Pacific mastodon tooth from 10,000 years ago found in California
What's the story
A remarkably preserved 10,000-year-old tooth from an ancient Pacific mastodon has been discovered by Brigid Lynch, a geomorphologist in California. The discovery was made at a preserve in San Mateo County when Lynch came across what she initially thought was a peculiar rock. However, further examination revealed it to be an adult Pacific mastodon molar.
Expert validation
Paleontologists confirm unusual find
The unusual find was confirmed by paleontologists, who said it was an intact molar from an adult Pacific mastodon.
The tooth measures some 8.5-inch long, 7-inch deep, and 3-inch wide.
Wayne Thompson, a paleontologist and owner of Pacific Paleontology, described the specimen as "the most complete mastodon molar from our area," and "the most spectacular mastodon molar that I've ever seen."
Species insight
Pacific mastodon and its diet
The Pacific mastodon, a hairy ancestor of today's elephant, roamed the West Coast during the Pleistocene epoch.
This period began about 2.5 million years ago and ended some 11,700 years ago.
Unlike mammoths that mostly grazed on grasses, mastodons were browsers with teeth adapted for crushing and processing vegetation such as twigs, leaves, soft shoots, and fruits from woody plants.
Research plans
Ancient tooth to undergo carbon dating
The ancient tooth has been donated to Stanford University's Doerr School of Sustainability.
Researchers there plan to conduct further tests, including carbon dating, to determine its exact age and create a 3-D scan of the fossil.
A 3-D copy will also be produced for educational and public outreach work.
Christine Garcia, a curator and manager at Stanford's Geoscience Specimen Collection, said fossils are "our only opportunity to see into past biodiversity."
Past finds
Similar discoveries in recent years
The discovery of this remarkably preserved Pacific mastodon molar isn't an isolated incident.
In 2024, a New York state resident found a mastodon jaw under their lawn.
Just a year before that, another woman stumbled upon a foot-long ancient mastodon tooth on the beach near California's central coast.
These finds are helping piece together the puzzle of Ice Age ecosystems and wildlife in North America.