A massive mammoth tooth was found in a river in the Lviv region
A resident of the Lviv region discovered a massive mammoth tooth in the Stryi River, which will now become part of the educational collection at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv.
The fossil was discovered in the river by Volodymyr Prots, a former student of the LNU Department of Geography who now works as a border guard. He donated the find to the university.
“We sincerely thank Volodymyr for this valuable gift! Now a piece of our region’s Pleistocene history will be preserved in our collection and will serve as excellent educational material for students,” the university stated.
According to Prots, the tooth is about 35 centimeters long and weighs 7.440 kilograms. He estimates that the fossil could be anywhere from 10,000 to several hundred thousand years old.
The surface of the find retains a characteristic ribbed, or lamellar, pattern, which is a typical feature of mammoth teeth.
“The characteristic ribbed (lamellar) surface pattern is a unique feature of mammoth dentition. In Ukraine (particularly near the Carpathians and along riverbanks), such fossils are sometimes washed out of Pleistocene deposits by water,” Prots said.
At the same time, it is currently impossible to determine the exact age of the tooth. This requires additional research, specifically radiocarbon dating.
Olena Tomeniuk, Ph.D. in Geography and associate professor in the department, explained that various forms of mammoths inhabited this territory over a long period and changed under the influence of climate and evolutionary processes.
“These mammoth species existed here for a long time. They adapted to climate change and evolved. The location where the tooth was found suggests that these are likely younger forms of mammoths, among the last to exist. Although the river could have washed this tooth out of older deposits,” the researcher explained.
The researcher also highlighted the find’s excellent state of preservation.
“It’s in good condition, almost completely intact. The moist conditions preserved it well. The river eroded the bank, and it was found in those deposits. Or perhaps the river’s waters carried this tooth from another location.”
Going forward, the mammoth tooth will be kept in the university’s collection and used as teaching material for students, allowing them to study the natural history of the Lviv region and the region’s Pleistocene deposits.
The discovery was reported by the Department of Geomorphology and Paleogeography at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv.
