Well-preserved Pacific mastodon tooth found in California
In a protected area in San Mateo County, California, USA, geologists discovered a fossilized molar from an adult Pacific mastodon. At first, the find, spotted during fieldwork, was mistaken for an unusually shaped rock, Live Science reports.
Discovery in a streambed
Geomorphologist Bridget Lynch of the California consulting company Balance Hydrologics discovered the molar in summer. Her team was surveying a streambed as part of a project to improve habitat for the endangered California red-legged frog, Rana draytonii.
According to the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space administration, the find is at least 10,000 years old. The tooth was sent to scientists at Stanford University’s Doerr School of Sustainability for radiocarbon dating, which is expected to help determine its age more precisely.
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An Ice Age mastodon molar
Paleontologist and head of the consulting company Pacific Paleontology Wayne Thompson, who conducted a preliminary analysis, described the tooth’s condition as immaculate. According to him, it is the most complete mastodon molar found in the area, as well as the most impressive specimen he has seen.
The Pacific mastodon, Mammut pacificus, was recognized as a separate species in 2019. It was a close relative of the American mastodon, Mammut americanum. Both species lived in North America during the Pleistocene, from 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago. The Pacific mastodon inhabited more western areas of what are now Mexico, California, Oregon and the northern Rocky Mountains in the United States.
Researchers also plan to create a three-dimensional copy of the molar, which the area’s administration will use for outreach and educational activities.
