Saturday, May 22, 2010

Complete Wolly Mammoth Tooth Found

This is a very rare find for here on the Oregon Coast. This fossil tooth was actually found here on the central Oregon coast a couple of years ago and I finally had a chance to get a photo of Craig's wonderful beach combing find. It weighs close to 5 pounds, and appears to be that of an adult complete sixth tooth (due to the size of it). Congratulations to Craig on this magnificent find.

Through research it has been stated that elephants were plentiful in North America, and their fossils have been found in many states. However complete teeth are rarely found, more frequently would be individual plates or partial teeth.

Editors note: The top photo is the actual tooth showing the washboard effect. The lower image shows the bottom of the tooth that would have been below the gum.