Homeowner finds whole mastodon jaw under his lawn
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A homeowner doing routine work on his backyard made a jaw-some discovery. The owner of the home near Scotchtown, New York, found two teeth covered by the frontals of a plant on the property. Upon further digging, the resident uncovered two more tooth fossils that were just inches beneath the dirt, according to the New York State Museum on Tuesday.
![[Mastodon, proboscidean belonging to the extinct genus Mammuthus, late Miocene to the Pleistocene. Colour printed illustration after Heinrich Harder from Wilhelm Bolsche's Tiere der Urwelt (Animals of the Prehistoric World), Reichardt Cocoa company, Hamburg, 1908. Heinrich Harder (1858-1935) was a German landscape artist and book illustrator. (Photo by: Florilegius/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_233687035-632e.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
‘When I found the teeth and examined them in my hands, I knew they were something special and decided to call in the experts,’ said the homeowner, whose identity was not revealed. Museum and Orange County Community College (SUNY Orange) staff led an excavation effort and unearthed a complete and well-preserved adult mastodon jaw, and a rib fragment and toe bone on top of that.
![[New York State Museum and State University of New York Orange staff unearth a complete well-preserved mastodon jaw, as well as a piece of a toe bone and a rib fragment, that were found protruding from the topsoil in the backyard of a residence near Scotchtown, NY. (New York State Museum via AP)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_233676335-1fda.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
It is the first whole mastodon jaw to be discovered in the Empire State in 11 years. ‘While the jaw is the star of the show, the additional toe and rib fragments offer valuable context and the potential for additional research,’ stated Dr Cory Harris, who is chair of SUNY Orange’s behavioral sciences department.
![[New York State Museum and State University of New York Orange staff unearthed a complete well-preserved mastodon jaw, as well as a piece of a toe bone and a rib fragment, that were discovered by a man who spotted two giant teeth while gardening at his upstate New York home, near Scotchtown, NY. (New York State Museum via AP)]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_233676231-a0a7.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
The team is planning to scour the surrounding area for any more parts of the prehistoric animal linked to elephants. ‘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,’ stated Dr Robert Feranec, the museum’s Ice Age animals curator and research and collections director.
