Caver Discovers Extensive Ice Age Fossil Trove in Central Texas Cave
A caver in Central Texas has discovered a significant collection of Ice Age fossils, including mastodons, mammoths, saber-toothed cats, and a lion-sized armadillo relative. The discovery was made in Bender’s Cave in Comal County, where fossils were found lying on the streambed. Palaeontologist John Moretti from the University of Texas at Austin, along with the caver John Young, conducted the first palaeontological study of a Texas water cave based on this find. The collection includes common Ice Age animals like mammoth calves, bison, and horses, as well as rarer finds such as Jefferson’s ground sloth and a mastodon, represented by a single molar fragment. Uniquely, the site also yielded a shoulder blade from a giant tortoise (Hesperotestudo) and body armor from a pampathere (Holmesina septentrionalis), an armadillo relative previously unrecorded on the Edwards Plateau. Unlike typical fossil sites requiring extensive excavation, these specimens were easily accessible, resting on the cave floor for millenni... 
