December 18th 2024.
In the quiet town of Scotchtown, New York, a homeowner was in for a surprise while doing routine work in his backyard. As he was tending to his plants, he stumbled upon what looked like two teeth covered by some debris. Curiosity piqued, he dug deeper and uncovered two more tooth fossils just inches beneath the dirt. Realizing that these were something special, the homeowner immediately contacted the experts for further examination.
The New York State Museum, along with Orange County Community College staff, led an excavation effort and discovered not just one, but three pieces of a prehistoric mastodon. The first and most impressive find was a complete and well-preserved adult mastodon jaw. Along with the jaw, a rib fragment and toe bone were also unearthed. This was the first time in 11 years that a complete mastodon jaw was discovered in the Empire State.
Dr. Cory Harris, chair of SUNY Orange's behavioral sciences department, expressed the significance of the find, stating, "While the jaw is the star of the show, the additional toe and rib fragments offer valuable context and the potential for additional research." The team plans to continue searching the surrounding area for any other parts of this magnificent creature, which is an extinct mammal from the elephant family.
Dr. Robert Feranec, the museum's Ice Age animals curator and research and collections director, explained the importance of studying this discovery. "This mastodon jaw provides a unique opportunity to study the ecology of this magnificent species, which will enhance our understanding of the Ice Age ecosystems from this region," he stated. Carbon dating will be conducted to analyze the age, diet, and habitat of the creature, and the bones will be integrated into public programming next year.
This discovery adds to the more than 150 mastodon fossils that have been found in New York, with a third of them being in Orange County. The New York State Museum, the oldest and largest public museum in the US, houses over 20 million artifacts dating back 480 million years. Michael Mastroianni, the interim deputy commissioner for cultural education, emphasized the museum's dedication to scientific research and its impact on our understanding of the environment and sustainable living.
The homeowner, who wishes to remain anonymous, expressed his excitement about the find, stating, "I'm thrilled that our property has yielded such an important discovery for the scientific community." This remarkable find happened more than two-and-a-half years after a construction worker at an Iowa community college discovered an 11-pound woolly mammoth tooth while excavating at the site. It serves as a reminder that ancient species can still be found in unexpected places and that anyone can make a significant contribution to science by reporting their findings.
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