A SCIENTIST has accidentally stumbled on a jaw-dropping Ice Age-era molar belonging to a beast from 2.5 million years ago.
Brigid Lynch, a geomorphologist who studies the earth‘s surface, had been in California trying to enhance the habitat for the state’s threatened red-legged frog.
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She said: “I was down in the creek bed surveying rocks when I came across it and thought — that one is very weirdly shaped.”
Brigid took a picture of the rock and carried on with her survey, unaware of the incredible find she had made.
But when reviewing it the next day, she noticed that it was a remarkably intact tooth belonging to an ancient Pacific Mastodon estimated to be in its early 40s.
Brigid said: “As a geologist, I’ve gone out and seen stuff in the field, but definitely nothing as exciting as this.”
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Pacific Mastodons are the newest species of the animal to be recognised, with their closest living relatives being elephants.
They differed from the widespread American Mastodon, having narrower teeth and thicker leg bones.
Revelling in the discovery, paleontologist Wayne Thompson said: “The tooth itself is in immaculate condition.
“It’s the most complete Mastodon molar from our area, and the most spectacular Mastodon molar that I’ve ever seen.”
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Brigid donated the upper third molar to Stanford University’s Doerr School of Sustainability’s collection.
It will be made available to researchers who will use carbon dating to work out when the Mastodon lived, its diet and the climate conditions of its era.
Scientists also plan to create a 3D scan of the fossil and make a replica for educational use.
Thompson added: “I had chills and shivers up and down my spine, so I was super happy to see this discovery because it can teach us a lot about the creatures themselves as a species and about this particular area.
“It’s another puzzle in the Ice Age saga that we can put into place.”
Mastodons were giant Pleistocene herbivores that lived from 25 million years ago until their extinction around 11,000 years ago.
They used their powerful trunks to strip leaves, tender shoots and fruit from woody plants, which differed from grass-eating mammoths.
Their browsing habits most closely resemble those of deer, moose, elephants and giraffes.