Mastodon Tooth: The giant tooth of an ancient mastodon lost after being discovered has finally been found again. A tourist saw it on a California beach but didn’t know what it was. According to CBS News, officials said this visitor, who belongs to the Santa Cruz region, saw the rare fossil on the Rio del Mar beach last Friday.
Mastodon was a giant elephant-like species that became extinct about 10,000 years ago.
Tourist Posted Picture On Social Media
A tourist posted a photo of a foot-long tooth on social media. Wayne Thompson, paleontology collection consultant at the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History, knew what it was.
Thompson wrote in response to the tourist’s post; This is the Pacific Mastodon Mammoth Pacificus molar tooth. This is a significant discovery, and call me when you can.
When Thompson returned to the beach where the tourist had initially seen the tooth, it had disappeared. But after a public appeal by the Natural History Museum for help finding the fossil, it was found again.
Tooth Rediscovered By A Local Resident
A resident, Jim Smith, spotted the tooth during his morning walk. He called the museum on Tuesday (May 30) after seeing pictures of the fossil in the news. According to the museum, Smith regularly walks on the Rio del Mar beach.
Liz Broughton, Visitor Experience Manager at the museum, said: Jim told us he had stumbled upon the tooth during one of his regular jogs on the beach, but it wasn’t until he saw a picture of the tooth in the news that he Couldn’t figure out what he was looking for. He was eager to share it with Mjuyim.
The museum said it is excited to take care of the tooth. The museum intends to make the tooth available for scientific study in addition to displaying the tooth in an exhibition.
Two other mastodon remains currently on display at the Santa Cruz History Museum are a skull and another tooth.
