Updated

Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Sep 12

Pacific Mastodon Molar Surfaces Near San Francisco, Sent to Stanford After 10,000 Years

Updated

Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Sep 12

Pacific Mastodon Molar Surfaces Near San Francisco, Sent to Stanford After 10,000 Years

Q: Could the secret location of this massive Ice Age fossil hold even more undiscovered prehistoric giants?

Yes—quite possibly, but scientists cannot say that yet. The tooth’s condition strongly suggests it may not have sat in the creek for all 10,000-plus years. Stanford curator Christine Garcia said it likely washed in more recently from a nearby hillside or buried deposit. If that is true, the secret site could preserve more fossils from the same animal or from other Pleistocene species that lived in the region, including mammoths, ground sloths and camels. That possibility is one reason the exact location is being withheld. Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District says it wants to prevent unauthorized digging in waterways, which could damage scientifically valuable material and the surrounding habitat. Fossils are most useful when experts can study their geologic context, not just the object itself. There is also some regional evidence that more finds are possible. Coastal Northern California has produced several mastodon discoveries in recent years, including another Pacific mastodon tooth near Santa Cruz. Paleontologists say the new San Mateo County molar adds to a growing fossil record showing the Bay Area was part of an active Ice Age landscape. Still, one tooth alone is not proof of a larger bone bed or a cluster of “prehistoric giants.” Researchers need carbon dating, sediment analysis and careful field investigation to determine whether the area contains more remains. For now, the site is promising, not proven.

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Sep 12

Geologists found an exceptionally well-preserved adult Pacific mastodon molar in a San Mateo County nature preserve and Midpen donated it to Stanford in July for carbon dating.
Field crews spotted the tooth while surveying a creek bed for a habitat project supporting the threatened California red-legged frog, initially mistaking it for an oddly shaped rock.
At least 10,000 years old, the fossil is being described by consulting paleontologist Wayne Thompson as the most complete mastodon molar from the area and the most spectacular he has seen.
Stanford researchers plan a 3D copy for public education, while the find adds evidence on Pacific mastodons, a species formally recognized only in 2019 that ranged across the western U.S. and Mexico.