MOORPARK CLAIMING MAMMOTH EXPERTS WANT FOSSIL AT MUSEUM.

Byline: Angie Valencia-Martinez Staff Writer

MOORPARK - Paleontologists may have a bone to pick with city officials who have claimed ownership of the prehistoric mammoth fossil discovered at a construction site.

Whereas most cities donate rare fossils to science, the Moorpark City Council decided last week to hold on to the Ice Age skeleton - at least for now.

``Cities should not be in the business of having collections like that,'' said paleontologist Mark Roeder, who led the excavation to unearth the mammoth last month.

But City Councilwoman Roseann Mikos said the city's decision to claim the rights to the fossil may not mean the city will ultimately take permanent possession of it.

``Would I like to have some stuff displayed here from time to time? Yeah. Will the whole thing get displayed in Moorpark? I don't think so.

``There will be some kind of display here whether we maintain ownership or don't.''

While city officials have not yet determined what they plan to do with the fossil, the council's decision to take possession of it was rather unusual, scientists said.

Under the Paleontological Resources Salvage Plan - a pre-existing agreement with the developer - the city has the option of retaining ownership before the fossil becomes the official property of the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum.

By claiming ownership, the city now has a say on its curation, reconstruction, potential display and ultimate ownership.

John Harris, chief curator and head of the museum's Vertebrate Studies Division, said the remains need to be properly conserved and made available for scientific study.

``The optimum solution would be for the owner to donate it to a properly accredited museum,'' he said. ``I'm sure that any museum would be prepared to place the remains on display for at least a short period of time and would make casts of the fossil available for the city of Moorpark to display as and wherever it wishes.

``Such casts would be impossible to distinguish from the original bone and would not require the same stringent security and environmental precautions that would apply to fossil material.''

The skeleton, which is 75 percent complete, is a rare meridionalis species. The prehistoric beast was about 46 years old when it died and was likely a female, experts say.

The Ice Age creature is estimated to have stood 12 feet tall, weighing several tons with 8-foot-long curved tusks. It is believed to be 800,000 years to 1.4 million years old.

Nabil Abu-Ghazaleh, a Moorpark College dean, is exploring the feasibility of displaying the full skeleton on campus.

``We would love to see it stay in its hometown,'' he said. ``It would be a great value to the community.

``It sounds like a neat idea but we would want to do it right and do it in a way to make it accessible or it will sit in a box somewhere.''

In the weeks ahead, Abu-Ghazaleh said he will research what it will take physically and financially to display the specimen there. The funds, he added, would have to be raised through private donations.

City Councilman Clint Harper, who teaches at Moorpark College, said the skeleton could find a home at the new campus library now being built.

``I think it would be an excellent learning tool,'' Harper said. ``This is unique.''

Should the city decide to donate the find to the Los Angeles County museum, or the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, it is unlikely that the fossil bones will be assembled into a skeleton of the mammoth.

Paleontologist E. Bruce Lander, who helped coordinate the recovery efforts, said having the specimen on display in the city may not be the best outcome.

``We prefer an important specimen like that go to a museum ... that way it's protected, maintained, and available for study,'' he said.

Paleontologists suggest the city look into creating replicas of single bones and showcasing them in a smaller type of exhibit in town or perhaps borrowing the original bones from the museum.

By contrast, a full skeleton reproduction would cost several hundred thousands of dollars.

City Councilman Keith Millhouse said the city's main concern was claiming rights to the specimen, which would buy them time to identify all the options out there.

``I'm sure we'll strike some deal with the museum. It would be a big shame if we rushed to handle it and weren't prepared and as a result damaged a piece of history.''

Debi Ryono, a member of the Moorpark Historical Society, said having the mammoth skeleton in Moorpark would serve a great purpose.

``It's just fun to know that there's such a long history in the area,'' she said. ``People tend to think those critters roamed in one little area in Los Angeles when they roamed all over Ventura County.''

Angie Valencia-Martinez, [phone]

angie.valencia(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

(ran in Valley edition only) Scientists and technicians survey the site of a mammoth fossil discovery earlier this month in Moorpark.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer