir at Snowmass, Colorado, an 11-acre peat bog is being excavated for Late Pleistocene fossil remains. The fossil beds were discovered in autumn, 2010. In the first excavation, 600 bones were recovered, comprising parts of 8-10 American mastodons, 4 Columbian mammoths, 4 bison (Bison sp. cf. latifrons), 2 deer species and 1 Jefferson's ground sloth. Scott will be going to the site in June, 2011 to excavate peat from a 7-m section that apparently spans from 125,000-30,000 yr ago, to obtain insect fossil specimens. This is the highest elevation fossil site in North America to yield fossils of this age range.