How well do you know the creatures from the Eocene that once roamed the Florissant area over 34 million years ago?
Before you begin, read about Eocene Florissant, the vertebrate fossils of Florissant, and look through pictures of our fossils to learn about the ancient species that were once here.
Through this activity, you will test your knowledge and cover interesting facts about some of the fossils found at Florissant Fossil Beds by answering the five riddles below.
Reveal each fossil by using the slider, which will show you two images of the fossil: how it looked while alive during the late Eocene and the fossilized remains we've found.
Click the drop-down answer to view the fossil's name and learn interesting facts about each one.
Riddle 1
In the past, I towered hundreds of feet in the air. Now, I'm made of stone and all that's left of me was once rooted in the ground. What am I?
Ancient Redwood (Sequoia Affinis)
The Sequoias were once widely distributed across the Northern Hemisphere. Based on the diameter of the petrified Redwood stumps, the average height of these trees was over 250 feet (76 m) tall. Modern Redwoods can even grow taller than the Statue of Liberty!
Modern Redwood trees can only be found along the coasts of California and Oregon, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, and the Central China Valley.
Did you know...
Redwood trees are able to reproduce by "stump sprouting," meaning they can grow new Redwood trees out of their own root system, so multiple trees can share the same root system.
Riddle 2
I'm the largest mammal of my time, standing over 8-feet tall and weighing over 3,000 pounds. I look like a mix between a rhinoceros and an elephant, but I'm NOT related to either one. I have two horns growing from above my nose. What am I?
Megacerops Brontothere
The word "bronto-" is Greek for thunder, so brontotheres are known as "thunder beasts," which refers to how a traveling herd of brontotheres might have sounded like. The now extinct brontothere is in the same taxonomical order (group of animals) as horses and rhinos. These massive creatures were herbivores meaning that they ate plants. They likely ate soft leaves based on their molars, which had a distinctive W-shape and were low and flat.
Did you know...
The horns of the brontothere were actually made of bone and not keratin. The purpose of these horns was for wrestling and side-to-side impacts to topple over one another or to protect their calves from predators.
Riddle 3
I have three toes. My name means "middle horse," but I'm too small to ride seeing that I'm only 2 and 1/2 feet tall. What am I?
Mesohippus
These now extinct horses were about the size of a modern collie. The brain of the mesohippus was similar in size to modern horses.
Did you know...
Unlike horses today, the mesohippus did not eat grass. Based on the shape and arrangement of their teeth, they most likely ate twigs and fruit.
Riddle 4
I'm a hog-like mammal with fangs like a vampire. I throw-up my food to chew it again. You could say "I chewed that over for a bit!" What am I?
Oreodont (Merycoidodontoidea)
The oreodonts also referred to as "ruminating hogs" were once widespread and diverse during the Eocene epoch and suddenly disappeared some time between the Eocene and Oligocene. These types of animals were artiodactyls meaning they had even-toed hooves. Bison and bighorn sheep are modern artiodactyls. The closest and distant living relative of the oreodonts are camels. When these creatures were alive, they looked like a mix between a camel, sheep, and pig.
Did you know...
The word oreodont means "mountain tooth" since the first half of the word "oreo-" refers to the Greek word mountain and the second half of the word "-dont" refers to teeth (think orthodontist). The reason for this name is because their molars looks like small mountain ranges.
Riddle 5
Buzz, buzz! I fly around to eat nectar and other bugs. I also have a stinger. I'm related to the living yellowjackets and hornets. What am I?
Paleovespa Florissantia
The paleovespa wasp made "papery" nests out of plant fibers and their saliva.
Did you know...
A former Park Ranger at Florissant Fossil Beds came across the fossilized paleovespa wasp.
"Also in 1974, on my day off, I, and my dog Snoopy (Schnauzer) were hiking in the park. He was off a leash, I have to admit, but was a great companion and stayed with me. We hiked through a shale exposure on the southern part of the park just south of Lower Twin Rock Road. I had no intention of looking for fossils but one chunk of shale, about 2 to 3 inches wide and about 1 inch high, was just sticking out for about 1 to 2 inches. I pulled it out, opened it and there was the bee, both sides perfectly visible, but one side had a part of the bee turned up slightly. (We called it a bee then until it was later identified as a wasp and some time after I left Florissant Fossil Beds I guess it became pretty famous. That was a real surprise to me, just how far it went)."
Looking for fossils.
NPS Graphic / Karen Ceballos
Great work! You've revealed all of the fossils.
During excavations, paleontologists find these fossils in different deposits. For example, the paleovespa wasp became fossilized in paper shale, which is a type of sedimentary rock that formed at the bottom of Ancient Lake Florissant.
Wheareas, the ancient Redwoods became rapidly buried in a volcanic mudflow called a lahar and are now seen as petrified stumps in the lahar deposit, and evidence of the brontotheres, mesohippus, and oreodonts are seen in stream deposits of the lower mudstone unit of the Florissant Formation. The fossilized evidence of these ancient mammals can be seen as teeth and bone fragments that paleontologists have to reconstruct and piece together.
