In this Jan. 7, 2015 photo, Dan LaPoint, right, and Eric Witzke, pose with just a few of the many ancient Mastodon bones LaPoint unearthed while excavating a pond on some of Witzke's property outside Olivet, in Bellevue Township, Mich. (AP Photo/The State Journal, Rod Sanford) NO SALES
The Associated Press
BELLEVUE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - Two Bellevue Township men are donating dozens of mastodon bones they unearthed to the University of Michigan Museum of Paleontology.
Neighbors Daniel LaPoint Jr. and Eric Witzke spent four days in November digging up 42 bones from the prehistoric mammal. The men plan to keep a few of the bones found in Witzke's backyard and give the rest to the museum later this month.
The Lansing State Journal (http://on.lsj.com/1y36lNt ) reports the museum's director, Daniel Fisher, confirmed and examined their discovery.
Fisher says the bones are from a 37-year-old male mastodon and are between 10,000 and 14,000 years old. He says the museum will be able to narrow the exact within 200 or 300 years once it has received the bones.
About 330 confirmed mastodon bones have been discovered in Michigan.
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Information from: Lansing State Journal, http://www.lansingstatejournal.com
This Jan. 7, 2015 photo shows ancient mastodon vertebrae bones that Dan LaPoint unearthed excavating a pond on Eric Witzke's property outside Olivet, in Bellevue Township, Mich. (AP Photo/The State Journal, Rod Sanford) NO SALES
The Associated Press
In this Jan. 7, 2015 photo, Dan LaPoint, left, and Eric Witzke, pose with just a few of the many ancient Mastodon bones LaPoint unearthed excavating a pond on some of Witzke's property outside Olivet, in Bellevue Township, Mich. The area the bones were found is about quarter of a mile behind the trees visible behind the men. (AP Photo/The State Journal, Rod Sanford) NO SALES
The Associated Press
This Jan. 7, 2015 photo shows ancient mastodon bones that Dan LaPoint unearthed excavating a pond on Eric Witzke's property outside Olivet, in Bellevue Township, Mich. (AP Photo/The State Journal, Rod Sanford) NO SALES
The Associated Press