Largest collection of ice age fossils found beneath Los Angeles store

Find includes almost intact Colombian mammoth and a complete saber-tooth cat skeleton

Researchers have discovered the largest collection of ice age fossils beneath a demolished department store in central Los Angeles.

The find includes an almost intact Colombian mammoth, nicknamed Zed by researchers, a complete sabre-tooth cat skeleton, a giant ground sloth and a North American lion.

The discovery, close to the La Brea Tar Pits where the remains of 34 mammoths were uncovered almost a century ago, has excited palaeontologists because it gives them an unparalleled glimpse of life in the Los Angeles basin more than 10,000 years ago.

Unlike earlier excavations, workers were able to preserve intact smaller fossils, including turtles, clams, snails, fish and tree trunks. In previous discoveries, these items were discarded as the larger fossils were uncovered.

"This gives us the opportunity to get a detailed picture of what life was like 10,000 to 40,000 years ago" John Harris, chief curator at the Page Museum told the Los Angeles Times.

The smaller items have been saved because workers are using a different technique to remove the fossils. Prompted by the rush to clear the site, which is earmarked for an underground car park for the neighbouring LA County Museum of Art, researchers have removed entire chunks of soil. The remains have been stored in 23 wooden crates parked at the rear of the Page museum as palaeontologists prepare to sift through the remains.

Work has already started on Zed, the mammoth, who was 10 feet tall and 47-49 years old when he died. The skeleton is 80% complete and includes 10-feet long intact tusks. Zed is missing just one rear leg and the top of his skull, which was broken off during the excavation.