Scientists discover 4 prehistoric bear skulls underwater (VIDEO)

GlobalPost

Archeologists have discovered four perfectly preserved prehistoric bear skulls underwater in underwater caves in Mexico. 

Scientists believe that the extinct species, which date back over 12,000 years, lived in the caves in the ice age before they became filled with water, BBC News reported Thursday.  

Investigators from Mexico City's National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and officials at the National Institute of Anthropology (INAH) uncovered the skulls in an ancient sinkhole, also known as a cenote, according to Channel 3 News New Zealand

More from GlobalPost: Tomb of female singer found in Egypt's Valley of the Kings

The cenote provided the ideal conditions to preserve the remains for thousands of years. 

"We have found a large quantity of [bear] remains," archeologist Guillermo de Anda Alanis told Channel 3. "Some of them are clearly of Mayan origin."

Sign up for our daily newsletter

Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.