Discovery at Gray Fossil Site indicates apex predator roamed in NE Tennessee mountains

The discovery of a single bone has signaled the prehistoric existence of an apex predator in Northeast Tennessee at the Gray Fossil Site.

The breakthrough of finding the remains of a bone-crushing dog was announced by ETSU on Tuesday and credited the work of researchers, Emily Bogner and Joshua Samuels.

The animal was known as Borophagus, a muscular ambush hunter. The identification also signals a new habitat for the dog that has been found in other parts of the US and Mexico.

The complete report is available by clicking here.

My first, first-author paper

A new eastern N.A occurrence of a bone-crushing dog and what that means ecologically for the genus

Endless thanks to my extremely talented and supportive co-author, Josh Samuels, for his guidance throughout this processhttps://t.co/LuE0QKiJ6l https://t.co/UbUPnj3eCC

— Emily Bōgner (@bogneremilyl) August 9, 2022

(IMAGE: Gray Fossil Site / East Tennessee State University)